No. 9-ranked Reese Alston commits to LSU and gives Will Wade first five-star for 2027 recruiting cycle

The son of former NBA player Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston, Reese is the third member of LSU's 2027 recruiting class, and the first five-star Wade has landed since returning

Oct 29, 2026 at 4:24 pm ET • 1 min read

Five-star guard Reese Alston, the son of former NBA guard Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston, committed to LSU on CBS Sports HQ on Thursday. Alston, who is the No. 9 overall player in the 2027 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, picked the Tigers over Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee and Wichita State.

The Houston Second Baptist product is now the third member of LSU's 2027 recruiting class, joining four-star combo guard King Gibson and Ahmad Hudson, who is also committed to the Tigers football team as a five-star tight end. With the addition of Alston, the Tigers have the No.2-ranked recruiting class for the 2027 cycle. He is also the first five-star high school recruit Will Wade has landed since returning to LSU.

With three high school players already committed this cycle, it signals a new approach for Wade to build his roster for the 2027-28 season, after relying heavily on the transfer portal and international players to build it out heading into the 2026-27 season. Wade has been outspoken about his "unconventional roster," which features several players fighting in court for a fifth year of eligibility.

247Sports Director of Scouting says that Alston can consistently "create offense for himself and his teammates."

He's an offensive engine who both thrives and is most comfortable as the primary domino in his team's attack. He has adequate positional size and length, deceptive strength and balance through contact, good open floor speed, and some sneaky leaping ability when he has a runway. He's also an underrated on-ball defender who is capable of picking up for the length of the floor, even though that's not what he's known for at this point.

Alston is just the latest top-20-ranked player in his recruiting class to announce his commitment. This week, four-star forward Asa Montgomery committed to Duke, while five-star center Lewis Uvwo committed to Providence on Wednesday and became the highest-ranked player in the upcoming recruiting cycle to make a commitment.

In CBS Sports' report that broke down the NIL arms race in college basketball, LSU ranked in Tier 3, which is a budget range of $15.1 million to $17.5 million. In that tier, LSU was notably joined by Miami, Arizona, USC, Michigan State and SEC foes Missouri, Auburn, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.