Class of 2016 forward Taurean Thompson committed to Syracuse on Friday afternoon, his high school coach, Jason Smith, confirmed to The Daily Orange. Mike Waters of Syracuse.com first reported the news. After a long recruiting process that stretched into July, Thompson chose SU over his other two finalists, Michigan State and Seton Hall.

The Brewster (New Hampshire) Academy forward visited Syracuse during a big weekend in early May that included Matthew Moyer, John Gillon and other 2017 recruits. He is ranked as the 75th best player in his class by ESPN, 75th by 247Sports.com and 85th by Scout.com. All three sites peg him as a four-star talent.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound Thompson is Syracuse’s third commit from the 2016 class, joining guard Tyus Battle and fellow forward Moyer. The Orange will be look much different this season without its top three scorers, losing wing Malachi Richardson to the NBA Draft and graduating stalwart guards Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije.

There will be five fresh faces this season to fill the dearth of returning scoring. Center g from Providence is eligible coming off his redshirt season, fifth-year senior Gillon transferred in from Colorado State and the team added Moyer, Battle and Thompson.

The addition bolsters a frontcourt that lost transfer Chinonso Obokoh, but not much else. The Orange returns seniors Tyler Roberson and DaJuan Coleman as well as sophomore Tyler Lydon. Those three played the bulk of the minutes at power forward and center last season.

SU has two scholarships open for the 2016-17 season. Former Kansas and Nebraska guard Andrew White III visited SU on Friday.

Syracuse had another 2016 offer open to 7-foot Turkish center Omer Yurtseven, but the star who once scored 92 points in a single game picked in-conference foe North Carolina State.

Here’s a graphical breakdown of the Syracuse scholarship situation.

Published on July 1, 2016 at 4:07 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR