2028 top 30 player rankings are out!

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2028 top 30 player rankings are out!

Utah HS Basketball

Oct 16, 2025

Transcript

Good morning! 2028 player rankings are out this morning and I had a ton of fun researching and talking with people in the know on this class (2029 is releasing tomorrow)

Create lasting connections and be fully present during games by grabbing your own BallerCam at www.ballercam.com and use code VIPADAM to get $25 off an accessory (which you don’t need, FYI. You can get the device and just pay $29/month for access to the BallerCam app to stream and record. It’s awesome sauce)

You can view them at rankings.utahbasketball.net along with the 2026, 2027, and team pre season rankings.

There’s a thread here on Substack (or comment on this post) to help me correct data errors. There’s probably a team misclassified or a player who’s changed teams, or height that’s wrong, etc.

Here’s a quick glance at why Jaden Cecil came in at #1 overall in the class and the next clip is a shout out to Hyatt Thomas at 1A Whitehorse who came in at #30:

I try to type and make content original, but I will use AI to help with show notes so I can get back to my real job :) Here’s what the robots think the show notes should be:

Utah High School Hoops — Class of 2028 Initial Rankings (Methodology + First Look)

Release date: October 16, 2025
Host: Adam

Summary

Adam walks through how he built the initial Class of 2028 Top 30 for UtahBasketball.net — emphasizing objectivity, transparency, and room for movement as more full-game data rolls in. He also previews team power rankings, why smaller-school standouts matter, and how to use rankings as motivation (not validation).

Topics & Timestamps

00:00 – Opening; quick word on the portable Baller Cam tool he’s been testing for volleyball and hoops
03:40 – Ranking philosophy: mixing in-person eval, trusted coaches/scouts, Great Western Classic notes, and Utah MaxPreps varsity production for freshmen
08:55 – Why the list is fluid until tip-off; tracking in-season player movement (only to highlight growth)
12:10 – How to filter the rankings page (USAA-only, classification, position) and why national/prep kids are tagged separately
16:30 – The Top 10 snapshot and why the top three all had a case for No. 1
22:05 – Spotlight on smaller schools: Whitehorse’s Hyatt Thomas and honoring All-State freshmen
26:40 – Team Power Rankings: overall board + classification/region views, early errors to be corrected with community help
33:10 – Using game film + objective data over highlights; what actually moves a player up the board
38:00 – What’s next: 2029 class preview; possible expansion of 2028 list before the season

Players Mentioned (with Utah MaxPreps context)

Jayden (Jayden) Cecil — Utah Prep, 2028, PG: 2024–25 early Grind Session log shows 1.0 PPG, 1.0 APG (3 GP). MaxPreps profile
Troy Kaufusi — Orem, 2028, PG: As a freshman on varsity (19 GP), posted 2.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 1.6 RPG in 11.4 MPG. MaxPreps stats
Hyatt Thomas — Whitehorse, 2028, G: 14.8 PPG on 2024–25 varsity ledger as a freshman; one of the few 1A/2A freshmen to earn All-State last season. MaxPreps stats
Josh Tolman — Corner Canyon, 2028, F: Multiple double-digit outings as a frosh — 14 vs Copper Hills (Jan 10, 2025); 13 vs Lone Peak (Jan 7, 2025) and 13 vs Mountain Ridge (Jan 14, 2025). MaxPreps profile
Oscar Keegan — East, 2028, SF: Early varsity action; broke out with 21 points (9–15 FG) vs Olympus as a freshman. MaxPreps stats • Game recap

Notes: Some other names mentioned (e.g., Easton Hansen/Fremont; Jackson Ford/Timpview; Mac Rasmussen/Orem; Clint Lillie/Jordan) appear on team rosters or with limited early varsity minutes; we’ll add season-average lines as official stat pages populate.

Notable Quotes

“Rankings are subjective — I’m just trying to inject as much objectivity as possible.”
“Use the number next to your name as motivation, not a finish line.”
“Full game film + verified data moves you up; highlights just start the conversation.”