Marquette men’s basketball’s 2026 recruiting class is now complete.
Four-star forward Alex Egbuonu announced his verbal commitment to head coach Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles on Thursday. The 6-foot-6 combo forward chose Marquette over Villanova, Stanford and Boston College.
NEWS: 4
Alex Egbuonu has committed to Marquette, he told @Rivals.
The 6-6 small forward and top-70 overall recruit chose the Golden Eagles over Villanova, Stanford, and Boston College. https://t.co/18BjlJ5ybW pic.twitter.com/fgHUCxo5fa
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 6, 2025
“Marquette’s been there ever since the very beginning,” Egbuonu told 247Sports.com’s Travis Branham Thursday morning. “It’s an organization I can trust, they’re very organized and they want nothing but the best for me.”
The Groton, Massachusetts native joins guards Ethan Johnson and Nash Walker in Marquette’s 2026 recruiting class. Egbuonu is the the highest-ranked player across the board in the class, with 247Sports.com ranking him at No. 74 nationally and ESPN slotting him at No. 51.
“Alex is a tremendous young man,” Adam Finkelstein said. “If you talk to anybody around him, they all say the same thing. I mean, he went on for about three minutes thanking people (during his commitment). It wasn’t some disengeous thing, you could sense it was a real sense of gratitude and that’s really going to align with the type of people that Marquette likes to bring into their program, that Shaka Smart has a history of connecting with. And when you have that connectivity, I think it’s really going to drive the player-development program that Marquette is known for.”
Egbuonu averaged 17.8 points this past summer playing with the BABC program on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit. He was named to the All-Circuit 1st Team while playing with the Boston Area Basketball Club.
“What makes Egbuonu almost unique is his overlap of physical strength, length, and basketball skill,” Finkelstein wrote in his evulation of Egbuonu July 13. “He’s built like a football player with a super powerful upper body, long arms, and good hands. He’s capable of going right through contact off the dribble, can navigate the lane with good footwork, but has the high release point to shoot over top of contesting defenders. His range also extends out to the three-point line, making him a three-range threat.
“The consistency of his shooting is a major swing-skill and key to opening up a lot of his playmaking opportunities. He shot 27% from behind the arc in 3SSB play and looks more comfortable off a rhythm dribble. He’s a solid vertical athlete, with a second bounce, but not as quick with his first-step or laterally. He’s sometimes best defending opposing fours, but has no problem matching up with bigger guys, and is also a good rebounder (6.4).”
When asked Thursday morning what he will bring to Marquette’s program, Egbuonu kept it simple.
“Definitely energy and just a winning mentality,” he said.
With senior guard Chase Ross and senior forward Ben Gold set to graduate in the spring, all 15 of MU’s scholarship slots are now filled for the 2026-27 school year.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.