Who to watch in high school basketball's Class of 2015

MaxPreps.com's initial Class of 2015 rankings won't be released until next August, but a number of rising sophomores have already made serious headway toward securing a spot on that list.

Here's a look at some of the early contenders for elite status and a deeper look at 60 prospects we expect to make a strong push for inclusion in the initial Class of 2015 Top 100 in 12 months:

* Karl Towns is the early leader in the clubhouse for No. 1 player honors in the rising sophomore class. The 6-foot-9 big man was part of the Dominican Republic's unsuccessful bid to reach the Olympics over the summer, but saw action against the eventual gold medal United States in tune-up play and didn't look out of place.

* Malik Newman earned National Freshman of the Year honors from MaxPreps last winter after putting up 22.9 points per game and leading Callaway (Jackson) to Mississippi's Class 5A state title. He did nothing to hurt his status as a potential star in the 2015 class over the summer with the Jackson Tigers club team.

* Towns isn't the only post showing early signs of elite promise. Ivan Rabb of Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and Diamond Stone of Dominican (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) have some big-time offers already and showed they are capable of battling with talented upperclassmen at the LeBron James Skills Academy in July.



* Mickey Mitchell had a breakout performance last December at the City of Palms Classic with Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) and enhanced his reputation as a budding star over the summer with the Texas Titans. At 6-7, Mitchell has some point-forward in him and also is on the college football radar as a quarterback.

* Southern California is loaded with 2015 guards. Sedrick Barefield of Centennial (Corona), Tyler Dorsey of St. John Bosco (Bellflower), Aaron Holiday of Campbell Hall (North Hollywood) and Marcus LoVett Jr. of Providence (Burbank) all make the list below. Dorsey, Holiday and LoVett all averaged over 20 points per game as freshmen at their respective schools

* Perennial Georgia power has a cast of young guns that will be tough to beat in the coming years. Wheeler's young guns. Daniel Giddens (6-9, 215, C), Jaylen Brown (6-4, 180, SG/SF) and Kejuan Johnson (6-5, 210, SF) are all included on our watch list and will apparently be joined by fellow 2015 Jerron Love, a highly-touted point guard, in the fall.

Class of 2015 Players to Watch

Name	College
Jalen Adams, PGCushing Academy (Ashburnham, MA)6-1/165
KeVaughn Allen, SGNorth Little Rock (AR)6-3/170
Malik Anderson, PFAlemany (Mission Hills, CA)6-7/200
Sedrick Barefield, PG/SGCentennial (Corona, CA)6-0/165
Ravion Bell, PFSouthwest DeKalb (Decatur, GA)6-8/185
Isaiah Briscoe, SGSt. Benedicts Prep (Newark, NJ)6-3/190
Jaylen Brown, SG/SFWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-4/180
Rob Brown, PF/CMillbrook (Raleigh, NC)6-8/220
Tookie Brown, PGMorgan County (Madison, GA)5-10/170
Thomas Bryant, PFBishop Kearney (Rochester, NY)6-8/195
Jalen Coleman, SGIndianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis, IN)6-3/165
Levi Cook, CLiberty (Glen Daniel, WV)6-10/300
Bryant Crawford, PGGonzaga (Washington, DC)6-2/165
Tyler Davis, CLiberty (Frisco, TX)6-8/300
Marcus Derrickson, PFPaul VI (Fairfax, VA)6-6/225
Cheick Diallo, COur Savior New American (Centereach, NY)6-9/200
Noah Dickerson, C/PFLovett (Atlanta, GA)6-7/235
Tyler Dorsey, SG/PGSt. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA)6-4/175
Perry Dozier Jr., PG/SGSpring Valley (Columbia, SC)6-2/160
Hyron Edwards, PGEast Chicago Central (East Chicago, IN)6-0/160
Henry Ellenson, PF/CRice Lake (WI)6-7/220
Donte Fitzpatrick, SGWhite Station (Memphis, TN)6-4/175
Andrew Fleming, SG/PGEnsworth (Nashville, TN)6-4/175
Daniel Giddens, CWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-9/215
Montague Gill Caesar, SFHuntington Prep (Huntington, WV)6-5/185
Jessie Govan, C/PFSt. Marys (Manhasset, NY)6-9/215
Austin Grandstaff, SGRockwall (TX)6-3/170
A.J. Harris, PGDunbar (Dayton, OH)5-9/145
Aaron Holiday, PGCampbell Hall (North Hollywood, CA)5-10/165
Franklin Howard, SG/SFPaul VI (Fairfax, VA)6-4/170
Brandon Ingram, SG/SFKinston (NC)6-4/165
Tyler Jackson, CNazareth Academy (LaGrange Park, IL)7-0/260
Will Jackson, PGAthens Christian (Athens, GA)6-4/175
Chase Jeter, PFBishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)6-7/195
D-Jery Jean-Baptiste, CWilbraham & Monson Academy (Wilbraham, MA)6-9/210
Kejuan Johnson, SFWheeler (Marietta, GA)6-5/210
Brodricks Jones, PF/CView Park (Los Angeles, CA)6-9/190
Luke Kennard, SG/SFFranklin (OH)6-4/170
Skal Labissierre, PF/CEvangelical Christian (Cordova, TN)6-9/190
Keelan Lawson, SFMemphis East (Memphis, TN)6-5/185
Marcus LoVett Jr., PGProvidence (Burbank, CA)5-11/155
Charles Matthews, SGSt. Rita (Chicago, IL)6-3/170
King McClure, PG/SGTriple A Academy (Dallas, TX)6-3/180
Jeremy Miller, PFNew Hampton School (New Hampton, NH)6-9/200
Mickey Mitchell, SF/PGPrestonwood Christian (Plano, TX)6-7/210
Malik Newman, PG/SGCallaway (Jackson, MS)6-2/175
Prentiss Nixon, PGBolingbrook (IL)6-0/160
Ivan Rabb, PFBishop ODowd (Oakland, CA)6-8/205
Malachi Richardson, SF/PFTrenton Catholic Academy (Trenton, NJ)6-6/195
Samir Sehic, PF/CCy-Woods (Cypress, TX)6-8/235
Horace Spencer, PF/CWilliam Tennent (Warminster, PA)6-8/190
Diamond Stone, CDominican (Whitefish Bay, WI)6-9/245
Elijah Thomas, PF/CRockwall (TX)6-8/250
Karl Towns, CSt. Joseph (Metuchen, NJ)6-9/220
Allonzo Trier, PG/SGOklahoma City Storm (Oklahoma City, OK)6-1/155
Chandler White, SGCarroll (Fort Wayne, IN)6-2/170
D.J. Williams, SFSimeon (Chicago, IL)6-6/185
Jared Wilson-Frame, SG/SFWindsor (CT)6-4/200
Stephen Zimmerman, CBishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)6-10/205

Click here for a complete look at MaxPreps.com's Class of 2015 database.