Will Wade lands his first high school commit in his second tenure coaching at Louisiana State University (LSU) on Thursday:
By: Ross Van De Griek
Jordan Bender, A 6-foot-8 senior power forward, has made his college commitment, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Bender will play his collegiate basketball career in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as he will be committing to LSU. He played his high school days under National Champion and National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Marreese Speights at Northside Christian School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Jordan is the son of Brandon Bender, who played at the University of Louisville during the 2001-2002 season before finishing his collegiate career at Robert Morris University during the 2003-2004 season, as well as winning the Mr. Kentucky Boys Basketball Player of the Year when he was in high school.
Wade is in his second tenure with the Tigers after spending one season at NC State, where he led the Wolfpack to a 20-14 record before their season came to an end in the First Four at the NCAA Tournament. Wade’s first stint as the head coach of LSU men’s basketball lasted five seasons, from 2017 to 2022. He compiled a 105-51 overall record, leading the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Southeastern Conference regular-season championship in 2019.
Before the addition of Bender, LSU was ranked 14th in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in recruiting, where they are heavily leaning on G-League players and overseas talent for the 2026-2027 season in Wade’s return to Baton Rouge.
LSU relied heavily on the Transfer Portal this recruiting cycle, where they landed four-star point guard Austin Nunez (UT-San Antonio), four-star shooting guard Abdi Bashir Jr. (Kansas State), three-star point guard Divine Ugochukwu (Michigan State), and three-star power forward Mohammed Dioubate (Kentucky).
The Tigers also landed 6-foot-8 power forward Marcio Santos, who played professionally in Spain, 6-foot-7 small forward RJ Luis Jr., who was originally a St. John’s University commit, and 6-foot-6 small forward Saliou Niang, who played professionally in Italy.
During his senior season at Northside Christian, Bender averaged 7.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 53% from the field and 60% from the free-throw line in 30 games played. The Mustangs finished with a 19-12 record during the 2025-2026 season and made their first Final Four appearance in school history before their season came to an end against eventual Class 2A champion Providence in the semifinals.
Ross Van De Griek has been a Southeast Region Scout for On The Radar Hoops since 2024 and has been the Owner/Founder of Southeast Hoops Report since June 2026. You can follow along with his work on X (@SEHoopsReport), Instagram (sehoopsreport), and Facebook (@sehoopsreport).