Bryant’s Jared Grasso has consistently been one of the most aggressive recruiters in the country and that has shown with this transfer portal cycle.
It’s been 34 days since the Bulldogs’ last game of the season, but Grasso has nearly doubled that number with points per game in the portal, bringing in 57.6 points per game to a first-year America East school. The players range from top 50 players in their high school class down to stars in his old league, the NEC.
“I think we’ve recruited a little bit differently than some programs have,” Grasso told Dan Steenkamer of Hoop Scoop Media, “For us, we’re trying to recruit the highest level of talent.”
That showed in the summer of 2020 as Grasso extended out 136 scholarships in one day. Yes, 136 in one day, and most of them were high-level guys. He could realistically only accept one or two, but if he got at least one of those 136 top prospects to commit to an NEC school, he was set.
Grasso has gotten some high-level players recently and that was shown as the Bulldogs made its first NCAA Tournament in school history. On this year’s team was the country’s leading scorer, Peter Kiss. Just like his coach, he was aggressive, scoring 25.2 points per game.
That aggressiveness hasn’t stopped for Grasso as he landed one of the top players in the transfer portal earlier this week in Memphis’ Earl Timberlake. Timberlake was one of the top players in his recruiting class, earning the 37th ranking. Before transferring to Memphis, he averaged 9.3 points per game for Miami in his freshman season.
Along with him, Grasso landed the face of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Saint Peter’s Doug Edert. Edert dropped 45 points in the big dance and is notable for not only his mustache but his NLI deal with Buffalo Wild Wings. Another add was one of the top players from the NEC in 2019-20, in St.Francis (NY)’s Chauncey Hawkins who averaged 16 points per game.
This won’t be the last time you hear about Jared Grasso and Bryant. With this cycle, he has made the Bulldogs a force to be reckoned with in their first year in the America East. Watch out Vermont!
