ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – An already stellar recruiting class for St. Bonaventure just got even better. Osun Osunniyi, a 6-10 center from Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, has accepted an athletics grant-in-aid to attend St. Bonaventure University and join the Bonnies men’s basketball program, Osunniyi and Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt announced Monday.
Osunniyi, who will join former Putnam teammate and fellow incoming recruit Kyle Lofton at St. Bonaventure, is the sixth student-athlete to commit to the Bonnies this spring and the fourth member of a talented freshman class along with Lofton, a point guard, swingman Dominick Welch and guard Alpha Okoli. The Bonnies will also welcome a pair of juniors – guard Jalen Poyser, who transferred from UNLV, and forward Melkisedek Moreaux, a junior college transfer. Bobby Planutis, a 6-8 sophomore forward, announced his intention to transfer to St. Bonaventure from Mount St. Mary’s as well and will not be eligible until the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
This year, Osunniyi helped Putnam win the first national prep championship in school history. Led by Osunniyi’s 27 points and 12 rebounds, Putnam earned the title with a 74-66 overtime win over Northfield Mount Hermon. Osunniyi was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
The Mustangs finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 38-4, including a school record 24-game win streak. For the year, Osunniyi averaged 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots per game. He made 57 percent of his shots overall. He made the first team All-Great Atlantic Conference and the All-New England second team.
Osunniyi was ranked third in the most recent state of Connecticut prep school rankings released by New England Recruiting Report and 18th overall in the New England Class of 2018.
Osunniyi graduated from Mainland High School in Linwood, N.J., in 2017. There, he averaged 14.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game his senior season. Linwood is located near the New Jersey shore, between Atlantic City and Ocean City.
This spring, Osunniyi also held offers from Syracuse and Georgetown.
“Osun oozes with potential. His ceiling is extremely high. He has so much God-given ability. And, he’s a great kid, a character kid who is level-headed,” Schmidt said. “He has a great wingspan, he runs well, he has a natural talent for blocking shots and is a very good rebounder. He can score around the basket. Osun wants to get better, like all of our players. We saw how he developed at Putnam, which is a credit to coach Espinosa and the staff there. He’s come a long way to become a kid who was highly recruited. We’re thrilled to have him come to St. Bonaventure.”
Osunniyi will join a St. Bonaventure program that has won at least 20 games the last three years, topped by a school record 26 wins this past season, when the Bonnies advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.