Top Southern California high school basketball prospects - Los Angeles Times
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Top Southern California high school basketball prospects for 2025 and 2026

St. John Bosco's Brandon McCoy, left, and St. Bernard's Tahj Ariza battle for position on the court during a game.
St. John Bosco’s Brandon McCoy, left, and St. Bernard’s Tahj Ariza are among the top high school basketball prospects in Southern California.
(Nick Koza)
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The 2025 and ’26 high school basketball classes in Southern California are incredibly deep, with more than a handful of prospects who could be game changers for any college program. Dinos Trigonis, a longtime camp organizer, club coach and talent evaluator, shared his thoughts on the top players in each class with The Times:

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2025

Santa Maria St. Joseph's Tounde Yessoufou drives to the basket.
Santa Maria St. Joseph’s Tounde Yessoufou is among the top high school basketball prospects in Southern California.
(Nick Koza)

Tounde Yessoufou, 6-5 SF, Santa Maria St. Joseph: “A big, strong, physical and athletic swingman a la [Miami Heat All-Star] Jimmy Butler … he’s like a Swiss army knife and uses his strength to score at the basket … has developed a very nice jump shot.”

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Brayden Burries, 6-5 SG, Eastvale Roosevelt: “A very polished guard who can play on and off the ball … great feel and instincts, he’s a natural scorer … has a chance to be a special player at the college level and beyond.”

Elzie Harrington, 6-5 CG, St. John Bosco: “A big guard who reminds me a lot of a Tyrese Haliburton-type lead guard … can score but likes to facilitate and plays with good poise and savvy … can guard multiple positions … possesses very good basketball IQ and is a very good student; his father Darrell is a professor at UCLA medical school.”

Harvard-Westlake guard Nikolas Khamenia shoots during the CIF-SS Open Division regional final in March.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Nikolas Khamenia, 6-7 SF, Harvard-Westlake: “A very skilled face-up player who can really score inside and from the perimeter … kind of a European-style forward, he can stretch the floor and is very offensively gifted.”

Jovani Ruff, 6-5 CG, Long Beach Poly: “A versatile lead guard with nice length and an effective mid-range pull-up jump shot … talented prospect is just consistent production away from joining the top tier in this group.”

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Mazi Mosley, 6-5 SG, La Cañada Flintridge St. Francis: “He’s a shooter, kind of a thin-framed guard that’s starting to make a move and maximizing his potential … quick, can score in a variety of ways and fairly athletic … needs to add strength but has big upside.”

UCLA and USC coaches must contend with a wide range of recruiting challenges as they work to improve dramatically from disappointing seasons.

Jan. 26, 2024

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2026

St. John Bosco standout Brandon McCoy drives to the basket during a game.
St. John Bosco standout Brandon McCoy is among the players to watch in the upcoming years.
(Nick Koza)

Brandon McCoy, 6-4 PG, St. John Bosco: “A very versatile, athletic two-way guard who can score in a variety of ways … very quick on getting to the basket but also a guy who can turn defense into offense as a terrific on-ball defender and getting into passing lanes … great basketball instincts.”

Alijah Arenas, 6-5 CG, Chatsworth: “Tremendous shooting touch and footwork; has just got to get stronger and a little quicker … has natural scoring instincts and knows how to create space to get his shot off … taller than his dad [former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas] at the same stage.”

Tajh Ariza, 6-7 SF, St. Bernard: “Very talented swingman is much further along than his dad [former UCLA and Lakers forward Trevor Ariza] was at the same stage … kind of a big, tall wing who can score off the dribble and has massive upside that is too massive to ignore.”

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Lynwood's Jason Crowe is among the rising basketball prospects in Southern California.
(Nick Koza)

Jason Crowe Jr., 6-2 PG, Lynwood: “Shades of [former NBA guard] Brandon Jennings, a lefty guard, kind of a similar build in high school … his strength has not crystallized and that’s where he’s potentially at a disadvantage against bigger, stronger guards, but he’s crafty and just got his 2,000th point in a year and a half of high school.”

Julius Price, 6-3 CG, Santa Maria St. Joseph: “Reminds me of a young [Denver Nuggets guard] Jamal Murray as a lead guard … Swedish import is a smooth combo guard with impressive mid-range game and excellent feel for the game.”

Kaiden Bailey, 6-2 SG, Crean Lutheran: “Pure shooter with NBA three-point range who just hit the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore … the kind of guy who goes to college and becomes a big-time scorer and stays a while putting up big-time numbers.

Mater Dei's Brannon Martinsen defends during a game.
Mater Dei’s Brannon Martinsen is among the top Southern California high school basketball recruits.
(Nick Koza)

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Brannon Martinsen, 6-7 SF, Santa Ana Mater Dei: “His skill set is a cross between Manu Ginobili and Jaime Jaquez Jr. … hard-nosed and versatile, he’s a lefty who can play the two, three or four with great basketball instincts. … a terrific passer, he can also hurt you by shooting the three and scoring inside.”

Zachary White, 6-6 SF, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: “Talented wing forward, he doesn’t get a lot of the acclaim yet because he plays a role behind other players … he’s the son of former Rams running back Russell White.”

Christian Collins, 6-7 SF, St. Bernard: “Long and athletic forward has growing confidence and terrific long-term potential … son of former Inglewood High standout DeAngelo Collins.”

Joe Sterling, 6-2 CG, Crespi: “Sharpshooter has put up big numbers, including a recent 26-point effort against Harvard-Westlake.”

Maximo Adams, 6-6 SF, Gardena Serra: “Younger brother of 2023 Kansas signee Marcus Adams [now at Brigham Young] is a very athletic forward with a high-major skill package of his own.”

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Brayden Kyman, 6-7 SF, Santa Margarita: “Brother of former UCLA wing Jake Kyman, Brayden is a strong wing forward with accurate three-point shooting touch.”

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