Duke has lost one of its top recruits ahead of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season.

Five-star forward Shelton Henderson decommitted from the Blue Devils this week. Henderson is the No. 12 player in the country according to Rivals and the No. 4 small forward in the country. The Texas native was part of what had been Rivals’ No. 1 recruiting class along with three other players.

Advertisement

Henderson originally committed to Duke in early November and signed his letter of intent with the school less than two weeks later. But he’s now been released from that NLI and is back on the market.

He immediately becomes the No. 2 player available in the 2025 recruiting class. The top uncommitted player available is Nate Ament, the No. 4 player in the country and the No. 2 small forward. The top small forward in this recruiting class is No. 1 overall recruit A.J. Dybantsa. He’s committed to BYU and is considered a possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Henderson’s change of heart comes the same week that Kon Knueppel announced he was heading to the NBA Draft. Knueppel is considered a likely lottery pick in 2025. Duke star Cooper Flagg is widely expected to declare for the 2025 draft soon — he’s the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick — and big man Khaman Maluach could also declare after one season. Maluach is also a potential lottery pick.

With Henderson out of the picture, Duke now has the No. 3 recruiting class in the country behind Arizona and Houston. The Blue Devils still have five-star power forward Cameron Boozer and his four-star twin brother Cayden. They are the sons of former Duke star Carlos Boozer. Duke’s class also includes four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia. He, like the Boozers, signed with Duke in October.

Advertisement

Arizona has the top class with three five-star recruits. The Wildcats have Dwayne Aristode, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat arriving ahead of next season and have also secured the commitment of three-star guard Bryce James, the son of LeBron James.

Houston, which beat Duke in the Final Four after the Blue Devils collapsed in the final 86 seconds, has commitments from five-star forward Chris Cenac Jr. and five-star guard Isiah Harwell.