Ballislife writer Ani Umana had a busy summer stopping by all the shoe company circuits and a few key independent events. He evaluated plenty of prospects in the national 2026 class and breaks it down in this report.
2026: Starting At The Top
This topic has been discussed damn near ad nauseum, but when reviewing the 2026 class, we have to start at the top. The current senior class compared to recent years doesn’t turn up great reviews. There are no projected talents such as Cooper Flagg, Zion Williamson, Chet Holmgren, A.J. Dybantsa, or Darryn Peterson, but I felt this summer allowed me to see there is better depth in 2026 than previously thought.
Starting at No. 1, forward Tyran Stokes currently takes that title with a sizable lead. He originally was going to forfeit the spring-summer circuit to focus on training, but he came back in the month of May and provided numerous, loud statement performances that no one else consistently did.
At two, Jordan Smith Jr. I feel deserves that spot because of his consistent play with Team Takeover. At about 6’2 with long arms and a next level frame, Smith is an outside dog and the best defender nationally, regardless of class. He would be an upper echelon defender in college basketball right now. His offensive game has grown as a big-time downhill finisher/scorer.
After No. 2, it gets, tricky as I can name 15-20 guys that are in contention for top 10 status.
Here are those names due to a blend of productivity and upside (in no particular order):
Jason Crowe, Dylan Mingo, Anthony Thompson, Cameron Williams, Bryson Howard, Taylen Kinney, JJ Andrews, Deron Rippey, Jaxon Richardson, Austin Goosby, Miika Murriinen, Toni Bryant, Arafan Diane, Caleb Gaskins, Christian Collins, Brandon McCoy, Qayden Samuels, Alex Constanza, Caleb Holt, Colben Landrew, Gavin Placide.
Some in this list have had better showings during the grassroots season than others. For example, Crowe, Holt, Mingo and Andrews I think are Top 10 locks but the rest aren’t.
How Good Is The Class?
I have heard many complaints about the class from scouts and college coaches, but I’m more optimistic about the 2026 group because after a summer of traveling, I found that there is more depth than I realized. I do agree that the big-man depth isn’t great. Especially with Sheek Pearson (Marquette) and Nijai Hines (Seton Hall) classing up to the 2025 class. There are more project bigs than ready to play guys in 2026, but those projects will still command good NIL money because a school would rather try to work and retain them while they are on campus during their freshman campaign than try to go in a bidding war when they hit the open market. There will be some bidding anyways, but it’s easier when the player is already on the team and staff can work something out early.
Looking at the overall talent depth, guys like Cam Williams, a 6’10 forward that’s mobile, can defend multiple spots and has an emerging offensive game, fits the prototype desired at the next levels. Gavin Placide is also 6’10 and has a functional handle, scores inside the arc in multiple ways and has a chance to be an offensive hub one day if he continues to polish and grow his skill. Ethan Taylor and Arafan Diane lead the big man group. Back in March, that big man duo was in the bottom half of the Top 100 100, but now they are strong 2026 McDonald’s All American candidates. Maxi Adams, who originally was ranked high in his early years but saw a noticeable dip, is back into the fold due to his play on the EYBL circuit.
Colben Landrew, at 6’5, 210 pounds, is a lefty bucket getter that’s dynamic as a scorer. He played very well on the 3SSB circuitand made a loud statement, leading his team in scoring in the July Championships. Bryson Howard goes from outside the 100 to maybe being a top 10 player in the country.
More 2026 Gems
There’s more to highlight like Vaugn Karvala, a 6’6 athletic shooter. Quinn Costello, a 6’10 specialist that plays hard and moves well. Dakari Spear, a big-time shooting threat that has positional size and shooting prowess to contribute for a high major program early. Continuing on the shooting wave, Aziz Olajuwon has turned out to be one of the best shooters in the country. Herly Brutus, a 6’6 elongated wing that is a big-time slasher and defender. Ralph Scott, a late blooming 6’6 guard that has long-arms and promising self-creation skills.
Jesiah Jervis should see a considerable bump in his national ranking. So should Anthony Brown. I personally believe Latrell Almond is a top 25 level player in the country. I’m a big Ethan Harris fan because he’s 6’8 with legit perimeter skills and is a quick decision maker. Joe Sterling is a high level scorer that just needs to go to the right college situation.
2024 and 2025 Comparison At The Top
Even though there are new gems in the class, I do understand from the top, it’s not as strong as the previous classes. There’s no one in 2026 that I feel could skip a year of college and go to the NBA. in 2024, Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and perhaps even V.J. Edgecomb and Tre Johnson, you can make a serious case for making a jump from high school to the NBA. Now, college probably benefited them but when looking at their talent and production at the high school level, they could have made the leap. All five, and include Khaman Maluach, Flory Bidunga, Derik Queen and Jayden Quaintance, would probably be the No. 1 player in 2026.
The same concept applies for 2025. Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa and Cam Boozer are good enough to go to the NBA out of high school. I should add Mikel Brown, Nate Ament, Koa Peat and Chris Cenac in there, too. They will benefit from a year of college, but honestly don’t need it. Then when you look at the top 10 of that class, how many of those players would be the No. 1 player in 2026? Likely seven sure fire guys. That’s where the “This class is bad” take comes from.
But going back to my original point with the 2026 class and its depth, and sneaky depth at that. I feel what you got here is a compilation of guys that’s best basketball is ahead of them and we will see outlier growth out of several dudes that I didn’t mention in this article. While it may look goofy right now, I do see the long-term prototype from many prospects.
There’s guys that are fantastic defenders but aren’t good shooters yet (I.E. Jordan Smith, Jaxon Richardson, Joe Philon). Or the big guards that need to impose their will in games more (I.E. Dylan Mingo, Austin Goosby). We have prospects that have ideal positional size, are a plus athlete, but need to get stronger, polish skill and be quicker and efficient decision makers (I.E. Tarris Bouie, Chris Washington, Christian Collins, Gage Mayfield). There’s the ultra talented guys that need to play harder (I.E. Alex Constanza, Toni Bryant) and there are players we don’t know how much better they’ve gotten or how good they are now because they have been hurt for most of the summer (I.E. Ratliff twins, Quincy Wadley, Brandon McCoy).
I just think it’s a wait-and-see when it comes to the 2026 class. The summer gave me a great feel for the class but the pre-season/fall leagues and non-district schedules will give me a better grasp. Let’s see how it all pans out because college and NBA scouts shouldn’t sell this class short, just yet.
