ESPN 100 protection Jalen Warley committed to Florida State on Sunday, giving the Seminoles their fourth top-50 prospect in the 2021 class.
Warley chose Florida State over a number of schools, but it eventually came down to Virginia, Michigan and the Seminoles in recent weeks.
“I felt like I had a really good relationship with the coaching staff,” Warley told ESPN. “It was the best fit for my playing style.”
A 6-foot-4 combination guard from Westtown School in Pennsylvania, Warley ranks as No. 36 in the ESPN 100 and is the No. 10 shooter in the class. Warley had a break-out junior season, vaulting up the rankings and earning several notable scholarship offers last spring.
Warley is the fifth commitment for coach Leonard Hamilton in the 2021 class, and joins the 50 prospects Bryce McGowens (No. 33), Matt Cleveland (No. 35) and John Butler (No. 48). All four are ranked in their respective positions in the top 10. Florida State also has a promise from 7-foot-3 center Naheem McLeod, a trial for junior colleges who had signed with the Seminoles in the 2019 class , but went the route of the junior college from high school.
There needs to be a strong case made that Florida State currently has the top class for recruitment in 2021. Baylor and Ohio State are the only other schools with more than one top-50 prospect committed at this point in the cycle, and the Bears and Buckeyes have two shares to the Florida State four.
“I feel like, along with all the talent on the roster, I believe I can bring a national championship to Florida State,” Warley said. “I find it really exciting and something very special.”
Florida State will have four seniors on the roster next season, while incoming rookie Scottie Barnes is a likely one-and-done prospect. While none of Barnes’s are in the current recruiting class, it’s probably the deepest group Hamilton has landed in several years. The Seminoles had the no. 20 recruitment class in 2020 and the no. 15th grade in 2019.
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