AAU season is formally up on us. Whereas there have been various excellent impartial AAU occasions all through the nation to get issues going this spring, the circuit really begins when the shoe corporations start having their occasions. Whereas Adidas, Below Armour, New Steadiness all have vital quantities of expertise on their respective circuits, there’s one league that’s normally on a fully totally different degree: Nike EYBL.
Held simply exterior of Phoenix on the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, EYBL Session I supplied rising seniors the possibility to solidify their reputations in a single last AAU go-around. Not like most different AAU occasions, gamers performed one recreation a day, making it troublesome to determine which video games to observe at instances with such an unlimited quantity of expertise within the constructing. Fortunately, the Ballislife workforce 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 various 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.)
In my eyes, there wasn’t a participant who solidified their fame extra at EYBL Session 1 than Tajh Ariza. The son of longtime NBA vet Trevor Ariza is similar to his father in that he’s a 6-foot-8+ two method wing, however the youthful Ariza has an much more superior offensive recreation on the identical level. The lithe swingman was a beast of a finisher in transition, was nearly 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.
J. J. Andrews, 6’6, SG/SF, Brad Beal Elite/Little Rock Christian Academy (Ark.)
A staple of consistency, J.J. Andrews is a kind of wings who is continually in assault mode that you just simply completely hate to have the duty of guarding. The highly effective lefty is aware of the best way to 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 recreation. When you toss in his 19.7 level per recreation scoring common and skill to protect a number of positions, it is easy to see why Andrews is approaching 5 star standing.
Christian Collins, 6’8, SF, Crew Why Not/St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
There aren’t many gamers who’ve exploded extra up to now 18 months than Christian Collins, and that ascension does not look like stopping any time quickly. The ahead is so remarkably gifted that he makes the sport look extremely straightforward on the ground, whether or not it’s scoring off screens or creating buckets for himself. He possesses nice contact taking pictures 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 one of the best duo within the EYBL with Tajh Ariza, each ought to probably discover themselves as top-5 gamers by nearly each scouting service sooner quite than later.
Jalen Montonati, 6’7, SF, MoKan Elite/Owasso (Okla.)
It wasn’t essentially one of the best weekend for Jalen Montonati numbers clever, however the affect that he supplied as a plug and play swingman was evident in Phoenix. The large wing confirmed off easy vary properly past the 3-point arc, had a launch excessive sufficient to get his shot off over nearly any defender, and retains you trustworthy sufficient as a scoring risk with placing the ball on the ground a couple of instances and scoring excessive by way of a comfortable contact. Oklahoma’s finest participant positively performs the sport at his personal tempo as properly, 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 fee for fairly a while now, and whereas he has at all times been often called a scorer, his improvement as a playmaker for others has been enjoyable to observe. Sustaining his scoring presence to the tune of 24.7 factors per recreation with Vegas Elite, Harmon additionally displayed his capability as a catalyst for Wasatch Academy, main the EYBL Scholastic League with 6.2 assists per recreation. Harmon performs the sport with an incredible change of tempo, is elite getting at drawing fouls (shot 39 free throws in 3 video games at EYBL), and is wanting like he’ll be the subsequent in line from the vastly underrated Pacific Northwest.
Marcus Johnson, 6’2, PG, Spiece Indy Warmth/Garfield Heights (Ohio)
Arguably one of the best particular person shot creator within the class of 2026, Marcus Johnson confirmed his capability to create separation in opposition to 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 trustworthy together with his potential to assault the rack. The reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball (his father, Sonny, additionally received Ohio Mr. Basketball) is the focus of coach Jake Diebler‘s new look Ohio State Buckeye recruiting class.
