5-star Iowa State target Omaha Biliew planning June visits, July commitment
Matthew Bain
One of Iowa State's top recruiting targets will announce his decision in July.
Omaha Biliew, the five-star 2023 forward who played his first two high school seasons in Iowa and has been at powerhouse Link Year Prep his junior season, plans to announce his decision after the Nike EYBL Peach Jam that runs July 17-24, his personal coach, Tyler Sass, told the Register on Tuesday.
Iowa State has long been considered one of the main contenders for the 6-foot-8 forward who helped lead Link Year to a runner-up finish to Montverde Academy at the GEICO High School Nationals in early April. The other main schools involved are the same as they've been for a while now: Kentucky, Kansas, LSU, Oregon, Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma State.
MORE: 5-star talent Omaha Biliew ready for national spotlight with MOKAN Elite
Sass said Biliew will take visits to schools in June.
Biliew has taken three unofficial visits to Ames. The first came last June, the second for the Cy-Hawk football game Sept. 11 (alongside signees Tamin Lipsey, Demarion Watson and Eli King) and the third on Dec. 21 for Iowa State's win over Chicago State. He has also unofficially visited Oklahoma State, Iowa and Kansas, and he took his only official visit to Nebraska in October, although the Huskers have faded from the picture a bit.
Sass said Biliew was selected this week to the USA Basketball U18 team tryouts, and he was also invited to the prestigious NBA Top 100 Camp in late June.
A consensus five-star talent, Biliew is the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2023 class, per the 247Sports Composite, and the No. 2 power forward.
Biliew is in the midst of his second season with AAU powerhouse MOKAN Elite. He starts on the 17U team along other top-level recruits such as four-star point guard Trey Green and five-star 2024 center John Bol.
Matthew Bain is the deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register. He still covers some recruiting, too. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.