Wednesday, Nov. 10 was national signing day for high school basketball players around the country. Villanova signed a strong recruiting class for the Class of 2022, signing four-star guards Mark Armstrong and Brendan Hausen and five-star forward Cam Whitmore.

Mark Armstrong is a 6’2 guard from South Orange, NJ who played for New Jersey basketball powerhouse St. Peter’s Prep and racked up many offers from top programs including Kansas, Illinois and Stanford. He was the first of three newcomers to verbally commit to the Wildcats in the summer of 2021. When VUHoops interviewed him about his commitment, the first thing he talked about was coaching.

“Jay Wright always says, ‘Attitude, attitude,’ and that stuck out to me because my high school coach always took that philosophy, but he never used to tell us who it was from,” Armstrong said. “It’s funny that it translates to Coach Wright, he told us that later, but it’s attitude, playing together and playing hard.” 

Armstrong will bring a strong presence to the defensive end of the floor at the guard position, as he has the ability to shoot well over defenders who are taller than him.

Brendan Hausen is one of the best high school basketball players in Texas. He is a 6’5” combo guard who can do just about everything – shooting, cutting, being active in transition and defending on the perimeter with his noteworthy wingspan. The Amarillo product chose Villanova over several top programs, such as Oklahoma, Arizona State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. 

“You see the staff is so tight and then the connections they have, and then you see it trickle down to everyone in the program,” House told VUHoops. “The culture is just so strong. The players are like brothers on and off the court. I come from a strong culture program out here, so when I came into Villanova’s practice and watched, I just felt like that’s where I belonged and that I can make a huge impact there.” 

Hausen will have the opportunity to develop his skills and learn around what will be a stacked and experienced guard room. 

However, the biggest coup of the period was forward Cam Whitmore, a five-star 6’6” forward who chose Villanova over offers from LSU, UCLA, UNC and Illinois. Ranked 22nd in the nation by 247 Sports and ESPN, Whitmore is the top player in the class for the Wildcats, and completed a solid recruiting class.

“From just being around the team on and off the court, I just felt the most comfortable there,” Whitmore said to VUHoops. “Plus, it’s not too far from home, so I can go home whenever I want.”

According to 247sports, Villanova signed the thirteenth best recruiting class in the nation, best in the Big East by a wide margin. Joining the ‘Cats in the Top 50 are Xavier (28th), UConn (30th), Providence (38th) and Seton Hall (40th).