AAU season is formally up on us. Whereas there have been a variety of excellent impartial AAU occasions all through the nation to get issues going this spring, the circuit actually begins when the shoe firms start having their occasions. Whereas Adidas, Underneath Armour, New Stability all have important quantities of expertise on their respective circuits, there may be one league that’s normally on a totally totally different degree: Nike EYBL.
Held simply exterior of Phoenix on the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, EYBL Session I provided rising seniors the possibility to solidify their reputations in a single remaining AAU go-around. Not like most different AAU occasions, gamers performed one sport a day, making it troublesome to determine which video games to look at at instances with such an unlimited quantity of expertise within the constructing. Fortunately, the Ballislife crew was rolling deep with Ani Umana, Ronnie Flores, and myself all manning totally different courts to take a look at the motion.
That being stated, here’s a extra in depth have a look at a variety of the highest 2026 gamers who caught my eye on the 17U degree:
Tajh Ariza, 6’8, SF, Crew Why Not/St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)Â
In my eyes, there wasn’t a participant who solidified their popularity extra at EYBL Session 1 than Tajh Ariza. The son of longtime NBA vet Trevor Ariza is analogous to his father in that he’s a 6-foot-8+ two means wing, however the youthful Ariza has an much more superior offensive sport on the identical level. The lithe swingman was a beast of a finisher in transition, was just about unstoppable on straight line drives to the rack, and confirmed excellent contact together with his finishes within the paint. A well-known commodity for fairly a while on the West Coast, Ariza is actually cementing himself as a consensus high 5 participant together with his play on the EYBL.Â
J. J. Andrews, 6’6, SG/SF, Brad Beal Elite/Little Rock Christian Academy (Ark.)
A staple of consistency, J.J. Andrews is a type of wings who is consistently in assault mode that you simply simply completely hate to have the duty of guarding. The highly effective lefty is aware of how one can rating successfully with restricted dribbles, bodily punished smaller defenders within the paint together with his 220 pound body, and stopped on the dime for pull ups together with his mid-range sport. When you toss in his 19.7 level per sport scoring common and talent to protect a number of positions, it is easy to see why Andrews is approaching 5 star standing.Â
Christian Collins, 6’8, SF, Crew Why Not/St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
There aren’t many gamers who’ve exploded extra previously 18 months than Christian Collins, and that ascension would not seem like stopping any time quickly. The ahead is so remarkably proficient that he makes the sport look extremely simple on the ground, whether or not or not it’s scoring off screens or creating buckets for himself. He possesses nice contact capturing from the perimeter, is remarkably coordinated for a growing participant his dimension, and makes use of his dimension to complete excessive of defenders within the paint. Forming the most effective duo within the EYBL with Tajh Ariza, each ought to possible discover themselves as top-5 gamers by just about each scouting service sooner slightly than later.Â
Jalen Montonati, 6’7, SF, MoKan Elite/Owasso (Okla.)
It wasn’t essentially the most effective weekend for Jalen Montonati numbers sensible, however the impression that he provided as a plug and play swingman was evident in Phoenix. The massive wing confirmed off easy vary effectively past the 3-point arc, had a launch excessive sufficient to get his shot off over just about any defender, and retains you sincere sufficient as a scoring risk with placing the ball on the ground a number of instances and scoring excessive by way of a gentle contact. Oklahoma’s greatest participant positively performs the sport at his personal tempo as effectively, making him a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders on the perimeter.
Katrelle Harmon, 6’4, PG/SG, Vegas Elite/Wasatch Academy (Mt. Nice, Utah)
Having performed varsity since he was an eighth grader in Seattle with BFL Prep, Katrelle Harmon has been producing at a excessive price for fairly a while now, and whereas he has all the time been referred to as a scorer, his improvement as a playmaker for others has been enjoyable to look at. Sustaining his scoring presence to the tune of 24.7 factors per sport with Vegas Elite, Harmon additionally displayed his potential as a catalyst for Wasatch Academy, main the EYBL Scholastic League with 6.2 assists per sport. Harmon performs the sport with an amazing change of tempo, is elite getting at drawing fouls (shot 39 free throws in 3 video games at EYBL), and is trying like he’ll be the following in line from the vastly underrated Pacific Northwest.
Marcus Johnson, 6’2, PG, Spiece Indy Warmth/Garfield Heights (Ohio)
Arguably the most effective particular person shot creator within the class of 2026, Marcus Johnson confirmed his potential to create separation towards anybody within the opening session of the EYBL. The lefty from Cleveland is excellent utilizing his footwork and easy vary to get to his step-back bounce shot. He has additionally improved as a finisher to the purpose he retains you sincere together with his potential to assault the rack. The reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball (his father, Sonny, additionally received Ohio Mr. Basketball) is the point of interest of coach Jake Diebler’s new look Ohio State Buckeye recruiting class.
