Stanford picked up a commitment from highly-coveted Class of 2023 prospect Kanaan Carlyle on Wednesday when he announced his commitment to the Cardinal live on CBS Sports HQ. Carlyle picked Stanford over Auburn, Baylor, Florida and Kansas. The 6-1 combo guard is ranked the No. 19 overall prospect in the class by 247Sports Composite rankings and becomes the program's fifth five-star commitment of the 247Sports era.
Carlyle is Stanford's first commitment of the 2023 class and catapults the Cardinal to sixth in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings for that cycle. Though the Cardinal have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014, that has not stopped sixth-year coach Jerod Haase from recruiting well. Under his direction, Stanford landed five-star small forward Ziaire Williams from the 2020 class and five-star small forward Harrison Ingram from the 2021 class.
Williams was taken with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies and Ingram is averaging 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Cardinal this season and could be a first-round pick in this year's draft.
Carlyle is a standout at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia, and seen as an offensive playmaker who can create his own shot or facilitate for others while also getting after opponents on the defensive end. He is teammates with four-star Ohio State commitment Bruce Thornton at Milton and also plays with three-star Class of 2022 small forward Kendall Campbell.
Here is the full evaluation of Carlyle from 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins, who compares Carlyle with former Baylor star Davion Mitchell.
Carlyle is a dynamic ball in hand player with terrific length for his size who can create scoring opportunities for himself on demand. He is simply wired to score from all three levels and never has seen a shot he does not like. His handle is as good and tight as anyone in the class and he can get by a defender with his speed and quickness. While he is primarily a scorer, he is terrific at making attacking plays off the dribble with his excellent handle and when the bucket opportunity does not present itself, he is more than willing to make the right find. What is better than his ability to score is his mindset. His mentality is elite as he is a tough and fierce competitor who is always in full attack mode. His constant aggression is what makes him positively productive. Defensively, he has the length and the foot speed to be elite and devastating on that side of the floor. A terrific two-way guard, Carlyle most certainly projects a reliable scorer who plays through most injuries and goes to war like each game is his last
