‘It’s been surreal’: College hoops powers offer Sierra Vista 7-footer

Sierra Vista center Xavion Staton already had an impressive list of college offers before October, including Arizona State, Iowa, Texas A&M, Creighton and UNLV.

As Staton gets closer to starting the new high school season, the 7-foot junior has recently received another wave of offers from a handful of college basketball’s premier programs.

Staton, a three-star class of 2025 prospect by 247Sports, added notable offers from Kansas, Southern California, UCLA, Texas, Louisiana State and Auburn this month.

“I’ve been very ecstatic and excited that so many schools want me,” Staton said. “But it’s also one of those things where you celebrate the moment and then you keep your head down, keep pushing and keep getting better. I’ve developed a humble mentality, if anything, with continuing to receive these offers because I know I need to keep getting better and not let it get to my head.”

Staton recently spent time with other top high school players at a camp with Team USA this month in Colorado, where they scrimmaged and received off-the-court life skills lessons. He said it was when he returned home this month that the wave of offers came in and everything “skyrocketed.”

“It’s really been on the rise, just nonstop,” Staton said. “It’s been great hearing from all these different colleges. That’s always someone’s dream, but to be actually living it and experiencing it every day, it’s been surreal.”

Staton said receiving an offer from Kansas, the preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, was an offer that stood out.

“You hear about (Kansas) a lot, and they are the preseason No. 1 right now,” Staton said. “And also LSU, you hear a lot about those big schools, so hearing them want to recruit me has been huge.”

Staton’s first offer came in the spring when Fresno State offered him after they saw him practice with his AAU team, the Las Vegas Knicks. He received other offers from Illinois, Xavier, Northwestern, Stanford and Washington State during the high school offseason.

He said college coaches are impressed with his athleticism as a center.

“They love how well I can run the floor, especially as a big and how comfortable I am with my running,” Staton said. “And the hustle on every play, whether it’s on defense or offense, just blocking everything around the glass and getting rebounds.”

Staton said he has only visited UNLV and plans to take more during the summer.

He said he’s been communicating “a lot” with Kansas and has been in touch with Stanford and Notre Dame. But he said UNLV has been the school he’s heard the most from during the recruiting process.

“Being local, with how much talent there is now and how much of a big support system you have, that’s definitely a huge thing. … It’s a cool thing to see,” Staton said of UNLV’s efforts to recruit locally.

Gator adds offer

Green Valley junior wide receiver Trey Glasper announced last week on his social media accounts that he has received his first Division I offer, from Colorado State.

Glasper has five touchdown catches and two interceptions on defense this season for the Gators.

Colorado State has made it a point to recruit the Las Vegas area. According to 247Sports, there are 12 local uncommitted recruits in the classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026 who have an offer from the Rams.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com with any recruiting information. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.