The Cal men’s basketball renaissance has picked up a future cornerstone. Jovani Ruff, a top-50 nationwide recruit and On3’s No. 9 shooting guard in the 2025 class, committed to Cal live Wednesday on the On3 Recruits YouTube channel.
Ruff is a 6-foot-4 two-way scorer coming out of Long Beach Polytechnic High School — the rising senior just averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3 assists for his junior season. His size compliments his offensive skills, allowing him to operate especially well inside the arc, and his athleticism and instincts make him a plus defender.
Ruff’s final four schools included Oregon, USC and Kansas, but Cal head coach Mark Madsen and his coaching staff were able to capitalize on Ruff’s official visit back in September 2023, reeling in the program’s fifth-highest-rated recruit ever and its highest-ranked recruit since Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb in 2015.
“The relationship I’ve built with the coaching staff — we talk everyday, all day … we’ve had some really deep talks, not just about basketball, but about life,” Ruff said in an interview with On3 when asked about why he chose Cal. “I really believe in Mark Madsen … and I feel like I can be a big piece to what they’re building over there at Cal.”
