Kiyan Anthony has committed to Syracuse University, where his father, Carmelo Anthony, was a part of two decades ago. Carmelo led Syracuse to an NCAA championship, and now his four-star guard son is set to take the court in the same orange jersey.
Syracuse was the first school to extend an offer to Kiyan and the first campus he visited with both parents.
On social media, Kiyan’s mother, La La Anthony, couldn’t contain her pride. She shared an Instagram story featuring Kiyan in a Syracuse No. 1 jersey. She captioned it:
"My baby is going to Syracuse."
La La Anthony defends Kiyan’s decision
La La Anthony stepped in to clarify the truth about her son’s decision. Kiyan announced his decision in an episode of his father’s podcast at 7 pm in Brooklyn, with both parents present. The family’s dynamic during the episode countered rumors of tension between La La and Carmelo.
Addressing the rumors that Carmelo influenced Kiyan’s choice, La La said:
"I think it’s important to say like Kiyan really made this decision...I mean, I’m sure everyone just assumes that Mel put the pressure on him or Mel told him he had to do this.”
La La revealed that while Carmelo provided valuable input, he refrained from steering Kiyan toward Syracuse:
"Mel just gave him input on all the schools. It wasn’t more on Syracuse, less… he just gave input, and we stepped back and allowed him to make a decision and told him whatever he decided, we would support.”
La La reiterated:
"Contrary to what people probably think, there was zero pressure from his dad to go to Syracuse."
Kiyan joined Syracuse along with Sadiq White, Luke Fennell, and Aaron Womack in the 2025 recruiting. His decision has boosted Syracuse’s 2025 class to No. 6 nationally on 247Sports.
He is currently ranked as the No. 1 player in New York for the 2025 class and the No. 6 shooting guard nationally. The 6-foot-5 guard played for Long Island Lutheran High School, having transferred from Christ the King High School in Queens.
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