One of the nation's top-ranked centers has Rutgers among his top schools.

Bristol, Connecticut, center and Rivals100 player Donovan Clingan announced his top eight schools early Monday evening. Rutgers made the cut for the 7-1, 260-pound, as did Michigan, Ohio State, Georgetown, Syracuse, Providence, Notre Dame and in-state school UConn.

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Head coach Steve Pikiell and the Rutgers have been in on Clingan for quite some time, and the Scarlet Knights making the top eight speak volumes. Rutgers making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years showed Clingan more than enough of the expectations the entire staff has for the future of the program.

Clingan is coming off a year at Bristol Central High School where he helped the Rams to an undefeated season and the Central Connecticut Conference championship, the program's first league title since 2003. It was fitting in Bristol Central's 69-68 championship-game win over East Catholic that Clingan made the game-winning bucket.

Clingan's dominance was established early and often throughout the 2020-21 season. He averaged roughly 27 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks per game for the Rams. Clingan's versatility showed as he also averaged better than three assists per contest.

Clingan is ranked the nation's No. 47 player overall and the No. 9 center in the 2022 class, according to Rivals.com. He's also ranked the No. 1 player out of the state of Connecticut.

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