Pitt commit Jalen Hood-Schifino announces transfer to Montverde Academy

Pitt commit Jalen Hood-Schifino is on the move for the third time in his high school career, as he announced on Wednesday that he will transfer from Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.

The 6’4”, 185-pound combo guard split his upbringing between the Pittsburgh and Charlotte areas, spending his early years in Penn Hills before settling in the Tar Heel State in 2016. Since then, he has played for Northside Christian School, where he averaged 13.0 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds as a freshman, and Combine Academy, where he averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

At Montverde, Hood-Schifino will join a program with a rich history and an impressive alumni list, as the national powerhouse has produced NBA players R.J. Barrett, Joel Embiid, D’Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons. It is also a school that has sent a number of alums to Pitt in the past, as former Panthers point guard Marcus Carr and former Panthers center Peace Ilegomah finished their high school careers there under Eagles coach Kevin Boyle.

Pitt is currently in the process of bolstering its 2022 class and building around Hood-Schifino, as that year will be a pivotal one for the program. With Xavier Johnson likely on the way out after the 2021-22 season or sooner, Hood-Schifino figures to be the team’s floor general of the future, and Jeff Capel has offered fellow 2022 guards Mason Manning, Chance Westry and Justice Williams this week in the hope that they could complement the commit.

Hood-Schifino held a five-star rating when he committed to Pitt in December 2018. However, 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN all currently consider him a four-star prospect. All three of the recruiting websites rank him among the top 35 prospects in the 2022 class, with 247Sports ranking him No. 31, Rivals ranking him No. 24 and ESPN ranking him No. 34.