5-star forward Asa Montgomery cancels official visit to Arizona

October has not been kind to Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats when it comes to recruiting the 2027 class.

First the Wildcats missed out on two frontcourt targets - 5-star Darius Wabbington and 4-star Kamsi Awaka - both who attended the team's Red-Blue Showcase. Wabbington, a Phoenix native, picked Indiana, while Awaka picked Florida over the program that turned his brother Tobe into an elite role player.

Now the team misses out on another 5-star talent in Asa Montgomery, who was set to take his official visit to Tucson this weekend before cancelling on both Arizona and Louisville, per a report from Joe Tipton of On3.

Montgomery's path

Montgomery is a 5-star small forward from Georgia who ranks No. 8 in the class according to 247Sports' composite rankings. Arizona offered him in late July, but he's never been considered a strong candidate to play for the Wildcats - which eases the sting for Arizona's coaching staff and fanbase.

The 6'7 forward took official visits to LSU, Georgia Tech, UConn, North Carolina, and most recently Duke - which has many believing he'll end up joining Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils for 2027-28.

With a 6'10 wingspan and explosive verticality, Montgomery is still pretty raw - not surprising for someone who won't turn 18 until July.

While missing on a 5-star forward with extreme upside is never fun, it's made worse for Arizona in the midst of a series of losses on the recruiting trail.

Another miss for Lloyd

So far the Wildcats do not have a single commitment in the 2027 recruiting class, despite seven offers and multiple official visits. Four of the seven players are already committed - Wabbington (Indiana), Awaka (Florida), NaVorro Bowman (UConn), and Jason Gardner (Auburn) - while Montgomery, Cherif Millogo, and Adan Diggs make up the final three.

WIth Montgomery out of the picture the Wildcats are expected to put on a full court press for Diggs, a 5-star combo guard from Arizona, and Millogo, a 7'4 4-star center from California.

Diggs took an official visit to Arizona for the Red-Blue Showcase in late September, and many recruiting outlets believe the Wildcats are the team to beat for the Millenium high school star. However, Diggs recently wrapped up an official visit with coach John Calipari at Arkansas last weekend, and is set to visit Mark Pope at Kentucky the weekend of Oct. 22.

Meanwhile Millogo is Arizona's last hope at landing one of the premier big men in the 2027 class, after missing on Wabbington and Awaka. Standing 7'4 and ranked No. 36 at 247Sports, Millogo has only one official visit recorded - to Kentucky last weekend - despite offers from big time programs like Arkansas, Alabama, BYU, North Carolina, and USC, among others.

Landing Diggs or Millogo - or both - would go a long way toward easing concern from the fans about this recruiting class. It's worth remembering that Koa Peat (March) and Brayden Burries (April) both committed very late in 2025, while Caleb Holt (March) had similar timing this year as well.

Arizona takes the floor on Friday, Oct. 16 in a home exhibition battle with San Diego State. The game will tip at 7:00 PM MST and is set to broadcast on ESPN+.