The 2026-27 college basketball season is right around the corner as practices will soon begin and then tip off in November. For the Duke Blue Devils, they can’t wait to get back on the court after how last season ended, blowing a 19-point lead to UConn.
Duke welcomes in the top overall recruiting class for the 2026 season as well as a really good transfer class. The Blue Devils should once again have one of the best rosters in college basketball and are one of the favorites to win it all. But the future of the program is also important. The Blue Devils will need to turn in really good classes for 2027 and 2028 and the way Jon Scheyer has been recruiting, Duke should feel good about their chances.
The Blue Devils have one commit in the 2027 class so far as Kager Knueppel committed over the Summer. He’s the younger brother of Kon Knueppel and is continue the family legacy at Duke.
When Knueppel committed, he was a four-star recruit that had potential. But since then, he’s coming off a monster junior year of high school and excelled on the EYBL circuit over the Spring and Summer. That has created a bump in his ranking on 247Sports.
The recruiting service updated its 2027 rankings and among the players who made a jump was Knueppel. He’s now graded out at 97 and has moved up from No. 25 in the early August ranking to No. 15, a jump of 10 spots. With that move, he’s also moved up in the 247Sports Composite rankings which take into account multiple recruiting sites. He’s up to No. 16 in that ranking and is on the verge of a five-star status.
Knueppel’s rise is big for Duke as they are not expected to take on a big class for the 2027 cycle. See Knueppel move up in the rankings and close to a five-star recruit has them off to a good start in the class. Duke also has several other offers out to top prospects as they look to build their class moving forward.
