No. 8 recruit Babatunde Oladotun stays home, picks Maryland - ESPN

Top-10 senior Babatunde Oladotun committed to Maryland on Wednesday, giving coach Buzz Williams his first five-star recruit in nearly a decade.

Oladotun picked the Terrapins over local rival Georgetown and Arkansas during a recruitment that seemed to change leaders multiple times over the past couple of weeks. He becomes Maryland's first five-star recruit since Derik Queen in the 2024 class and Williams' first since Nickeil Alexander-Walker committed to Virginia Tech when Williams was in Blacksburg back in the 2017 class.

«My relationship with Buzz Williams and the staff was great,» Oladotun said. «Coach Buzz is a realist. Sometimes, he is going to be raw. He is going to push you hard, break you down and build you up. He has developed players like Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder.»

Oladotun, who attends James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, has two sisters who currently attend Maryland, and his trainer is former Maryland star and NBA veteran Walt Williams.

«Staying home just hits different,» Oladotun said. «The school is only 20 minutes away. I am a big family guy. I am a local player and have a chance to represent my home school. When the new staff got the job, they reached out right away. When I reclassed, they recruited me even harder.»

A 6-foot-10 forward, Oladotun was the No. 1 recruit in the 2027 class before reclassifying into the 2026 class in August. He's now No. 8 overall in the SC Next 100 and ranked as the No. 3 power forward in the country.

Oladotun averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds on the Nike EBYL circuit last spring and summer, suiting up for three games on the 16U circuit before moving up to the 17U Team Durant team. He began to play more consistently as the season progressed,