Pitt commit Judah Mintz rises in Rivals 150 rankings

Recruiting website Rivals released updated rankings for the 2022 class on Wednesday, and Pitt commit Judah Mintz got a significant bump, moving from No. 103 in the class to No. 68. The 35-spot rise signifies a major jump, as only 15 players in the Rivals 150, or 10 percent, moved up 35 or more spots.

Mintz’s meteoric rise in rank can likely be attributed to his impressive showing at Peach Jam in July. During the Nike EYBL event, Mintz led Team Durant to a 9-2 record, averaging 18.2 points, 2.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.0 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from long range.

The No. 68 ranking makes Mintz the highest-ranked recruit of Pitt head coach Jeff Capel’s tenure with the program. Previously, the highest-ranked recruit was John Hugley, who came in at No. 80 in the 2020 class, and William Jeffress was close behind him the same year at No. 82. Trey McGowens was the only other Pitt recruit of Capel’s to crack the Rivals top 100, as he was No. 83 in 2018.

Also featured in the updated 2022 rankings are Dominick Barlow and Ryan Dunn. Barlow is a four-star small forward who visited Pitt on June 23. After going unranked in the last Rivals rankings, he shot up ahead of Mintz to No. 61. And Dunn, who was also previously unranked, now sits at No. 112. He recently placed Pitt in his top eight and is set to visit the school on Aug. 27. Barlow and Dunn are major targets Capel would like to add to Pitt’s 2022 recruiting class alongside Mintz, and at the moment, it seems there’s a chance that could happen.

There are also a few familiar names in the rankings that Capel previously pursued but failed to land, such as Duke commit Kyle Filipowski, who jumped from No. 48 to No. 5; Indiana commit Jalen Hood-Schifino, who went from No. 32 to No. 20; and Kansas commit M.J. Rice, who went from No. 28 to No. 23.

The upward trajectory of Filipowski, Hood-Schifino, Rice, Mintz, Barlow and Dunn speaks to Capel's eye for talent, as his interest in them preceded their blue-chip status. But the question now is if Capel will be able to use his vision to build around Mintz and assemble a 2022 class that could change Pitt's fortunes.