Pitt makes top three of four-star point guard Sean Jones

After Jeff Capel and the Pitt coaching staff landed a commitment from four-star shooting guard Judah Mintz on June 18, there was a lull on the recruiting trail. But on Friday, Pitt made progress in its efforts to recruit Sean Jones, a point guard out of Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio, as Jones placed Pitt in his top three along with Marquette and Xavier.

The 5’10”, 170-pound playmaker holds a four-star rating from ESPN, which ranks him as the No. 91 recruit in the 2022 class as well as the No. 16 point guard and the No. 3 prospect in Ohio. However, Rivals and 247Sports consider Jones a three-star recruit, and while Rivals has declined to rank him, 247Sports considers him the No. 142 overall, the No. 21 point guard and the No. 3 recruit in the Buckeye State.

Jones has drawn a total of 19 offers over the course of his recruitment, and some of the most notable programs cut from contention included Cincinnati, Duquesne, Houston, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Ohio, Penn State, VCU, Virginia Tech and Wichita State. Pitt’s ACC rival Virginia Tech was thought to be a strong contender for Jones after hosting him for an official visit in Blacksburg on June 4. However, it appears the Hokies fell short.

As for Pitt, the program offered Jones on May 4, the same day as Virginia Tech, and hosted him for an unofficial visit on June 1. The recruit responded enthusiastically to his time in Pittsburgh and said at the time that he would be back for an official visit. Pitt is also more established with Jones than Marquette, which offered on May 28. But Marquette hosted him for an official visit on June 26, and Xavier, the in-state program that offered him more than a year ago, is considered a favorite by some.

During the 2020-21 season, Jones averaged 16.0 points per game as the star of a Lincoln Golden Lions team that went 19-3 and finished first in the Ohio Capital league. For his efforts, he earned first-team all-state honors. And as a sophomore in the 2019-20 season, Jones posted a personal-best 18.2 points per game, topping a freshman mark of 13.5 to bring his career average to a solid 15.9.

More recently, Jones took the court for All Ohio Red at Peach Jam, and although his team went 2-5, Jones performed well individually. Taking part in five of the team’s seven games, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. His best showing was a 19-point, seven-assist performance in a 64-62 win over Bates Fundamentals in which he went 8-for-17 from the field.

Should Pitt eventually land the coveted point guard, Capel would have an impressive complement to Mintz in the Pitt backcourt. However, at this point, it is unclear how strong a contender Pitt is in his recruitment, and with Jones yet to set a decision date, it is unclear when he will announce his commitment.