High school basketball: Arafan Diane, Adonis Ratliff and Obinna Ekezie headline top 10 centers in 2025-26

By Jordan Divens Oct 31, 2025, 9:00am

Diane had a breakout summer that saw him jump into the top 20 of the Class of 2026 rankings.

Our position-by-position breakdown of the 2025-26 high school basketball season concludes with centers. Next week our coverage continues with the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 and expanded MaxPreps Top 100.


Arafan Diane of Iowa United, Adonis Ratliff of Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) and Obinna Ekezie Jr. of Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.) headline the selections as all three players enter their senior campaigns with lofty expectations.

Players on post-graduate or non-scholastic programs are not eligible for inclusion. Read on for a breakdown of the top 10 centers in high school basketball this season.
Adonis Ratliff is poised for a big senior season at Archbishop Stepinac. (PHOTO: Lonnie Webb)
Adonis Ratliff is poised for a big senior season at Archbishop Stepinac. (PHOTO: Lonnie Webb)
1. Arafan Diane, Iowa United (Des Moines, Iowa)
7-1 | Senior | Uncommitted
The imposing presence has quickly grown into one of the top prospects in the nation. Across seven games in the U17 World Cup, Diane averaged 19.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest for Guinea.

7-0 | Senior | USC
Versatile big man tallied 12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per outing to help the Crusaders to their third straight Class AA City championship.

7-0 | Junior | Uncommitted
Top five Class of 2027 prospect tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists per contest to help guide Prolific Prep (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) to the Chipotle Nationals semifinals and earn third team MaxPreps Sophomore All-America honors.

7-1 | Senior | Uncommitted
Led Shawnee Mission Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) to back-to-back state championships before transferring to the fifth-year powerhouse program. Taylor averaged 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per contest as a junior.

5. Darius Ratliff, Archbishop Stepinac
7-0 | Senior | USC
Played in just 16 games last season while battling injuries, averaging 9.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per contest to help the Crusaders finish the season ranked No. 24 in the MaxPreps Top 25.

6-10 | Sophomore | Uncommitted
Earned second team MaxPreps Freshman All-America honors after putting up 13.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game in his second season of varsity hoops.



6-11 | Junior | Uncommitted
MaxPreps Sophomore All-America honorable mention selection led the Vikings to the Open Division state title game with averages of 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.

6-10 | Sophomore | Uncommitted
Promising Class of 2028 prospect had a dominant debut season, earning second team MaxPreps Freshman All-America honors after averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots per game while shooting 67 percent from the field.

6-10 | Senior | Gonzaga
Four-star prospect led Germantown to its first state championship in program history as a junior, piling up 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots per contest.

6-10 | Senior | Florida State commit
Top 60 Class of 2026 prospect showed promise at West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Fla.) as a junior with averages of 9.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per outing.