**BREAKING: Duke Lands Massive Coup – No. 12 Overall Prospect Sebastian Wilkins Commits AND Reclassifies to 2025**
*By Grok Sports Desk*
*November 29, 2025 – 4:17 p.m. ET*
DURHAM, N.C. – In a seismic Black Friday weekend bombshell that has rocked the recruiting world, Sebastian Wilkins, the 6-foot-8, 215-pound combo forward from Montverde Academy (Fla.) and widely regarded as a top-12 national prospect in the class of 2026, has committed to Duke University and will immediately reclassify into the 2025 cycle. The five-star talent will enroll at Duke in January and be eligible to play the second semester of the 2025-26 season.
Sources confirmed to Grok Sports moments ago that Wilkins informed Jon Scheyer’s staff of his decision late Friday night after a whirlwind 48-hour official visit to campus that included the Blue Devils’ 89-72 demolition of Kansas in the Vegas Showdown championship game. Wilkins, wearing a Duke hoodie, was shown on the ESPN broadcast sitting courtside next to Cooper Flagg and Duke legend JJ Redick, a moment that instantly sent recruiting Twitter into meltdown.
“I’m shutting it down. I’m a Blue Devil,” Wilkins posted on Instagram at 3:52 p.m. ET, alongside a photoshopped image of himself in a No. 1 Duke jersey dunking over the Cameron Crazies. “Reclassifying to 2025. See y’all in January. #Brotherhood.”
The commitment ends one of the most fiercely contested recruitments of the past 18 months. Wilkins, a Bronx, N.Y. native who transferred to Montverde as a sophomore, had narrowed his list to Duke, Kansas, UConn, Kentucky, and Arkansas in late October. He took officials to all five schools this fall, with Arkansas (John Calipari) and Kansas (Bill Self) considered the co-frontrunners as recently as last week.
Multiple sources told Grok Sports that Duke’s pitch centered on three pillars: immediate playing time alongside Cooper Flagg in a twin-towers frontcourt, the chance to be the centerpiece of the 2026 recruiting class (now accelerated), and the program’s unmatched track record of one-and-done wings who play multiple positions. Scheyer, associate head coach Chris Carrawell, and assistant Jai Lucas reportedly flew to Orlando on November 20 for an in-home visit and left with Wilkins telling them, “I’m 80% in if I can reclass.”
Wilkins is ranked No. 12 in the 247Sports Composite for 2026, the No. 3 small forward, and the No. 1 player in New York. At 6-8 with a 7-1 wingspan, he is a modern positionless forward who can initiate offense, guard 1-through-5 in switch-heavy schemes, and finish above the rim in transition. This season at Montverde, he is averaging 19.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.9 blocks while shooting 41% from three on 6.2 attempts per game. He dropped 31 points and 12 rebounds against Flagg’s old squad, Link Academy, two weeks ago in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
The reclassification move was made possible after Wilkins completed a full slate of required coursework through Stanford Online High School this fall and will graduate in December. Duke has already secured a scholarship spot for mid-year enrollment after graduate transfer Malik Dia exhausted eligibility and freshman Isaiah Evans redshirted with a foot injury.
Impact on Duke’s 2025-26 Roster
With Wilkins now in the fold, Duke’s projected starting five suddenly looks terrifying:
– PG Tyrese Proctor (Jr)
– SG Kon Knueppel (So)
– SF Cooper Flagg (So) – projected top-3 NBA Draft pick
– PF Sebastian Wilkins (Fr)
– C Khaman Maluach (So) – 7-2 center
Bench: Caleb Foster, Darren Harris, Isaiah Evans (RS-Fr), and incoming five-star point guard Cayden Boozer.
Multiple NBA scouts in Vegas told Grok Sports this weekend that a Flagg-Wilkins frontcourt duo could be the most talented pairing at Duke since Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2018-19.
Reaction Across the Sport
– Bill Self, Kansas: “We fought like hell for Seb. Duke got a great one. He and Flagg together… good luck to the rest of college basketball.”
– John Calipari, Arkansas: Posted a single broken-heart emoji on X, then deleted it 11 minutes later.
– Dan Hurley, UConn: “Congrats to Duke. That’s a scary, scary team they’re building.”
– Cooper Flagg on the ESPN postgame set: “Seb text me last night, ‘I’m coming, bro.’ I’m not gonna lie, I started smiling like an idiot. We about to be a problem.”
Recruiting Ripple Effects
Wilkins’ decision delivers a gut punch to the 2026 class landscape. He was the anchor of a group that included Nate Ament, Caleb Holt, and Brandon McCoy Jr. Multiple analysts now project Duke to leap into the top three for both Ament (No. 2) and Holt (No. 6) in 2026, with sources saying Wilkins personally called both recruits this afternoon to begin peer recruiting.
For Kansas, the loss stings doubly: Wilkins was their top remaining target after missing on Flagg (2024) and Knueppel (2024). Kentucky falls to 0-4 on top-15 targets this cycle.
The Cameron Crazies have already begun planning “Wilkins Watch” countdown banners for his January arrival. Duke’s first home game after the holiday break is January 6 against Pittsburgh – expect a white-out and a deafening ovation when the newest Blue Devil checks in for the first time.
In an era when top prospects rarely reclassify upward anymore, Sebastian Wilkins just reminded everyone why Duke remains the ultimate destination when the stars align.
Welcome to Durham, Seb. The brotherhood just got stronger.
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