Duke enters early recruiting window with contact to 2028 guard Brady Pettigrew

Duke basketball has made another recruiting reach toward the Class of 2028. Yahoo Sports reported that on Thursday, Bolingbrook High School (Illinois) five-star guard Brady Pettigrew said he heard from Duke, with the message coming from the program’s staff led by head coach Jon Scheyer.

The timing matters because of the rules around when college coaches can make direct contact with prospective players. Yahoo Sports noted that Monday marked the first day college coaches were permitted to directly contact rising high school juniors. In that context, Duke’s contact with Pettigrew represents an early-stage push during a period designed to help juniors remain on a recruiting timetable that begins well before the senior year.

Pettigrew, who plays guard for Bolingbrook High School, is the kind of prospect that tends to draw attention from national programs. In the report, Pettigrew told League Ready’s Sam Kayser that Duke had contacted him, which confirms that Duke has moved from evaluation into outreach with at least one high-end target in the class.

For Duke, recruiting is often about building multi-year roster flexibility. Contact at this stage suggests the Blue Devils are working to shape a pipeline rather than simply fill immediate needs after rosters solidify. Scheyer’s staff has continued to emphasize keeping the program’s recruiting reach wide, and an additional five-star guard report fits the idea of developing options at the most rotation-dependent spots on the floor.

The Class of 2028 picture also gives Duke a long runway. Even with the first legal contact day already passed, the recruiting process still typically involves follow-up conversations, unofficial and official visits, and ongoing evaluation. What can change quickly is priority order, because programs often contact multiple elite players once windows open and then narrow focus based on fit, interest, and recruiting momentum.

For Pettigrew, Duke’s outreach places the Blue Devils among the teams in the early conversation. At this point, however, the report does not indicate a commitment, a scheduled visit, or any formal next step beyond the initial contact. That means the next phase to watch is whether Duke’s communication leads to a longer recruitment with additional milestones that prospect and program both make public.