Jermaine Samuels Jr. to Villanova: Wildcats Land 4-Star Forward Prospect

The reigning national champion Villanova Wildcats strengthened their 2017 recruiting class in a big way Saturday by securing a commitment from forward Jermaine Samuels Jr.

Samuels announced his decision to play for Villanova with the following tweet:

The Weston, Massachusetts, native also had this to say regarding his choice:

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Samuels is a 4-star prospect and the No. 44 overall player, No. 9 small forward and No. 2 recruit from the state of Massachusetts in his class.

Several top programs were in hot pursuit of Samuels, but he chose Nova over Duke, UConn, Kansas and Indiana, among other highly touted schools, per 247Sports.

The Wildcats lost Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu from last year's title team, while Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins are set to enter their senior seasons.

Villanova has plenty of talent elsewhere on its roster, but with its top four scorers from 2015-16 out of the picture by the start of the 2017-18 campaign, it will need to reload from a talent perspective.

Head coach Jay Wright excels as a recruiter, and going out of state to land an elite talent such as Samuels is a big reason why the Wildcats are perennial title contenders.

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