The Colonial Athletic Association has, in recent years, been a conference with teams that go on good runs in the NCAA tournament. We see you George Mason and VCU. Both of those teams are gone from the conference, but the potential for one of those runs still exists with the teams that remain. 

Can the recruiting haul for the 2016 class help a program or programs make a run in March? The classes in the Colonial are still being completed with a lot of open scholarships left to be filled. 

As it stands right now, the top dog in the conference with recruiting is Towson. The Tigers have not only acquired the best class of commits at this stage, they also have a commitment from the best player out of any other team in power forward JJ Matthews. Matthews is coming off of a big travel season with the River City Reign that saw him gain a lot of interest and even offers from high major programs. However, Matthews decided on Towson and gave their 2016 class a lot of size, skill, and a great player to build on from the inside out. 

Along with Matthews, they have also gotten a commitment from another frontcourt player in forward Justin Gorham. Gorham is a combo forward who can make plays and hits the glass hard. The Tigers also have a commitment from Neumann-Goretti (PA) lefty shooting guard Zane Martin, whom they offered after a breakout junior year. 

College of Charleston and Northeastern are the only other teams in the conference with at least three commitments. Charleston has recruited well locally under new head coach Earl Grant, receiving commitments from two guards in Brevin Galloway and Zep Jasper as well as forward Chevez Goodwin, all of whom played with Upward Stars at some point during the travel season. 

Galloway is a guard with a big build that can control the point as well as score the ball. Jasper is more of a defensive guard, using his clamping on ball defense to create offensive opportunities. Goodwin may be the prize of this class. The stretch-four will be a matchup problem for teams in the CAA, and he could be a big scorer for the Cougars.

Northeastern has commitments from three wings. The centerpiece of this class is Bolden Brace of Santa Barbara (CA), a do-it-all small forward who really excels on the offensive end, where he will likely contribute as a freshman. They also have commitments from Shawn Occeus of Grandview Prep (FL) and Ty Groce of Lincoln (MI). Between the three, scoring from the wing will not be a problem for the Huskies. 

Hofstra also landed a very good prize in 6-foot-3 athletic shooting guard Elijah Pemberton, who should be able to come in and be a solid scoring threat for the Pride from day one. 

UNC Wilmington is also getting a shooting guard to build around in Jaylen Fornes of Word of God (NC). Fornes should be a big point producer for Kevin Keatts and the Seahawks for years to come and is one of the best players in the CAA’s 2016 class. 

William & Mary nabbed a good frontcourt piece in Kimball Union Academy (NY) forward Nathan Knight, who will give the Tribe added size with a solid skillset, and added him to sharpshooting guard Justin Pierce of Glenbard West (IL). 

Carter Wilson’s Take: The CAA’s incoming 2016 class gives teams some very good pieces to build around. It has still yet to be determined how they will be built around, so it will be interesting to see how open scholarships get filled before the spring period. Overall, JJ Matthews, Elijah Pemberton, Jaylen Fornes, Bolden Brace and Nathan Knight could be those pieces for their respective teams. However, there will likely be more impact players coming in the spring period. Who will take the reigns as the team to beat in the CAA? Only time will tell. 

Biggest Recruiting Story: I think the job that Kevin Keatts and his staff are doing at UNC Wilmington should be noted. They had a great 2015 class and are following it with the makings of another good class in 2016. Keatts saw success to the tune of a 12-6 conference record in his first season and it looks like he will build on that. Between Jaylen Fornes and Matt Elmore, the Seahawks have a solid two man class. Also, don’t underestimate the Ty Groce commitment to Northeastern. He is an interesting prospect who has a lot of length and a solid skillset. Be on the lookout for his development for the Huskies.

CAA TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS

1. Towson
2. UNC Wilmington
3. Northeastern
4. College of Charleston
5. Hofstra
6. William & Mary
7. Drexel
8. James Madison
9. Elon
10. Delaware

CAA CLASS SUPERLATIVES