By ALEJANDRO LOPEZ & SAM LANCE
Brady Pettigrew is emerging as one of the top players in the 2028 class.
This 6-foot-3 rising sophomore out of Bolingbrook (IL) spent the summer with Nike EYBL Meanstreets 15u working on his game. At Peach Jam, he averaged 9.4 points, 4.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds.
“It’s been great,” Pettigrew said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else besides Meanstreets. It’s a great program at every level. It’s not just 15s, 16s, 17s; it’s really a family. When we step on the court, it’s the best feeling, win or lose. I’m with them forever.”
Even at a young age, Pettigrew has grown into a leadership role amongst his peers.
“I can bring a team together,” he said. “When things are down, that’s when you gotta be the tightest, so I got to bring them together. Win or lose, it’s on me; the losses are on me, and the wins are on the team and that’s kind of the role that I took on as a leader.”
The 2028 guard took part in the Nike Elite 100 camp in June alongside some of the best rising sophomore and junior prospects.
“It was big for me,” he said. “You know, walking in there, being one of the younger guys. There weren’t many 2028s. I was looking to learn, but I came in, and I got hot. I had a good 30-point performance. I was shooting it well. It was a good camp for me. There were a lot of eyes, too.”
Class of 2028 guard Brady Pettigrew has been phenomenal here @NikeEYB Elite 100 Camp.
He’s often been the best player on the floor in a camp full of five-star 2027 talent. Bright future ahead.
Has offers from Illinois, Nevada, Valpo, Western Illinois, NIU, Penn St. pic.twitter.com/U4zfsJHTtx
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) June 19, 2025
For a player only going into his sophomore year of high school, Pettigrew has built a long list of offers from schools eager to bring him in to play at the next level. The 6-foot-3 guard has offers from Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Murray State, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Penn State and Western Illinois. He has been on campus at Michigan and Michigan State.
Here’s how he broke down his thoughts of some of those schools so far:
Illinois: “They’re almost at all my games. They might not know, but that sticks out to me and jumping on my recruiting early also means a lot to me. They were one of the first big schools to offer me. I’m definitely never going to forget that. They’ve been kind of around my school, watching other people like Davion [Thompson], obviously my brother JT. But ever since they saw me from watching Davion and JT, I caught their eye. They’ve been with me ever since.”
Missouri: “Missouri, they’re kind of new to me. I don’t know any of the coaches yet, but I know they have a great history. It’s a great program. But I also know that they have a coaching staff with great game plans every game. I watch their school on TV a lot too, some of their March Madness performances. But I know they had some good guard play. People my size, too, came out of there. They have a good career. I look into that stuff too. Like, who’s been there? How’d it go for them and all that stuff.”
Florida: “It was amazing. I was at that game after USA camp, watching the Final Four and all that. Watching them play it kind of stood out, matched my style, because it was kind of like a zoned in defense. Like, you got to be able to guard somebody if you want to play there. You got to be tough. It fits my style. They’ve had some really good players, obviously, so that’s definitely a school I am looking at.”
Penn State: “Both my parents went there. My mom played volleyball and my dad played basketball and football there. So, we kind of had our connections there, and they’ve been watching me for a good minute. And you know, they’re a great school in general. It goes on more than basketball, you know, their grades. The school is amazing. After basketball, that school can really help you with what you’re going to do after.”
Michigan State: “The environment was crazy. I remember I was out there, I think it was called the crazy night [MSU Madness], or whatever, but yeah, it was crazy. They had people come in for visits, which I would too if I were the coach, because that environment is almost like no other. I mean some people were sitting on top of each other. That’s how bad they wanted to be there.”
He plans to take visits to Illinois and Penn State soon and is considering revisiting Michigan and Michigan State. He values what schools have to offer off the court as much as he does what they offer on the court.
“The ball’s going to have to stop bouncing at some point,” Pettigrew told ZAGSBLOG. “So I want to make sure that I have my life set after basketball and then on the basketball side, I just want to win, you know? I don’t care how I got to do it, I just want to go to a winning program because if you can put on a great performance, then lose, you know, I’m not saying it doesn’t matter, but the goal is to win.”
Pettigrew is a standout guard for the 2028 recruiting class and ranked No. 15 overall by ESPN. He enjoys playing board games with his family and juggling.
The Pettigrew family consists of multiple athletes. The five-star’s mother, Bonnie, was an All-American and Big Ten POTY as a volleyball player at Penn State. His father, Titcus, played basketball and football for the Nittany Lions. His older brother, Trey, played college hoops for Nevada, Bradley and Eastern Michigan, and his other elder brother, JT, is entering his freshman season at Valparaiso.
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