When Jeff Capel became men’s basketball coach at Pitt late last month, one of his first orders of business recruiting-wise was to reach out to a 6-foot-9 junior forward who played his first two seasons at Elizabeth Forward High School.

Likewise with new Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, who wanted the player, who now attends Woodstock Academy in Connecticut, to know he was a top priority.

Tre Mitchell is a hot commodity, and with 25 Division I offers in his possession, it’s no wonder why coaches aren’t wasting any time trying to build relationships with him in hopes of ultimately securing a commitment.

Mitchell has offers from ACC, Big Ten and SEC schools. Pitt, Duquesne and Penn State have all offered, as have UConn, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Kansas State. An excellent student, Mitchell has a Yale offer. Stanford is interested, as is Notre Dame. Rivals.com ranks Mitchell No. 106 in its class of 2019 rankings.

Mitchell said he doesn’t have any leaders at this time and said he is in no rush to make a decision. However, two schools to keep an eye on are Pitt and UConn. Mitchell previously had offers from both, but each recently changed coaches. Since Capel and Hurley were hired, each has made it known that offers from those schools remain on the table.

Hurley already had a relationship with Mitchell, having offered him a scholarship while at Rhode Island.

“He said UConn was one of the places he always wanted to coach. He’s a really good coach and I think he’s going to do a great job there,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he is looking forward to speaking with Capel, who gave Mitchell’s mother a call to let her know he will be recruiting her son to Pitt.

“He said the offer the other Pitt staff had presented was still there,” said Mitchell. “Coach Capel is a good coach and seems like a great guy.”

Capel extended an an offer to another player with local ties, Butler sophomore Ethan Morton, last week.

Duquesne is also hoping to land Mitchell. It was one of the first schools to offer.

“I have a good relationship with them and the coaching staff. They’re all great people and they’re hoping to turn that program around,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell averaged 19 points per game as a sophomore at Elizabeth Forward. He then decided to go the prep school route. Before he arrived at Woodstock Academy, Mitchell said he had six Division I offers. Since then, he has picked up 19. Mitchell called his decision to move more than 500 miles away from home a “business trip.”

“Coming up here was one of the best things I’ve done,” Mitchell said. “Since the first day, I’ve consistently been getting better. We play against the elite. I had to prove myself a lot at first.”

This spring and summer, Mitchell hopes to attract even more colleges when he plays AAU for Expressions Elite, which competes in the Nike EYBL.

Football commitment

Canon-McMillan’s Nick McIntyre (Waynesburg).

Basketball commitment

Upper St. Clair’s Brett Moore (Washington & Jefferson).

Track commitment

Bethel Park’s James Krandel (Seton Hill).

Golf commitment

Freeport’s Morgan Penn (Mount Aloysius).

Wrestling commitment

Pine-Richland’s Ben Salas (Drexel).

First Published: April 12, 2018, 11:00 a.m.