I was blessed to spend quite a bit of time with college coaches the past month talking about recruiting and what they’re doing at camps and AAU events. Essentially, when they’re in the gym, what is going on in their world and what are they tasked with?

The biggest thing I heard is these AAU events and camps are often times about networking with other coaches not as much about finding players. Yes, they are looking and evaluating for sure (more on that in a minute), but the community of coaching is very powerful and the amount of opportunities available for them are narrow. So, keeping a network of people is critical. Side note on this point, that non D1 assistant coach you keep ignoring might become or already know the coach you’d dream of calling you. Don’t burn a bridge. Ever.

When it comes to recruiting high school players, they have fallen down the list of immediate priorities for most coaches. The rank is 1) current players 2) transfer players 3) prep school players 4) high school seniors. That does NOT mean if you’re a high school player you shouldn’t be communicating with and networking with coaches. It DOES mean that those relationships may yield fruits later and not immediately. A coach may see you at a camp and put you down as a player to watch develop. They may call their buddy from when they were a GA 10 years ago who’s a head coach and say “Player so and so isn’t quite ready for our level, but I think he’d be great there for 2 years or so and then we’d love to have him!” Yes, that’s happening these days. Non D1 programs are able to recruit D1 level potential talent if they treat it like a development program. Not everyone is doing that obviously, but a lot are.

I talked with a coach who told me he’s done over 15 camps and offered 1 player directly at the camp. Is this normal? Not sure. However, the camp is a place to connect and show what you can do not to pick up an offer right away. Whatever you do best on the court, do that 110% of the time. Talk, be loud, pick up full court, push the ball, shoot 3’s, get to the rim…whatever it is, do it. You have to stand out in some way shape or form. If you aren’t actively communicating with any coach at the event before the event, your goal should be to start that after the camp. A lot of these camps will have players invited by the coaching staffs to recruit them. If that’s not you, then you have to do something at the camp. The coaches want to come back with a few players to add to their recruiting list. If 100 players are at the camp, they may write down 5-10 names.

A few suggestions for players and parents:

1. Bring something to leave with the coaches - print a business card, use an NFC enabled card to share contact info, have your X account ready to share

   1. Side note, most coaches I spoke with want to see contact info, grades, year of availability, highlight film, full game film, current stats. You can input all of this at www.prepbasketball.net for FREE!

2. Parents - you’ll probably do more harm than good if you try to press the coaches and talk with them. Be approachable. Be honest. Be kind. But don’t try to sell your player on the coaches. They’ll see evidence on the court, not in your biased words. I know you just dropped $200 on the event and want the ROI…I’ve been there.

3. Players - besides the above notes on playing the right way and leaving something behind, ask for feedback on your game and how you can get better. If you get a chance to speak with a coach, ask them to watch or ask what they saw. Then go do it.

   1. Side note, in the camps I observed, about 95% of HS players are not physically strong enough or in good enough shape to compete in college at any level. Eat right, take creatine, use ChatGPT to devleop a lifting and agility plan. It’ll pay off.

These same things apply to the AAU events as well. Most coaches are there to meet with other coaches, recruit players they’re already recruiting, and possibly find an under recruited player. I’ve said this 100 times already, but if your AAU coach and program is only posting on IG and they are not actively hustling to build real trusted relationships with college coaches, it’s not very helpful to getting a scholarship. The IG posts and reels are nice and all, but AAU is between $5-10k a season. The goal should be to get college paid for while playing basketball. Vacations are fun. Take one if you don’t want to play basketball in college. Also, no college coach is recruiting 14/15u and under really. Sure there might be a small exception…but if you’re reading this post, it’s not you/your player. Have fun, get better, don’t go broke.

15-17u Club/AAU basketball should be about a process to help achieve the goal of having college paid for. The only people who can offer college scholarships are college coaches. Not your AAU coach, not the circuit, not your AAU program, not the social media person, not your parents…it’s a college coach. If you don’t know any of them, you will not get a college scholarship to play college basketball. How do you know if you know a college coach? Can you, your HS coach, your AAU coach, or anyone close to you reach out to a coach right now over text? If that’s a no…then you’re not being recruited. There might be coaches in the gym where you are playing, but if you don’t know them then they most likely don’t know you.

My son played in front of close to 600 college coaches during HS, AAU, and camps. He received 6 scholarship offers to play basketball…and that took a ton of work and time and networking by a lot of people around him AND by him sacrificing a ton and doing the right things. Just because coaches are in the gym…doesn’t mean they are watching you/your player.

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In case you haven’t read the the first 3 articles, I’m writing these from the perspective of a parent who’s son went through the basketball process in HS and is committed to a college where he will play basketball and get a free education. Over his career, he averaged around 6 ppg, so I hope many parents can relate to my stories and advice. If not, sorry…I tried!

When 9th grade started for my son, he was attending a very small school in Salt Lake City that maybe had 40 boys combined grades 9-12. He was clearly the best player on the Varsity team and his first ever game had 36 points and 17 rebounds in an OT win. As the season went on and teams watched film, they sent double and triple teams at him every game. It was a learning season for him for sure. He ended up All State as a freshman. At the end of the school year, we were faced with a few questions:

1. If he wanted to play in college, was staying at this school the best option?

2. Could we afford for him to stay (it was a private Christian school)?

3. Would he be able to play football and stay at the school (they didn’t have a team)?

4. Where would he best develop as a young man?

I suspect the right time to make these decisions about transferring is before 9th or 10th grade. Plenty of kids transfer before 11/12th grades, but it gets harder to move schools the later you go.

We called a friend of mine who had coached at the division 1 level and asked him what his thoughts were on staying or going and this was his advice:

1. Academics can be a huge difference maker, so find a school that is challenging academically and tell him to get the best grades possible

2. Stats don’t matter as much as parents think. Get in the weight room and eat right. College is a very physical game.

3. Focus on getting better, getting bigger, and getting connected with coaches

Ultimately, we found a high school with a great academic ranking and made the move knowing full well he might have to sit out playing varsity his sophomore year (he didn’t and the team won the state title which was amazing). He also ended up playing varsity football which I suspect helped his basketball recruiting a bit. Especially learning how to lift and take/give contact.

So we had the academics and physicality part down, but he went from being the best player on a bad team to fighting for minutes on a state championship level team. Now that his team wasn’t dependent on him to score 20 every night, he could start to work with some skills trainers to hone the things he needed to get better at and then work on them in practice and JV games.

Now, there are tons of skills trainers in Utah and I don’t know all of them. Here are the guys my son worked with off and on over 7 years (not all at once though) - Landen Cummings, Corey Smith, Tim and Terence Drisdom, Seena Namdar, Zeus Martinez, and Parker Van Dyke. All of them except for Parker coached AJ’s team at one time or another and worked with him in practice or individually outside of practice. They vary in price but I’d recommend them all if you’re looking for a good skills trainer. As your child progresses, you may want to find trainers who only take certain level of players and turn down others. Those group workouts can be amazing for your kid!

I don’t know that it’s 100% necessary to work with skills trainers though. Just because it was right for us, doesn’t mean it’s right for you and your child. The costs can creep up and if you find a really good club or HS coach to do the work as part of the team participation, it could be really good. What is necessary is to be working on your skill development AND then using them in non game situations like pickup, practice, or sub varsity games. If your player just wants to “get shots up” or “work on their game” but aren’t willing to go out and execute in a game situation, then that work isn’t going to translate.

The questions about transferring and training aren’t black and white. I always suggest talking with people who have gone through it and not just the people who will benefit from you making the decisions. Example, if there’s a coach who tells you something like “if you stay, you’ll never get recruited” or a trainer who says something similar…I’d run from them. Maybe they want what’s best for you and your child, but more often than not…they just want your money and/or your child to help them win.

Should I keep these going? Let me know!

Early on, when my son was a freshman in High School, he started to see a few of his friends posting on social media about receiving an offer to play basketball in college. These posts were interesting because…well…this was a first for us! I started to look into it a bit more over the years and then gained the perspective of talking with a few coaches (which most parents don’t get).

Early Offers:

If you see a kid or parent posting about an offer before the beginning of their junior year of HS, it’s more than likely not a committable offer. Meaning, a coach (often times not the Head Coach) has reached out and made it clear that the program is interested in having the player come play at their college when they graduate. I’ve heard that sometimes there is documentation which probably give it some more teeth, however, even if the player verbally committed to the school right then and there there’s nothing binding. If an offer is posted before June 15th of the summer before the players sophomore year and it’s from a Division 1 program, that’s not really real at all considering a coach can’t contact a player and do any recruiting prior to that date.

What these offers do accomplish though is start the recruiting process and show interest. They’re not “fake” per se and there’s nothing illegal about players and teams posting about them. They just aren’t “real” either in the sense of they aren’t actionable. To use a dating analogy, the early offers are first dates, not proposals.

Fake Offers:

I’ve heard about these happening and I have strong words about this topic. DO NOT DO THIS EVER, EVER, EVER! Sometimes, fake accounts show up on X and start sending out fake offers and kids and parents bite. I remember when my son said he received his first football offer to an NAIA school. I told him we had to have a conversation with the coach on the phone before sharing or posting anything about it. I needed to make sure it was real and committable. Integrity is everything for our family and, I hope, for yours as well. So there are bad actors online and you shouldn’t be fooled by them. Also, don’t ever post about an offer without the college coach knowing you are doing it. My view is, the coach shouldn’t be surprised you’re posting about their school by finding out online.

Committable Non scholarship offers:

My opinion here, which is all this is after all, if the offer is for a PWO (Preferred Walk-On) the player should make it clear what the offer actually is. A lot of non D1 schools have JV or Developmental teams as well. There’s nothing wrong with going to a school and playing for these teams and fighting for a spot on the top team. Just be clear with the coach on what the offer is for. Example, our son did receive a partial athletic scholarship to play basketball and the coach was very honest that he thought our son would start on the JV team because all their freshman do. Great! Glad to know.

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Committable scholarship offers:

Less than 1% of HS Seniors will receive full ride athletic scholarships to play in college. Around 2-3% of HS players will go to college for free and play basketball, but the scholarships might be mixed. A few things to note, a D2, Juco, NAIA school can combine scholarships together to get an athlete to a full ride or close to it. But if you’re child receives paperwork and it includes a full ride athletic scholarship to a D1 basketball program as a senior in HS…well, you probably don’t need my advice on recruiting :) For the rest of the parents, it’s 100% within your rights to ask the coach to send over the financial information before verbally committing to a program. I was surprised at the few schools who were reluctant to send us the information honestly. However, the realest offers to play will include paperwork, conversations with the head coach, and the offer will likely come from the head coach. If you haven’t talked with the head coach, then chances are the offer isn’t committable.

Side note here about D3 recruiting. While D3 schools can’t offer any financial money for athletics, they often can come up with scholarship packages to make the financial burden less than or equal to a D2/NAIA school. Follow on Substack or check out their playbook (it’s paid, but WELL worth it)

To post or not to post…that is the question

I covered this a little bit in the 2nd article in this series about social media, but the answer is really…it depends. I called a few basketball coaches who were interested in our son and asked them if they thought it was a bad idea to post about the few football offers he received. They all told me it was great! So we did. Maybe that’s different for you and your athlete. I know one dad who told me they won’t post up any offers and likely won’t post about a commitment. Awesome! There’s no rule to this thing. I did talk with a coach who told me they were frustrated when they took the time to talk with and recruit and player and make them a real offer, and the player posted about others but not their school. I think I’d just say, be consistent is all. Why would you make a coach frustrated with you 1-2 years before you go to college?!? Coaches move around all the time and they talk.

Which brings me to my last thought - whatever you do, don’t piss off college coaches. Reply back to them. Answer their calls. Don’t ghost coaches or big time them. These are adults and deserved to be treated with respect. I know it’s frustrating because they aren’t replying to you. I get it. But if a coach takes time to spend with you, respect that time. Don’t post up about offers if the coach who gave it to you isn’t aware you’ll be posting about it. Ask at the end of the call (or confirm via text/DM). Our son personally called every coach who had recruited him before posting about his commitment. My suggestion is, if your athlete can, do the same thing.

And I’d also replace Alcohol with “Social Media” when it comes to HS hoops recruiting.

If this is the first article you’re reading of mine, it’s actually the second in this series about my story as a parent helping my son navigate HS basketball recruiting. You can read the first one here and it goes into detail about AAU.

Social Media…ugh

It’s kind of the worst and the best thing to happen to HS sports, so let’s go over the good and the bad and how, I think, you can use it productively in the recruiting process (and answer the question about running your players page).

Let’s start with the bad. Social Media is a cease pool of horridness. Honestly, it’s filled with a ton of mindless garbage and it’s ruining the lives of so many young athletes. The mental health decline amongst teenagers is well documented and it can be traced back to rapid advances of social media and it’s access through unregulated smart phones. Teenagers spend nearly 8 hours a day consuming content on social platforms. That’s more than a full time job! It’s created some really awful trends as well:

1. Highlight culture - kids have become convinced that everyone with a mixtape is being recruited or seen and so they end up playing their games to get mixtapes and highlights. My personal pet peeve is the mixtape post after a loss. Highlights might get a player seen, but the recruiting will stop if the tape overhypes the truth

2. Comparison trap - players are constantly watching to see how other players are being hyped up and then comparing themselves and their views and follows. The dopamine hit is real and the fall off is the same

3. The offer hype - players posting non committable offers or fake offers to drum up hype to get more offers is played out. The coaches all talk and when you’re posting fake offers, it’s a bad look

The addiction to the platforms is keeping kids out of the gym and on their phones and that’s a massive shame.

The good:

For all the bad to social media, I do think some good can come from using it properly. After all, social media does decentralize your presence across time and space and gives players unprecedented access to information including coach contact information.

Here are my suggestions as a parent who went through this whole thing

1. Limit access to social media - 16 is probably the right age to have supervised accounts for your athlete. Before that age, it’s all negative. There’s nothing good that can happen before age 16 from a recruiting stand point on social media.

2. IG is for friends and family, X/Twitter is for coaches - this rule isn’t tried and true but it’s pretty accurate. Most coaches I talked with have personal pages on IG but run recruiting on X. Set up a profile, find coaches with open DM’s. Pay the small fee for the blue checkmark even

3. Have a plan - there’s a debate on whether or not a parent should run a players social media pages. I think it really depends honestly. If you’re teenager is capable of communicating with adults in a professional way, then help them a template and let them control it. If they can’t, I think it’s OK to send DM’s with them and let them see how adults talk to each other. But they absolutely need to be involved in the process regardless of who does the typing. Our goal was to have coaches texting directly with our son as early in the process as possible so the DM template was short and sweet and included his cell for the coaches.

There’s a reason why point 3 is important I think, because it keeps the kid off the apps and communicating directly with the coach (obviously there are rules on when a coach can reach out so this assumes it’s happening within the rules). If communication is mostly happening through social media, it can become easy to get sucked into the vortex that is the dredge of these apps.

What/how to post on X?

1. Profile - make sure your profile has a picture and good header image showcasing who you are. The bio should have the information for any coach to reach you and include your NCAA# if possible. Canva is your friend!

2. Season highlights - AAU and HS team highlights both. Nothing crazy long. Keep the music instrumental. No need to offend anyone unnecessarily. Mix up the highlights. Keep FT’s and warm up clips off. Capcut is your friend!

3. Don’t tag everyone and their mom - I don’t think it’s helpful to tag every coach you’d ever want to talk to. If you’re in doubt, just don’t tag the coaches.

4. Sign up for and follow Verbal Commits - They really do a great job of promoting the paid profiles on X. Our son actually had a lot of outreach based on a few posts they did.

5. Offers - this is a tough one actually. If the offer comes from the head coach and it’s one your player can accept and go play at the school, then I say go for it. I heard a bunch of stuff like “Don’t post juco offers if you want to go to a 4 year” or that kind of stuff. There’s some merit to it I guess, but having a committable offer is a big deal. You should celebrate it! Our son had a few football offers as well and he posted those. Didn’t stop basketball coaches from reaching out. I think it actually helped for coaches to see he was a good athlete. But definitely don’t just try to use coaches to “Stack offers”. It’s disrespectful to the coaches and their programs. Post offers you’re able to and interested in taking.

Maybe the best quote I’ve heard about social media is this (better than Homer’s alcohol quote):

1. This is my perspective and not the definitive end all be all of college basketball recruiting

2. Well, 1 is really all we needed I guess

After 5 years of being told what to do, I realized I never really got the sage wisdom of the parent in the arena. The parent who had to navigate the ins and outs of college recruiting for a non D1 recruit. What did they learn? What would they have done differently? Etc.

I’ll do my best to sprinkle in my own learnings here, but some more perspective is helpful I suppose. My son is a 6’3, 190 lb multi sport athlete who played Varsity basketball for all 4 years at 2 different high schools (he transferred after his freshman year to a school where they had a football team so he could play both and the new school and the academics were stronger). For his career he averaged 5.4 ppg. By the end of his senior year, he had 4 committable offers to play basketball with scholarships attached to them given by the head coach. 2 Juco, 1 NAIA, 1 D3

So let’s talk about AAU and it’s role in recruiting…from my parental perspective

When he was playing 14u, I was told we “had to play in the live recruiting events because college coaches were there” by his AAU coach. To play in these events meant the team had to travel to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and SoCal. In total, it costs around $1200/weekend when you account for the flight/hotel/food/entry fees/parking/entertainment/rental car and we had a parent with him at each event. Living in Utah, we have the option to drive to Las Vegas which helped a lot, but $1200/weekend is a pretty good number.

For 14u basketball, you absolutely do not need to play during an NCAA live period. Exactly 0 D1 coaches care about recruiting 14 year kids from Utah. It might be fun, but it will do 0 for recruiting. If you’re team is really good, there are plenty of options in Utah to stay in state and play up against 15-17 year old teams and get better. We spent about $5k playing in live periods during 14u. I don’t recommend it for 99% of players.

15u was different. He had a chance to play on one of the better AAU teams in the state as the 9-10th player on the team and compete on the UA Rise Circuit. We took it, but not for the reasons most people would (exposure on a “shoe circuit”). The coaches for the team really pushed him in practice and they often practiced against the 16u team, which featured multiple D1 prospects and 1 player who is currently a potential NBA draft pick in Tyrin Jones. My observations during the 14u live periods were that this wasn’t about recruiting, but if he wanted to be in a position to play in college, he HAD to get better, bigger, and more skilled. Now, this team did come with a cost. We spent roughly $12k during this AAU season because the travel demands were higher and the secondary “shoe” circuits require a certain amount of tournaments.

Side note - UA Rise, Puma NXT, Nike EYCL, Adidas Gold…the primary function of these events is to sell a dream of playing in front of D1 college coaches in order to help fund the top tier events. Yes, teams like Team Utah have had success in getting college coaches out to Puma NXT games, so it can happen. However, these teams tend to be more expensive than the independent teams because of the requirements to travel AND buy the gear. Back to my stories…if you’re still reading.

16u (and 15u for that matter) was a big year of development and confidence which cannot be overstated. When you practice against better players every week and hold your own it can do wonders for a players confidence which creates a fly wheel of hard work and skill development. Was it worth the costs (Another $10k)? Hard to tell honestly. I ended up meeting 2 coaches who came to watch 2 players on the team. Those coaches are currently not at either school they were with when they were there and no players have offers from that team to either the previous or current schools.

All in all, 16u was successful and my suggestion would be to go where you’re player will experience the most growth and be challenged during 15-16u. Take the risk and be the bench player on the better team rather than the best player on the “lower” team if it’s an option. Of course, this suggestion comes with the caveat that the coaches are connected to programs and the club is pushing the kids hard to get better.

Another note on 16u, prior to rejoining his 15u team we made a big error in chasing a uniform and experience rather than sticking with what we knew. He joined an out of state club and everything seemed great. They were joining the EYCL and the club director was, and is still, a great person. I started to see some warning signs that his coach wasn’t a person I wanted him to be coached by from a moral perspective and once my concerns were validated by some unfortunate experiences, we pulled him and we were grateful Team Utah still had a spot for him. Moral is, trust your gut and don’t chase the circuits and names. Trust the people.

17u was a fun summer. The grind of jumping from sport to sport and HS to AAU was a lot. I was also beginning to realize that the work was paying off he was putting in the weight room and gym, but the costs of AAU weren’t adding up to exposure and he was excited about a chance to connect with some friends. The only played 3 out of state events and he also spent his time travelling to college camps and focusing more on working with his HS team to prepare to be a leader and a senior.

17u was the biggest summer for him. He ended up receiving the committable offers during this time and none of them came from AAU events or play. The HS live period in June led to 2 and the school were he eventually has committed to came from his play at the Air Force Academy prospect camp and the connections those coaches had. He also had a chance to walk on at a D2 potentially from his time at that school’s camp. Nothing official would have been known though until after the season and transfer portal. Total cost for AAU and camp travel was around $7500 for the spring and summer

My theory for my son was if he put in the work in the weight rooms, shooting gyms, training sessions, etc, then it was important to get in front of coaches and see where the interest might come from. Over the 5 years, he played at a high academic camp with AOG, Pangos Freshman/Sophomore Camp, Westminster/Rocky Mountain College/Air Force/CSU-Pueblo prospect camps, UA Rise/Puma NXT/AOG Power32 circuits, and a few high level pick up games at colleges in Utah and Colorado.

What role did AAU play in his recruiting? Honestly, probably the lowest role in terms of exposure to coaches. Prospect camps and HS live period were the best things he did in terms of exposure to coaches. It was by far the biggest expense ($30k of the $35k was spent on AAU) and had the lowest impact for college coach exposure. Again, his recruitment was the NAIA/D3/Juco level mostly and many of those coaches do not have the budgets to travel so going to them was always going to be the best way I think.

What value did AAU provide? Plenty. As I mentioned, he had some exceptional coaches who truly helped him get better and get prepared for the moments. Some of his coaches also had connections to colleges and helped facilitate introductions which helped a ton as well. He built some friendships that I’m sure will last and he and I had a great time bonding and spending time together (my wife as well went on a few camp trips with him also). The ultimate question, if we could do it over would we spend as much time and money on AAU as we did?

I don’t think so. The relationships with those same coaches can be forged outside of the AAU world as most of them do skill work and training. Recruiting for HS has changed significantly and I think the role of AAU has greatly diminished over the years as well.

After it’s all said and done, he committed to a high academic Academy to play basketball. His school will be free and he’s set for a great job after graduation. While we could have spent less on the journey, the outcome of attending an elite college and building so many great memories is pretty amazing IMHO!

Also…

Since nobody asked, I’ll give you a list of clubs here that I know and respect in Utah. Again, this is a single perspective so it’s not the gospel truth and I’m sure I’ll miss somebody. I’ll even add a few notes as to the level of players who will be recruited from these clubs.

D1 prospects:

Utah Prospects - this club is on the Nike EYBL circuit. Currently about 50% of US AAU players who end up in D1 play in the EYBL. They have players from border states as well who play especially on the 17u team where the competition is the top in the world. Costs are covered by Nike…I think.

Mountain Stars - they play on the Under Armour UAA circuit. UAA, along with 3SSB and Puma PRO16, are the 1b circuits for D1 recruits. They all have an equal and smaller % of D1 players who play in these circuits. The Stars are mostly Colorado and Utah players and the club is strong in both states. Costs are covered largely by UA…I think.

LM D1/D2 prospects:

(Note: all of these clubs from here below will have an occasional spot for a scholarship player, but most of them will cost between $5-12k for the spring and summer)

Team Utah - While they have been knocking on the door of making the PRO16 league, they haven’t quite made it yet. However, because of how Puma runs things, Team Utah plays a lot of top level teams on main courts and have shown they have the talent to compete and win on those levels. Pretty much every roster is filled with Utah players with an occasional Idaho player sprinkled in. The best thing about the Puma circuit is their connection with the JA48 event with JucoAdvocate. Coaches are OUT to watch these Juco players…

Utah Valley Prime - UV Prime plays on the Adidas Gold circuit and I’ve heard mixed reviews on the competition level and college coach exposure. However, UV Prime always has some of the top Utah players on their teams and the coaches seem to move players on to the collegiate levels with good success

SL Metro - Dave Hammer has the longest tenure of any coach in the AAU world here and the connections to back it up. They don’t play on any circuit, but the roster of players currently in college can’t be ignored. Dave is also currently an assistant coach at SLCC.

Utah Gold EYCL - Utah Gold is connected with the Utah Prospects and they have 2 levels. EYCL and Select. The EYCL teams practice against the Prospects often which is great for development. The EYCL circuit left some parents disappointed though with the lack of coach attendance which was surprising to me!

Salt Lake Rebels - The Rebels have had success with D1 players and connections to D1 programs. I think they made the jump to Adidas Gold this year, but don’t hold me to that. Evric has a deep rolodex of coaches he can reach out to which helps.

NAIA/Juco/D3 prospects - this list is long so I won’t write up on the programs. I’m going off memory so apologies if I missed someone!

BWill - Puma NXT

UBC - Adidas I think still?

Utah Future - Independent I think?

Utah Gold Select - Independent

Salt City Hustle - UA Rise

Mountain City - Independent

Next Level Basketball - Puma NXT

Pharm Boys - Puma NXT

FlyFam - Independent

Utah Branded - Independent

Salt Lake Bandits - Independent

SLC Prime - Adidas Gold

Westside Kings - Uncle Drew Circuit

The Hoop Factory - Independent

Utah Hard Knox - I think they merged with Mountain City?

Utah Premier - Independent

Utah Legacy - Independent

Wardell Elite - Independent

Good luck navigating the world of AAU here. A few rules of thumb:

1. If someone says “play here and you’ll get a scholarship” but that person can’t give scholarships, then take it with a grain of salt.

2. AAU is a part of the recruiting journey, but I think it’s role is shrinking as the importance of HS recruiting gets smaller

3. Whatever you do, the process really needs to be driven by the players desire and drive. Forcing things to happen, especially after 14u, is going to be a quick way to spend a ton of money and drive your player out of basketball. If they don’t want it more than you do, probably time to stop playing AAU.

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3a - Morgan goes back to back after avenging their only 3a loss of the year to runner ups American Heritage. Bracken Saunders showed everyone why he'll be cemented among the great Morgan HS athletes

4a - Provo had a difficult path in the playoffs and only got better as they went on. Snow College bound Makai Allen helped led the Bulldogs to their first title since 2008

5a - In what turned out to be the best game of the championship games, Olympus completed the 3peat by defeating Bountiful. Gavin Lowe finished his HS career with a 16/6/4 stat line and the likely repeat Mr. Basketball

6a - Westlake finished off a historic run to claim their first state title in school history. Graydin Anderson and Brody Thompson combined for 46 points as they put away Bingham late.

Head over to the site and check out the final player rankings as well! The best times are ahead for the pages and this IG site as well. Spring and summer ball should be epic! Big thanks to Will Beck for taking over the IG page. More to come on some possible partnerships with this site and prep basketball site as well!

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First of all, huge congrats to Morgan on going back to back in 3a! They started at the top of my power rankings and never dropped to #2 all year even after suffering their only loss to a 3a team during the year (runner up American Heritage who also deserves a big congrats for their run this year). Bracken Saunders continued to be the player we all thought and ended his career with another ring and a massive poster dunk in the finals. He’s headed to Milan, Italy to serve his church as a missionary for the next 2 years, but I don’t think it’s the last we will hear from Bracken in the basketball world. Shout out to all the players at Morgan though as they are the epitome of a team representing a community and one of the great stories in HS basketball in Utah.

Likewise, the Provo Bulldogs ran the gauntlet that was the 4a state playoffs and played their best game of the season defeating Hurricane in the championship. Led by the best 2 man game in the state in Makai Allen and Callen Tollestrup, Provo brought home their first title since 2008 (likely when Makai and Callen we just 1 years old). I think Lucas Castagentto deserves his flowers as well. Luke was on an absolute heater during the playoff run connecting on 13 3’s including 6 against Judge and 5 in the finals against Hurricane.

But the year isn’t over yet, so let’s look into some 1,2,5,6a hoops and I’ll offer some predictions which are bound to be wrong!

1a - Before the year started, I picked the Rich Rebels to win it all and they haven’t done anything to change my course. Ridge Lundgren returned from injury and they haven’t lost yet. The quarterfinals start tomorrow over at SLCC.

2a - While I picked Kanab to take home the ring this year, I did have ALA at the top of the rankings for awhile and thought they’d give them a run in a potential finals matchup but South Summit, led by Seniors Maddox Welch and Blake Osguthorpe, and South Sevier completely proved me wrong and they’ll face off in the championship game tonight!

5a - The team to beat got knocked in the most surprising upset since I’ve been covering Utah HS hoops when Alta upset Timpview at Timpview. Much has been said about the game, but give Alta their props. Losing Dash Reiser and Zak Paepke this year could have knocked them down, but they got up again Chumbawumba style. The semi final games are both incredible though between PG and Bountiful and then a rematch of last years finals between Olympus and Highland. PG will be without their starting Center, but they still have the horses to pull off the upset over Bountiful. Olympus holds a 3-2 advantage over Highland in the last 2 years, but I’m picking the Rams to go 2-0 and get the ring in 5a. Betting against Gavin Lowe is a very bad idea, I know. But I’ve been on the Highland train for awhile so I’ll let it ride!

6a - This classification has been almost as hard to predict as 4a was all year long and the quarterfinal games today will be no different. I have no idea who’s going to win and can make an argument for each team to win their respective games. If I had to pick a team to hoist the trophy at the end, I’d lean slightly towards American Fork but I don’t feel great about it knowing that all 8 teams can beat each other on any given night. You get a group of teenage boys playing in a single elimination tournament in a D1 arena and all guesses are solid in 6a.

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Finally, maybe this deserves it’s on post soon, but let’s chat AAU. As players are trying to figure out what to do and where to go, I’ll give my perspective as a parent who went through it and a media member who talks with college coaches every week.

1. Go where you can get better - 14,15,16u is all about development. Play games for sure, but the off season is where the weight room and skill development really create the differences. If you have a team that isn’t focused on your individual development, but really just wants your money…run away.

2. Go where adults can connect you with coaches - college coaches don’t guess, they don’t recruit off rankings or IG mixtapes…they talk with people they trust and if you don’t have an adult in your corner advocating for you who knows coaches and they are trusted by them, then you’re fighting an uphill battle. Here’s a test, ask your AAU coach to text a college coach your information and promote you with you right there. If they can’t do it, that’s a sign they don’t know the right people or they don’t think you’re good enough yet.

3. “Shoe” teams - the real real is this…the Utah Prospects and Mountain Stars are the only true Sneaker teams in the state. They play on the highest circuits and move a high % of their players on to D1/D2 level schools. Puma NXT, Adidas Gold, Nike EYCL, RecruitLook, New Balance, Power32, PrepHoops, Uncle Drews, they’re all basically the same in terms of levels of competition and availability of coaches at the events. They’re each pay to play. Sure they vary a bit, but not enough to say 1 is hands down better than another. Heck, Salt Lake Metro and the SL Bandits don’t play on any of those circuits and still gets guys to college still! Don’t fall in love with the jersey or circuit, fall in love with the work.

4. Finally, have fun and make memories! Don’t let anyone talk you out of playing with your friends and having a blast. The facts are only about 7% of the HS seniors who play HS basketball will play in college and a lot more end up playing AAU. Which is fine. Enjoy it! The flights, hotels, meals, nights out, all of it will make your core memories and friendships you can carry with you long after the ball stops bouncing.

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Playoff Brackets & Predictions

The brackets for the 2A, 3A, and 4A state tournaments are officially out. You can use the interactive bracket predictor on the PrepBasketball.net website to make your own picks.

3A Tournament Outlook

• The Favorites: A championship rematch between Morgan High School and American Heritage is highly anticipated.

• The Challenger: American Heritage is currently the only team to have beaten Morgan in 3A play this year.

• Dark Horse: Richfield is a team to watch, having previously shown they can get hot at the right time during the semi-finals.

• The “Teenage Factor”: Because this is a single-elimination tournament featuring teenage boys, anything from injuries to technical fouls can cause an upset.

2A Tournament Outlook

• Top Contenders: Kanab and American Leadership Academy (ALA) are expected to meet in the finals.

• Intriguing Matchup: Keep an eye on a potential second-round game between North Summit and Rowland Hall, as both teams feature high-level talent from the class of 2028.

• Rising Programs: Utah Military Academy - Camp Williams and APA West Valley are noted for their unique playing styles and recent standout individual performances.

4A Tournament Outlook

• Deep and Wide Open: The 4A classification is described as “absolutely wide open”.

• Unpredictability: The field is so deep that any team ranked from the #1 seed (Provo) down to the #17 seed (Judge Memorial) has a legitimate path to a deep run.

• Region 9 Dominance: Region 9 sent four teams (Crimson Cliffs, Dixie, Pine View, and Hurricane) into the bracket, highlighting the strength of that region.

Navigating the Recruiting Process

Using the recent commitment of AJ Peek to the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) as a case study, here are the key takeaways for parents and players:

The Three Pillars of Recruitment

1. Academics are Non-Negotiable: Grades act as a “regulator” on recruitment. High academic achievement broadens your “opportunity scope,” especially if you are willing to look at schools outside of Utah.

2. Physical Preparation: Strength and conditioning are vital. Players must be physically able to compete at the next level, which requires dedicated time in the weight room and proper nutrition.

3. Skill & Exposure: * Showcase Events: Attending college-run “Elite Camps” (such as those at the Air Force Academy or Westminster) provides direct exposure to coaches from multiple levels.

   • The Value of Film: Having film that shows high-level defensive effort against top-tier competition is often more valuable to coaches than offensive highlights.

The Importance of Networking

• Advocates Matter: Recruitment often relies on having adults (high school coaches, mentors, etc.) who are willing to advocate for the player and leverage their personal networks.

• Social Media Reality Check: Contrary to popular belief, a massive social media presence or “brand” is often not a factor in securing actual college offers.

Final Advice for Players

• Drive the Process: The desire to play in college must be driven by the player, not the parent.

• Seize the Opportunity: If a coach offers you a spot—regardless of the level (D2, D3, NAIA, or Junior College)—and you want to keep playing, take it. For most, college basketball will be the final level of their competitive career.

Would you like me to create a summary of the top-ranked players from any specific graduation year based on the provided data?

https://prepbasketball.net/brackets - you need to have a login to play around with the brackets on the site

Enjoy and let’s see how this season ends up!

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I want to highlight some teams who have really surprised this year

6A - Westlake - preseason, we knew they were good from their run to Section7 and play in the GWC, but this regular season has been one they will remember forever and I know they're not satisfied.

5A - Wasatch - if you asked the players, they all saw this year coming and we probably should have listened! The Wasps are going to be dangerous in the 5A tourney

4A - East - Coach Landen Cummings has got the Leopards in position to claim a region title and make a deep run in the 4a playoffs as well

3A - American Heritage - After Mana Wintana transferred to Wasatch Academy, I think most of us weren't sure how they'd respond, but Coach Wintana has them on a 4 game win streak with Morgan coming to town

2A - North Summit and Rowland Hall - both of these programs have surprised with how well they've played being led by 2028 guards Tayton Pace for NS and Jrue Miller for RH

1A - Manila - Rich was my preseason pick, but Manila is playing extremely well and they'll have a chance to avenge their loss to Rich on 2/13 after doing so against Tintic last week already. Kale Chowning and crew are going to be a problem in the playoffs

For the national teams, I don't know how the Chipotle Nationals work, but I'd love to see LCA get in along with Wasatch Academy (if both qualify). We have been blessed with 4 really top tier national teams here in the state

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Be kind

Anyways, BIG matchup this week with #3 LCA vs #1 Timpview on Tuesday that is bound to have a shakeup potentially.

Layton, Springville, Corner Canyon all had big weeks and made some moves up the rankings overall and in the classifications as well. Along with Herriman after taking down Westlake.

I suspect Orem and Wasatch are ranked a bit too low in 5a upon second look. Easy to fix next week if I'm wrong. Simeon being back for the Tigers is a great sign!

4A is a mess. Everyone just keeps beating everyone with the exception of Provo who is riding a 16 game winning streak after a slow 1-3 start.

If you check out the Massey rankings, there's not a gap larger between 1-2 than Morgan (#35) and Richfield (#57) in any classification. I don't know who is going to stop them from repeating still...

Kanab and ALA is still a toss up at the top of 2a with the slight edge in Massey rankings going to ALA

Rich has won, I think, 10 games in a row now and maintains their lead at the top. I mentioned this in a story as well, but prayers for the Wayne program as their head coach suddenly passed away.

The season is in the home stretch. Everyone enjoy it the most you can!

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Host: Adam Peek

Date: Friday, January 23, 2026

In this episode, we break down the biggest matchups across the state for tonight and look ahead to next week’s blockbusters. We also dive into the current leaderboards to identify the frontrunners for Player of the Year in every classification from 1A to 6A.

Episode Chapters & Timestamps

• 00:00 – Welcome & Episode Overview

• 01:05 – Using the Parrot Scoring App for live scores and streams

• 02:13 – 6A Region 1 Action: Farmington vs. Weber & Davis at Syracuse

• 04:52 – 6A Region 2 & 3: Bingham at Mountain Ridge; Skyridge at American Fork

• 06:41 – The Game of the Night: Lehi at Corner Canyon

• 09:30 – Region 6 & 7 Rivalries: Bountiful at Woods Cross; Maple Mountain at Timpview

• 11:32 – Deep Dive on Timpview: National rankings and upcoming schedule

• 14:40 – 4A Classification Spotlight: Region 9 is tough

• 16:40 – 4A North Battle: Green Canyon at Sky View

• 22:20 – 1/2/3A Updates: Judge Memorial’s brutal schedule; Rich High’s winning streak

• 23:34 – Leaderboard Breakdown: Who’s leading the state in PPG, RPG, and Assists?

• 24:45 – POTY Candidates by Classification: frontrunners for 6A through 1A

Player of the Year Candidates & Players Mentioned

6A Frontrunners

• Karter Miller (Layton) – Leading candidate for 6A POTY; leading state in assists and steals.

• Luke West (Bingham) – Currently 3rd in state scoring (20.6 PPG).

• Bryce Mella (American Fork) – A dominant force in Region 3.

• Ashton Shewell (Lehi) – Coming off a 25-point, 7-rebound performance.

5A Frontrunners

• Gavin Lowe (Olympus) – Averaging 26.1 PPG; the state’s leading scorer.

• Dean Rueckert (Timpview) – 3rd in scoring (21.8 PPG) and 1st in 3-pointers made.

• Jamyn Sondrup (Springville) – Averaging a double-double (19.8 PPG, 12.6 RPG).

4A Frontrunners

• Makai Allen (Provo) – Peek’s current favorite for 4A POTY (23.7 PPG).

• Jaxen McCuistion (Timpanogos) – 24.1 PPG scoring machine.

• Gavin Crane (Green Canyon) – Averaging 20.6 PPG; dominant big in the north.

3A - 1A Notables

• 3A: Bracken Saunders (Morgan) – The clear favorite to repeat as 3A POTY.

• 2A: Kyle Brown (Kanab) and Cooper Crockett (ALA) – Top names to watch.

• 1A: Ridge Lundgren (Rich) – Recently hit 1,000 career points; leading candidate for 1A POTY.

Resources Mentioned

• Parrot Scoring App: Links for all live-streamed high school games and live score tracking.

• Massey Rankings: National team rankings for Utah teams (Timpview currently 21st).

• UtahBasketball.net: For updated stats, standings, and regional breakdowns.

If you want a great education AND want to keep playing basketball, don’t sleep on D3 Hoops! D3Direct.com is here to help you navigate and come up with a plan. Check them out at www.d3direct.com and get your guide today!

Some notes on this weeks team rankings:

1. Westlake just keeps on winning and they moved above Utah Prep in the statewide rankings.

2. Wasatch picked up a big win against PG and moved in to the top 10 overall in the state (speaking of teams who just keep winning..the Wasps are HOOPING!)

3. I can't make heads or tales of 6a after Westlake. I know CCHS beat AF. I know AF beat Davis. I know Bingham beat AF. I guess we'll see what happens in the state tourney because I have no idea how to rank these teams

4. In 5a, from about 6-12 is a big guess also. I should probably have Cyprus higher when I think about it now. Keep winning and I'll correct it next week!

5. 3A - Morgan; 4A - Same story...wide open but Provo moved in to the top 10 UHSAA overall and Dixie is picking up some momentum as well

6. In 2a, Kanab has won 10 in a row and barely took back over the top spot after ALA went to Louisiana and competed, but lost 2 in a row.

7. In 1a, Rich takes the top spot by beating former #1 Manila over the weekend on the road. Ridge Lundgren returned to the team and they are 8-0 and he's averaging 18/5/5

Key Topics & Timestamps

• [00:00] Intro: Why inspiration strikes when you have a mic, a camera, and a loyal audience.

• [01:23] What Actually Is an “Offer”?: Breaking down what it means when a player posts “received an offer” on social media.

  • The difference between “interest” and a “committable offer.”

  • Why marketing (like Bryant University’s 126 offers) can be misleading.

  • Advice for parents: Vet the financial implications and look for “teeth” in the offer.

• [08:28] Fixing the UHSAA Transfer Rule: A critique of the current, “broken” half-year sit-out rule and a proposal for a cleaner system.

  • The high cost of public hearings (approx. $2,000 per hearing).

  • The Proposal: One “free” transfer after freshman or sophomore year with no questions asked.

  • Strict penalties (full-year sit-out) for subsequent transfers or senior-year jumps without a verified family move.

• [15:41] The Volleyball Scoring Experiment: A deep dive into a “what if” scenario for high school hoops.

  • How “Set” play (Best of 5) would change coaching strategy and bench depth.

  • The psychological reset: Why winning a period 16-15 after losing the first 30-6 would create a brand new game.

• [19:39] Closing Remarks: A reminder to stay respectful to refs and student-athletes.

Key Quotes

“Don’t play the offer game. Don’t stack offers. If a coach wants you and you like the school, take it and run with it.”

“We should stop idolizing sports in this way. If you’re in band, dance, or theater, you’re free to move. It’s just sports where we have these special, crazy rules.”

Connect With Us

• Website: UtahBasketball.net, PrepBasketball.net

• Instagram: @UtahBasketball_Net

• Twitter/X: @UtahBBall_Net

Subscribe to the Utah HS Hoops Podcast for more insights into the game, the rules, and the recruiting trail!

Host: Adam Peek

Episode Date: January 12, 2026

Topic: Region-by-region breakdown (Regions 1-22) and regular-season predictions.

Episode Summary

With only one month left in the regular season, host Adam Peek takes a deep dive into every region across the Utah high school basketball landscape. From the battle-tested 6A regions to the long-distance grinds of 1A, Adam breaks down current standings, identifies potential “giant killers,” and predicts which teams will sit atop their regions when the postseason arrives. Timestamps are provided if you just want to listen about your region!

Timestamps & Highlights

6A Breakdown

• [01:20] Region 1: Adam expects Davis to hold their lead, but warns of potential upsets from Farmington or Syracuse.

• [02:40] Region 2: A huge test this week as Westlake (14-0) travels to Bingham. Adam praises Westlake’s depth (the “wave of dudes”).

• [04:02] Region 3: A toss-up region. Adam notes that American Fork usually has the two best players on the floor in Jax Clark and Bryce Mella.

5A Breakdown

• [05:12] Region 4: Prediction: Cyprus goes undefeated in region play, led by Koli Fosita. Watch out for Ian McIntyre at West Jordan.

• [06:38] Region 5: West Field is looking like the class of the region; Adam highlights Drew Faddis as a standout.

• [07:13] Region 6: A heavyweight battle between Olympus and Highland. Adam mentions the massive impact of Oliver Clarke for Olympus.

• [09:20] Region 7: The “hardest schedule” award goes to Wasatch. Prediction: Timpview ultimately wins the region.

4A Breakdown

• [11:38] Region 8: Provo vs. Timpanogos is the matchup to watch. Adam names Makai Allen as a frontrunner for 4A Player of the Year.

• [12:16] Region 9: A complete mystery region. Adam notes Desert Hills is better than their record suggests.

• [13:32] Region 10: Prediction: One of East, Cottonwood, Murray, Juan Diego, or Judge Memorial takes it. So a mystery like Region 9

• [15:13] Region 11: Ridgeline is currently rolling at 5-0; Adam gives a shoutout to Cam Earl and Tyson Brenchley.

3A Breakdown

• [17:05] Region 12: Morgan remains the class of 3A. Adam keeps an eye on a surging Logan team with Ethan Woolley and Sade Nenbee.

• [18:14] Region 13: Prediction: Emery takes the region based on recent consistency.

• [18:49] Region 14: It’s a race between Richfield and Delta.

2A & 1A Breakdown

• [19:05] 2A Regions: Adam highlights American Leadership Academy (ALA) as a top contender, with North Summit and APA West Valley also in the mix.

• [21:40] 1A Regions: Shoutout to Jason Hernandez at Green River for eclipsing 1,000 career points.

• [22:26] Region 20-22: Adam discusses the dominance of Manila and Coach Hughes, shouts out Haygen Jameson from Tintic, and predicts Rich will be the favorite for State now that Ridge Lundgren is back.

Call to Action 📣

• Claim Your Profile: Players, go to PrepBasketball.net to claim your free player profile and get noticed by college coaches.

• Subscribe: Get daily ranking updates and more podcast episodes at UtahBasketball.net.

6A - Outside of Westlake, I'm really just guessing for 2-10 and going off my gut feeling. Their game at Bingham this week will tell us a lot about them as Bingham has been a giant slayer at home.

5A - @ballerz.basketball mentioned what a great surprise Wasatch has been early on, but their toughest schedule is still before them. I watched Springville play at home vs LCA and, outside of Mason Hansen, they looked completely overwhelmed. Keep an eye on Payson as well.

4A - It's easily the most wide open classification right now. The rankings and RPI's won't matter and we may end up with some early matchups in the playoffs that could've just as easily been the state finals (kind of like the AF vs Davis game last year in 6a)

3A - Morgan

2A - I have it on good authority that Parowan is very good but I think ALA and Kanab are going to be meeting in the finals

1A - Coach Hughes and the Manila Mustangs are hooping and he couldn't happen to a better guy. Coach Hughes is one of the most genuine and good people I've met during my time around Utah HS basketball. They have a big game against Rich and Ridge Lundren is back for the Rebels.

Overall - First of all, I can't find any schedules or results for Anthem Prep. Anywhere so I can't really rank them. Timpview ad LCA are 1 and 1a right now. The top 4 teams will all play each other down the stretch as well.

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Play hard

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Olympus moving up over Davis is mostly just a gut feeling on who I think would win if they played on a neutral court and I think if they played 20 games, Olympus would win 11 of them and they'd all be close. Both are very good teams!

Shout out to Westlake who is the only undefeated team left in the state! I watched them closely in a few games this summer and they have just kept getting better.

LCA and Timpview both stay a top the rankings as well despite having their only losses on the year. MaxPreps has Wasatch Academy at #7 which is probably why algorithms are tough to use in team and player rankings. I've been trying to build one out for the player rankings and it's not going great

So for the time being, these are still 100% subjective rankings.

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Podcast Show Notes: Mid-Season Breakout Performers

Date: December 22, 2025

Host: Adam Peek

Episode Summary

A mid-season deep dive into each graduation class to highlight the players climbing the rankings. From ACC-bound seniors to high-impact freshmen, we break down the film and stats of Utah’s rising prospects.

Class of 2026 (Seniors)

• Anthony Felesi (Utah Prep): The #1 ranked junior and Pittsburgh commit. He is currently leading the EYBL Scholastic league in scoring.

• Junior County (Wasatch Academy): A long-time elite talent; the host highlights watching him excel since his “Youngbloods” days.

• Gabriel Sularski (Layton Christian): Rising into the top 5¹. An elite playmaker praised for his ability to get into the lane and compete defensively.

• Joost Dalgaard (Layton Christian): A key piece of the undefeated (10-0) LCA squad.

• Emilis Zibuda (Layton Christian): Noted for his length, high IQ, and one of the most compact, quick-release shots in the state.

• Deng Deng (Juan Diego Catholic): The 6’10” riser has significantly expanded his game with a reliable outside shot.

• Makai Allen (Provo): A Snow College commit who recently exploded for 39 points against Morgan.

• Bracken Saunders (Morgan): Recognized for his 37-point outing in the same matchup against Provo.

• Jordan Oberholtzer (Highland): Highlighted for playing with a necessary “edge” and tenacity that Coach Jones allows him to showcase.

• Aymen Ismail (Judge Memorial): A CSU-Pueblo commit carrying a heavy scoring load due to local roster injuries.

• Mason Ford (Timpview): An elite shooter with multiple 20-25 point games.

• Will Openshaw & Dean Rueckert (Timpview): The dominant bigs who benefit from the spacing Ford provides.

• Cameron Brower (Davis): Highlighted as a high-level performer on a top team who deserves more attention from college coaches.

• Luke Rice (Park City): A strong, physical guard averaging ~25 PPG.

• Itay Lustgarten (Cottonwood): A defensive menace and “true point guard” facilitating for teammates Malei Atem, Tengis Bayasgalan, and Luka Cecez.

Class of 2027 (Juniors)

• Mana Wintana (Wasatch Academy): The new #1 in the class². A transfer who earned his minutes through sheer tenacity—described as an absolute “dog” on the floor.

• Crew Fotheringham (Lone Peak): The former #1 who remains an elite national-level prospect.

• Roman Avdejev (Layton Christian): A major riser now firmly entrenched in the top 5.

• Malakai Tobler (Farmington): A 5’10” point guard who plays much taller due to elite lateral and vertical speed.

• Colton Hoenigman (Syracuse): A surprise riser helping lead a strong Syracuse program.

• Gage VanBrocklin & Gus VanBrocklin (2026 Davis): Both brothers are playing major minutes with a competitive edge for the Darts.

Class of 2028 (Sophomores)

• Jordan Horsley (Mountain Ridge): A skilled player with great size and handle who “shoots the lights out”.

• Jack Layton (Farmington): A key contributor to the Phoenix team’s success.

• Kalou Ruot (Judge Memorial): Averaging a double-double at 6’7”. The host predicts he could be the best big man in the class as he adds strength.

• Drew Faddis (West Field): A 6’7” sophomore riser with excellent footwork in the paint.

• Jrue Miller (Rowland Hall): A high-volume scorer who averaged 40+ PPG early this season.

• Kobe Ross (American Leadership Academy): Younger brother of Jordan Ross; recently led ALA to a massive win over North Summit.

Class of 2029 (Freshman)

• Ty Kozlowski (Corner Canyon): A rising talent to watch in the Chargers’ system.

• Xavier Mulford (Herriman): A freshman already making an impact at the varsity level.

• Ben Wanner (Intermountain Christian): Dropped 37 points against Ben Lomond; a high-level athlete.

• Ryan Steiger (Lone Peak): Highlighted as a freshman name to watch for the Knights.

• Brayden James (Bingham): Noted for earning rotation minutes on a deep, high-level Bingham team.

• Kiir Naang (Anthem Prep): The current #1 ranked freshman in the state, standing at 6’9”.

Closing Message

“If you are playing varsity basketball at any level... you are in the top 10% of anyone who has ever played youth basketball. Take a minute to reflect and be grateful for your journey.”

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