With just one nine-man recruiting class, Mark Turgeon took the Jacksonville State men’s basketball team in 1999 from the Ohio Valley Conference’s worst to two points from first.

Now in College Park, Turgeon has the opportunity for a similar overhaul — at least in terms of numbers. And he got his start yesterday by adding another three hand-picked recruits from the high school class of 2012 to a Terps roster that has just eight scholarship players set to return next season.

“Whenever you’re adding to a team, you’re trying to add a piece you don’t have,” Turgeon said. “We added three different pieces to add to what we have and that hopefully will make us a better team.”

The trio comprises Seth Allen, a 6-foot-2 guard from Fredericksburg, Va.; Shaquille Cleare, a 6-foot-9 center from Houston; and Jake Layman, a 6-foot-8 forward from Wrentham, Mass. All signed their national letters-of-intent yesterday to play in College Park next season.

Cleare headlines the class, which ESPN ranked No. 17 nationally. The center, who was on Turgeon’s radar even before the coach bolted from Texas A&M in May, is one of the biggest players in the 2012 class and the highest-ranked Terps signee across all recruiting websites.

“He’s a great pickup because he’ll be ready to play from day one and he will likely be there for more than one year,” said Jerry Meyer, a recruiting expert for www.rivals.com. “He has the physicality and the strength to come in right away and give you something strong and sturdy.”

Layman, the Terps’ other highly coveted signee, ranks among the top swingmen in the country after a breakout summer on the AAU circuit. ESPN slotted him No. 53 overall, and Layman said being part of Turgeon’s first true recruiting class was “special.”

“Jake has all three phases in his game with the ability to knock down the 3, shoot the mid-range, plus get all the way to the basket,” Turgeon said. “He is also a tremendous defender with great anticipation.”

Allen became the first recruit to join the class, verbally committing less than a week after Turgeon took the coaching position in May. The combo guard said he hopes to play point guard next season, possibly helping to ease the burden on guards Terrell Stoglin and Pe’Shon Howard.

The class, according to several recruiting experts, marks a solid start to the new era of Terps basketball under Turgeon.

“I think it’s positive,” Meyer said. “Mark Turgeon is known as a very good recruiter and he has a very good staff. Typically, it doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a grind. Recruiting is a process. You usually don’t come in right away and snag players.”

“Turgeon is from the Roy Williams school of recruiting,” said Dave Telep, a recruiting expert for ESPN. “You’re supposed to outwork everyone you possibly can. I would say he’s one of the most active coaches in the ACC.”

With just five months to work with before yesterday’s fall signing period opened, Turgeon said he was thrilled with the recruiting results of his coaching staff. As prospects commit increasingly early in the recruiting process, most new coaches tend to need a few seasons to develop relationships with the nation’s top talents.

“The first year you do what you can and the second year is usually your foundation class,” Telep said. “If that happens for Maryland, if next year’s class is even better than this one, then they’re going to be pretty good.”

“Recruiting is hard,” Turgeon said. “You have to really work at it, you have to be lucky and you have to get in early. For us to get the job in May and secure this class was pretty good.”

But Turgeon said the Terps likely aren’t finished. He hinted at the possibility of signing another two players — if he had his way, a power forward and guard. Either way, the trio he’s already collected bring high expectations.

“Our recruiting class is big,” Allen said. “He wants to bring another championship to Maryland.”

Said Nick Faust at the team’s media day last month: “We’re definitely going to be a contender for a ‘natty’ in the future.”

ceckard@umdbk.com