Duke leads Crystal Ball for basketball recruit Trevor Keels

The brief swing toward Villanova in the recruitment of five-star shooting guard Trevor Keels appears to be headed back in the other direction.

Duke has re-emerged as the favorite for Keels in recent days, retaking Villanova on his Crystal Ball page less than two weeks before a college commitment is expected to be revealed.

Keels — a 6-foot-5 prospect from the Washington, D.C. area — has narrowed his choices to Duke, Kentucky, Villanova and Virginia, and he recently set a college announcement date for April 4.

Duke had long been seen as a possible favorite in Keels’ recruitment, but a trio of Blue Devils recruiting insiders switched their Crystal Ball predictions from Duke to Villanova earlier this month, sparking speculation that the blue-blood program had fallen behind in the race for a commitment.

Two of those Duke insiders have since switched their picks back to Duke, and the Blue Devils picked up an additional prediction from 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham on Tuesday night. 247Sports lead analyst Eric Bossi has also stuck with his pick from last month in Duke’s favor.

Kentucky has never been seen as a frontrunner in national circles. The Wildcats, who are still looking for backcourt help for next season, did not extend a scholarship offer to Keels until last month, long after the other three finalists in his recruitment.

Keels is the No. 20 overall recruit in the 2021 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He averaged 28.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 3.8 steals per game this past season for a nationally ranked high school team, earning Virginia player of the year honors from MaxPreps.com.

Kentucky is actively recruiting two other five-star guards from the 2021 class, but Jaden Hardy appears to be leaning toward a pro career straight out of high school, and Hunter Sallis is expected to pick Gonzaga when he makes his college announcement Friday.