Ben Howland already has Mississippi State beating out Kansas for blue-chip recruits

Ben Howland has yet to coach a game for Mississippi State, but he’s already doing serious work on the recruiting trail. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs received a commitment from Schnider Herard, a four-star big man out of Texas. Herard is the fourth recruit Howard has landed in the class of 2016, all four of which are considered top 100 players by Rivals.

Herard is a 6’10 center from Plano, Texas who is ranked No. 34 in his class by Rivals, which makes him the most highly touted player of Howland’s 2016 class at the moment. He’ll join 6’4 guard Tyson Carter (No. 62, per Rivals), point guard Lamar Peters (No. 78) and 6’4 guard Eli Carter (No. 94) in Starkville next season.

Howland, who was hired in March, made an immediate impact on the recruiting trail by landing five-star Mississippi native Malik Newman, a shooting guard who was ranked as the No. 10 player in the class of 2015 by ESPN. Newman chose Mississippi State over offers from Kansas and Kentucky, among others.

Herard also picked the Bulldogs over Kansas.

Howland looks like he isn’t done yet, either. Mario Kegler, a 6’8 combo forward ranked the No. 29 player in the class of 2016 by Rivals, is also reportedly giving serious considering to Mississippi State. Kegler’s “crystal ball” at 247 Sports currently gives Mississippi State an 82 percent chance of landing him.

Abdul Ado, a 6’10 big man ranked No. 73 in the 2016 class, and De’Ron Davis, a 6’9 forward ranked No. 33, are also said to be considering Mississippi State.

Howland always recruited as well as any coach in the country during his time at UCLA. His final class with the Bruins included four top 50 recruits, three of which (Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams) are currently in the NBA.

Mississippi State hasn’t made the NCAAA Tournament since 2009. The team went 13-19 last season and has finished under .500 each of the last three years.