After more than one month without a player addition, Pitt coach Kevin Stallings and his staff have struck gold.
Bryce Golden, a 6-foot-9 forward in the class of 2018, has committed to the Panthers, he announced Thursday night via Twitter.
#H2P pic.twitter.com/YsbYtzIsoI
— Bryce (@bryce_golden) June 16, 2017
The Hagerstown, Md., native is rated as a three-star prospect by scout.com and rivals.com, the latter of which ranks him as the 124th-best recruit nationally in his class, while ESPN.com gives him a four-star rating. In addition to Pitt, he had scholarship offers from Maryland, N.C. State and Penn State, among others.
Golden becomes the first commitment for the Panthers in the 2018 class, a group that will have to replace the three scholarship seniors on Pitt’s current roster — forwards Ryan Luther and Zach Smith, and guard Jonathan Milligan — as well as graduate transfer Monty Boykins.
Once he arrives on campus, he’ll be part of a larger overhaul of Pitt’s roster, one that will include eight new players next season, one of whom, St. John’s transfer Malik Ellison, won’t be eligible to compete until the 2018-19 season, adhering to NCAA rules.
Even with Golden's pledge, the Panthers have three scholarships remaining for the class of 2017 and could potentially have four if Smith, who was given a scholarship last January, returns to being a walk-on.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG.
First Published: June 16, 2017, 2:38 a.m.
