High school basketball: 247Sports pegs A.J. Dybantsa as top prospect in initial Class of 2026 rankings

By Jordan Divens Sep 13, 2023, 2:00pm

Tyran Stokes, Brandon McCoy Jr., Caleb Holt and Alijah Arenas round out top five in the sophomore class.

The 247Sports high school basketball prospect rankings were updated Wednesday with the initial Class of 2026 rankings featuring Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) wing A.J. Dybantsa in the No. 1 spot.

Dybantsa led both the NBPA Top 100 Camp and Nike EYBL Peach Jam in scoring over the summer. The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 28.3 points per contest on 61.4 percent shooting from the field and 81.5 percent from the free throw line in six games at the NBPA Top 100 Camp before pumping in 25.8 points on 46.6 percent from the field and 81.6 percent from the field in five games of Nike EYBL Peach Jam action.

Prolific Prep teammate 6-7 forward Tyran Stokes debuts at No. 2 on the list while 6-3 guard Brandon McCoy Jr of St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), 6-5 wing Caleb Holt of Buckhorn (New Market, Ala.) and 6-4 guard Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth (Calif.) round out the top five respectively.

Alijah Arenas is the son of former NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas.

Other names of interest in the Class of 2026 include five additional sons of former NBA players:



* No. 9 Elijah Williams, son of Monty Williams
* No. 15 Jaxon Richardson, son of Jason Richardson
* No. 20 Tajh Ariza, son of Trevor Ariza
* No. 26 Brandon Bass Jr., son of Brandon Bass
* No. 54 Kaden House, son of Eddie House

MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year Jason Crowe Jr. comes in at No. 7 in the initial rankings after averaging 36.0 points, 5.4 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.1 rebounds per contest to guide Lynwood (Calif.) to the Division V state title.

The updated Class of 2024 rankings feature Cooper Flagg of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) in the top spot while reigning MaxPreps National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer of Columbus remains atop the Class of 2025 rankings.
Tyran Stokes debuts at No. 2 in the initial Class of 2026 rankings according to 247Sports. (Photo: Ed Turlington)
Tyran Stokes debuts at No. 2 in the initial Class of 2026 rankings according to 247Sports. (Photo: Ed Turlington)