Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Top recruit Caleb Grill de-commits from South Dakota State; UNLV potential destination

T.J. Otzelberger introduced at UNLV

Steve Marcus

T.J. Otzelberger, UNLV’s new men’s basketball head coach pumps his fist during a news conference at the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday, March 28, 2019.

Updated Friday, March 29, 2019 | 9:11 p.m.

T.J. Otzelberger’s first recruiting target at UNLV may have just presented itself, as 3-star guard Caleb Grill was granted a release from his letter of intent to South Dakota State on Friday.

Grill, a 6-foot-3 sharpshooter from Kansas, was the highest-rated recruit to commit to South Dakota State when he pledged in August 2018. But in the wake of Otzelberger’s departure for UNLV, Grill announced that he plans to reopen his recruitment:

Grill told the Sun that his relationship with Otzelberger was so strong that it made sense to reassess his commitment to South Dakota State when the coach left. 

"Once T.J. left South Dakota State, it was right away," Grill said. "I knew I wanted to reopen my recruitment and go through the process again, because when I committed with T.J. being there I felt 100-percent confident. With T.J. leaving, it's a lot different. I wanted to open it up again and see the other options. If South Dakota State still happens to be the best fit, I can still go back to that."

While South Dakota State remains an option, Grill said UNLV will most definitely be on his list if Otzelberger wants to recruit him again. 

"If that was to happen, it would be a really cool thing to follow T.J. to Las Vegas," Grill said. "It's going through my mind."

Grill only took one official visit during his original recruitment — his trip to South Dakota State. That means he can still take up to four officials this time around, though he doesn't have any scheduled yet. He said there is currently no timeline for his decision. 

Does Grill's availability now make him a top priority for Otzelberger as the 41-year-old coach begins to build his version of the Runnin’ Rebels? At his introductory press conference on Thursday, Otzelberger said he advised his former South Dakota State players and recruits to honor their commitments to the school. But now that Grill has reopened his recruitment, UNLV appears to make sense as a destination.

Grill scored 18.3 points per game as a senior at Maize High School and also averaged 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals. He ended his prep career as the school’s all-time leader in scoring and 3-point field goals (173), and his outside shooting would make him a style fit in Otzelberger’s up-tempo offensive system.

When he originally committed to South Dakota State, Grill had offers from schools such as Texas Tech, Nebraska, Washington State and Colorado State.

Grill said his relationship with his prospective head coach will be the most important factor in his decision, which should bode well for the Rebels if Otzelberger decides to pursue Grill again. 

"I think that's the top priority," Grill said. "When I was picking my school the first time that was my No. 1 priority. Moving forward, I hope me and T.J. can continue to build on that great relationship."

Chris Grill, Caleb's father and high-school coach, said his son and Otzelberger still have a strong connection, and that if the coach were to pitch them on UNLV, they'd be willing to listen.

“A big reason he chose South Dakota State over some of the other schools is he developed a great relationship with T.J.,” Chris Grill said, “and T.J. was someone he wanted to learn from. That relationship is still pretty strong. I think it’s a possibility. Las Vegas is quite a ways away, but you can get pretty good flights from Wichita.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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