LSU gained it’s highest-profile recruit of the 2019 class so far as five-star power forward Trendon Watford signed with the Tigers on Monday, May 20. 
According to 247sports.com, Watford is the No. 17 overall player and No. 4 ranked power forward in the class. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Watford averaged close to 24 points and 12 rebounds as senior and was named Mr. Basketball in Alabama for the second straight year.
The Birmingham-native was long thought to be an LSU lean and coach Will Wade’s top priority in the class, but Watord’s situation was thrown in flux following Wade’s suspension. The suspension opened the door for Alabama, Memphis and Duke, but in the end, Watford decided to stick with LSU.
He’ll play a big part in helping replace freshman forward Naz Reid, who took part in the NBA combine and will likely to keep his name in the NBA draft.
Watford joins guard James Bishop and junior college transfer Charles Manning in LSU’s current class. Wade and his staff will still be looking to add more players even after the passing of the May 15 signing deadline. While recruits can no longer sign national letter of intents, they can sign scholarship agreements with the school of their choice.
The Tigers are likely to have more remaining scholarships depending on the decisions of six players who entered their names into the NBA draft, but the total number won’t be known officially until May 29.
Underclassmen can now go through workouts with teams, sign with agents and still retain their eligibility as long as requested an evaluation by the NBA’s undergraduate advisory committee. Players must announce their decision to return to school no later than 10 days after the combine and sever their relationship with agents.
A second rule change allows those who participated in the NBA combine and go undrafted to return to school as well. However, this rule change only applies to Reid and sophomore point guard Tremont Waters.