Acaden Lewis, the top available point guard in the 2025 class, told ESPN that he has committed to Villanova.
“The staff I ultimately had the most trust in was Nova,” Lewis told ESPN on Thursday. “We built a relationship since my sophomore year, when I first transferred to Sidwell. Kevin Willard and his staff were among the first high-major coaches to recruit me at Maryland. I have built a great relationship with them and have immense trust that I will thrive and they will let me be me.”
Lewis chose Villanova after also visiting St. John’s, Georgia and Miami. He was previously committed to Kentucky before electing to reopen his recruitment on April 10.
“I want to play, and I want the pressure on me and my teammates’ shoulders to navigate and step up to a challenge,” Lewis said. “Nova is a historic program built on winning, and I want to be a part of the revival.”
Washington D.C.’s Gatorade player of the year in 2024, the Sidwell Friends School product is ESPN’s No. 7-ranked point guard in the 2025 high school class. Considered one of the best pick-and-roll operators in the class, Lewis finished third in assists in the Nike EYBL last season with 6.1 per game, adding 16.7 points and 4.9 rebounds for Team Durant.
Lewis is a major addition for Villanova at a position of significant need. He joins transfers Devin Askew (Long Beach State), Bryce Lindsay (James Madison), Zion Stanford (Temple), Malachi Palmer (Maryland), Duke Brennan (Grand Canyon) and Braden Pierce (Maryland) as well as incoming freshman Nico Onyekwere. Villanova retained power forward Matthew Hodge, a four-star recruit in the 2024 high school class, who was forced to redshirt this past season due to academic ineligibility.
Eight players from last season’s roster entered the NCAA transfer portal, and the team’s top two scorers exhausted their eligibility in Eric Dixon and Wooga Poplar.
Willard took over as head coach of Villanova on March 30 after a successful season at Maryland that ended with a Sweet 16 loss to eventual national champions Florida. He replaced Kyle Neptune, who was fired after missing the NCAA tournament in his first three seasons.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.
