Maryland basketball received a verbal commitment from four-star combo guard Eric Ayala on Saturday evening. Coach Mark Turgeon’s 2018 recruiting class now has a five-star and two four-star recruits.
A Wilmington, Delaware, native, Ayala plays for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He’s the No. 76 overall prospect and the No. 6 combo guard in the country, according to 247Sports.
Ayala joins five-star power forward Jalen Smith (Mount St. Joseph, MD) and four-star small forward Aaron Wiggins (Wesleyan Christian, NC) in a recruiting class that still could add more. Turgeon and his staff are in the running for five-star center Moses Brown (Archbishop Molloy, NY) and five-star guard Keldon Johnson (Oak Hill Academy, VA).
With the addition of Ayala, the Terps have the No. 5-ranked Class of 2018 in the country, according to 247Sports. They’re second in the Big Ten behind Michigan, which is No. 4 nationally.
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard visited College Park at the end of September and should bolster a backcourt that will likely also feature returning starters Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter.
