Syracuse Basketball: Newly offered D.C. 4-star Acaden Lewis eyes visit, strong season (2024)

Four-star junior combo guard and top-70 national prospect Acaden Lewis, newly offered by Syracuse basketball, put forth a spectacular 2023-24 season for his top-20 high school program in our nation's capital.

The fast-rising Lewis, a 6-foot-3 point guard/shooting guard and one of the top 2025 prospects in Washington, D.C., disclosed via his X page in recent days that the Orange coaching staff had offered him a scholarship.

Lewis is a standout at the Sidwell Friends School in D.C. On the AAU circuit, this spring and summer, he will run with the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league. Another star for Team Durant is 2025 four-star forward Cam Ward, who is being recruited hard by 'Cuse coaches.

In 2023-24, Lewis helped lead Sidwell Friends to a 27-4 overall record. This past season, the Quakers captured the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAC") title and the District of Columbia State Athletic Association ("DCSAA") Class AA tournament championship.

In final national top-25 rankings for 2023-24, MaxPreps had Sidwell Friends at No. 20 overall, while the Quakers finished at No. 18, according to ESPN.

According to media reports, as a junior, Lewis averaged 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while connecting on 48 percent from the field, 33 percent from beyond the arc, and 83 percent from the free-throw line.

His trophy collection for the 2023-24 term, individually speaking, is mighty impressive. He was named the 2023-24 player of the year in D.C. by both Gatorade and MaxPreps. The Washington Post had Lewis on its All-Met first team, and he also resided on the All-DCSAA first team and the All-MAC squad.

Additionally, Lewis received an honorable-mention nod for the MaxPreps junior All-America teams in 2023-24.

Let's dive into his recruiting process. Per recruiting Web sites, Lewis' full offer sheet includes schools such as Maryland, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Florida State, Georgetown, Virginia, Brown, Bryant, George Mason, George Washington, Georgia, Howard, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Providence, St. John's, Vanderbilt, Norfolk State and UMBC.

Lewis has officially visited UVA and Florida State. He has gone on unofficial visits to Georgetown and Virginia Tech.

As it relates to the 'Cuse, I'm told that Lewis is highly interested in visiting the Hill once the EYBL season slows down a bit. Nothing is scheduled at this juncture, but I'm confident that Syracuse basketball coaches will get Lewis to Central New York on a visit in the coming months.

Speaking of grassroots basketball, Lewis earned high marks from experts last weekend as Team Durant competed at the MADE Hoops East Mania in Baltimore. Stemming from that event, 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London wrote in part, "Lewis was deemed a stock riser for his play with Sidwell Friends and is carrying that into the spring. Lewis is a high level defender but he showed more of his takeover ability and scoring from all three levels this past weekend. Although Lewis is a high level scorer he still made a point to get his teammates involved and compete defensively."

From April 26 to April 28, the EYBL is holding its first official session in Memphis, Tenn., and you can track how Lewis and his Team Durant colleagues perform via that league's Web site.

As it pertains to his 2025 rankings, virtually all of the main recruiting services place Lewis in the top 100 nationwide, in the top 15 at his position, and within the top three in D.C. ESPN, in recent days, updated its 2025 ratings, and Lewis checks in at No. 67 overall and No. 12 at shooting guard in his cycle.

It's well-documented that the Orange staff views the Washington to Baltimore corridor as one of the team's key recruiting focuses. New assistant coach Dan Engelstad, along with head coach Adrian Autry and fellow assistant Brenden Straughn, have deep recruiting relationships and ties to the DMV, and I'm hopeful that Syracuse basketball will emerge as a significant contender for Lewis.