Less than six months after taking the helm, George Mason Head Coach Kim English pulled off a stunning recruiting coup with the commitment of four-star consensus top 100 prospect Justyn Fernandez. Mason defeated an impressive list of high-major suitors including Florida, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Tennessee, Clemson, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia, and many others. As you can imagine, the news garnered national attention. Here’s how the national media reacted:
ESPN 100 prospect Justyn Fernandez commits to George Mason. Huge pickup for Kim English and the Patriots. Beat out Florida and others. Highest-ranked commit for George Mason since it joined the Atlantic 10. https://t.co/7IVMDyojFz
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) September 17, 2021
Fernandez is an enormous get for George Mason. Four-star, top-100 guy with offers from Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Texas A&M and plenty other high majors. https://t.co/yVb7XGBau2
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) September 17, 2021
ESPN 💯 wing Justyn Fernandez committed to George Mason.
Absolutely huge for first year Mason head coach Kim English. pic.twitter.com/IrOga3PlPV
— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) September 17, 2021
ESPN Top-100 recruit Justyn Fernandez has committed to George Mason..HUGE get for new coach Kim English
Highest rated recruit for George Mason since they joined @atlantic10
pic.twitter.com/sX4bx9xlNH— Barstool Bench Mob (@stoolbenchmob) September 17, 2021
Kim English dips his toes in the 2022 #Rivals150 and comes away with Justyn Fernandez@RivalsHoops breaks down what this means for George Mason
FULL Story 👉 https://t.co/p14gdFwr7T pic.twitter.com/BTMj2vaCK2
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) September 17, 2021
Justyn Fernandez’s commitment to George Mason is a huge win for the new George Mason staff.
He’s the highest ranked recruit in 10 years and their second highest ranked commitment in the modern recruiting service era.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) September 17, 2021
George Mason beat out the likes of Florida, Tennessee and Clemson to land a top-100 player. Fairly impressive. Kim English trying to turn around George Mason in the A-10 as quickly as Eric Musselman did with Arkansas in the SEC. https://t.co/GSxniTo0xn
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) September 17, 2021
And finally, the best call and response of the night:
Love you, Kev. We ain’t Mid Major!
— Kim English (@Englishscope24) September 17, 2021
With two local stars in their first full-cycle recruiting class, Coach English and staff have put the A10 and the DMV on notice. The college basketball world is paying attention.
