Five-star guard Reese Alston, the son of former NBA player Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston, announced his commitment to LSU on Thursday during a CBS Sports HQ appearance. Alston, ranked No. 9 overall in the 2027 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, chose the Tigers over offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wichita State.
The Houston Second Baptist product becomes the third member of LSU's 2027 recruiting class, joining four-star combo guard King Gibson and Ahmad Hudson, who is also committed to the LSU football program as a five-star tight end. With Alston's addition, LSU now holds the No. 2-ranked recruiting class for the 2027 cycle.
Alston is the first five-star high school recruit secured by head coach Will Wade since his return to LSU. The commitment signals a shift in Wade's roster-building strategy for the 2027-28 season, moving away from a heavy reliance on the transfer portal and international players that characterized the 2026-27 roster. Wade has previously described his current roster as "unconventional," with several players pursuing a fifth year of eligibility through legal channels.
According to 247Sports Director of Scouting, Alston "can consistently create offense for himself and his teammates." The evaluation highlights his adequate positional size and length, deceptive strength and balance through contact, good open-floor speed, sneaky leaping ability, and underrated on-ball defense capable of picking up full-court.
Alston's commitment follows other high-profile decisions in the 2027 class this week, including four-star forward Asa Montgomery committing to Duke and five-star center Lewis Uvwo committing to Providence, becoming the highest-ranked player in the cycle to commit so far.
In a separate CBS Sports report analyzing the name, image, and likeness (NIL) landscape in college basketball, LSU was placed in Tier 3 with a budget range of $15.1 million to $17.5 million. That tier also includes Miami, Arizona, USC, Michigan State, and SEC rivals Missouri, Auburn, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.
