5-star Duke signee requests release from letter of intent

5-star Duke signee Mackenzie Mgbako has requested his release from his National Letter of Intent, according to a report.

On3’s Joe Tipton was 1st to report that news on Tuesday morning. The report comes less than an hour after Duke forward Kyle Filipowski announced his return

for the 2023-24 season.

Mgbako is a significant loss for the Blue Devils. He was Duke’s top-ranked commitment in the class of 2023. He’s currently ranked as the No. 7 overall player in the country, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

However, Duke’s future at the forward position still looks very bright. With Filipowski and Mark Mitchell set to return next season, the Blue Devils will have an experienced and vaunted front court again in 2023-24. Duke also still has a pair of 5-star power forwards expected to join the program this summer: Sean Stewart and TJ Power.

Mgbako is now the top uncommitted player nationally, per 247Sports Composite rankings. Prior to committing to Duke, he had offers from programs like Kentucky, UConn and Ohio State, amongst others.

Even with Mgbako’s departure, Duke is still expected to hold on to the No. 2 recruiting class nationally, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Jon Scheyer and his staff will have a quartet of 5

-star freshmen incoming: Stewart, Power, Caleb Foster and Jared McCain.