Michigan makes top five for five-star center Charles Bediako

For the second time this week, Michigan has made the cut for a top-25 prospect.

Charles Bediako, a five-star center in the 2021 class, trimmed his list down to five and included the Wolverines among his finalists on Saturday.

Listed at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds, the Canadian product is rated the No. 23 overall recruit and No. 5 big man in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Bediako transferred to Florida’s IMG Academy for his senior year, where he will team up with fellow five-star center and Michigan recruiting target Efton Reid, who opted to take a post-grad year at the powerhouse program, and 2022 prospect Jett Howard, Michigan coach Juwan Howard's son.

More: 'We all have to pivot': UM's Juwan Howard adjusts to virtual recruiting

The Wolverines are looking to add a big man to their 2021 recruiting haul, considering they have only two centers on roster heading into this season: fifth-year senior Austin Davis and freshman Hunter Dickinson.

Bediako’s final list included Alabama, Duke, Ohio State and Texas, and the Crimson Tide appear to be the leader in the race.

Earlier this week, five-star forward Caleb Houstan listed Michigan in his final four, along with Alabama, Duke and Virginia.

Bediako and Houstan are the latest big-time targets to name Michigan as a finalist in this recruiting cycle. The Wolverines also made the final group for top-25 recruits Matthew Cleveland (Florida State), JD Davison (Alabama), Harrison Ingram (Stanford) and Jalen Warley (Florida State) before falling short in their pursuits.

Michigan has at least one scholarship remaining for the 2021-22 season and its current four-man recruiting class — which features four-star guards Frankie Collins and Kobe Bufkin, four-star wing Isaiah Barnes and three-star forward Will Tschetter — is ranked No. 6 in the nation by 247Sports.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins