Maryland Basketball: Noah Locke cuts list to eight schools

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins reacts against the Richmond Spiders in the first half during the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 25, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins reacts against the Richmond Spiders in the first half during the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 25, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Noah Locke is one of the top players in the country in the 2018 class.

On Tuesday, Locke cut his list to eight schools with Maryland making the cut. The McDonogh School (Md.) guard also included Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio State, Providence, Virginia, and Xavier on his latest list.

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, the McDonogh School standout is rated as the No. 76 prospect and the No. 14 point guard in the 2018 class. In addition, Locke is tabbed as the third-best recruit in Maryland behind Immanuel Quickley and Terrapin commit Jalen Smith.

Locke received an offer from Maryland in May and most recently was offered by Ohio State on July 24.

According to InsideMDSports, Locke has visited five of the eight schools with Florida, Kansas, and Ohio State being the only ones that he hasn’t seen. He plans to visit College Park in August or September and is expected to make a decision in the fall.

Kansas currently owns three of the five Crystal Ball predictions for Locke’s services. Michigan and Providence each own one apiece.

Coach Mark Turgeon clearly values Locke and the point guard position in this class. Most recently, Turgeon offered rising three-star point guard James Akinjo last month after a strong performance at Peach Jam.

Maryland does already have a pair of highly-touted recruits committed to the program in Smith and North Carolina guard Aaron Wiggins. The stock on both players continues to rise after very successful summers on the AAU circuit.

Next: Terps drew favorable Big Ten slate

With Turgeon narrowing his focus in his search for a floor general, the pursuit of Locke could definitely be ramped up especially considering that he’s a local target.