The Class of 2027 in Illinois came into high school with plenty of hype several years ago. They immediately shined, including unprecedented freshmen seasons from the likes of Davion Thompson at Bolingbrook and Jaxson Davis at Warren.
But there were other high-profile players. Kenwood’s Devin Cleveland was touted as perhaps the best of the bunch, while Quinton Kitt at East Peoria quickly emerged as a high-major prospect.
Those four, along with Illinois commit Mason Martin of Neuqua Valley, will all play high-major college basketball. But with this week’s announcement that Kitt, another Illinois commitment, is leaving East Peoria, three of the five will finish their high school careers at prep schools.
Thompson and Cleveland left following their sophomore years for Link Academy and La Lumiere, respectively, while Kitt will finish up his final year at a still-to-be-determined prep school.
This is a huge blow for an East Peoria team that would undoubtedly have been one of the state’s elite teams after winning a school-record 29 games last season. With Kitt, along with super-charged scoring lead guard Cole DuBois, a pair of players who have already surpassed 1,000-points in their career, this set up to be the best team in school history.
With what he had coming back and what was at stake in this 2026-27 season, coach Jarrett Brown went out to upgrade the Raiders schedule. East Peoria was set to play in several high-profile events, including a date at next year’s When Sides Collide event at Benet.
Jaxson Davis, Brady Pettigrew and USA Basketball
Historically, the USA Basketball experience has been a springboard for a high school player’s development.
That’s an added plus for two of the state’s top talents: Warren’s Jaxson Davis and Bolingbrook’s Brady Pettigrew. Both have their eyes on playing with USA Basketball this summer for their respective age group teams.
It’s no surprise the state’s best player, Davis, is on the cusp of potentially adding another accomplishment to his growing resume.
Davis participated in USA Basketball’s April minicamp in Indianapolis. Now he’s headed to the U18 trials at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs later this month.
The Sun-Times Player of the Year, who plays with Meanstreets on Nike’s EYBL circuit in the spring and summer, has been courted heavily by the likes of Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern and Marquette.
Pettigrew, a consensus top 25 player nationally in the Class of 2028, plays with Bradley Beal Elite on the EYBL circuit. The 6-4 guard will head to the U17 Team USA World Cup team tryouts in the middle of June.
Lake Forest’s Grant Mordini headed to Kansas
Grant Mordini was always an intriguing but late-developing prospect while playing for coach Phil LaScala at Lake Forest.
The 6-11 Mordini, a 2025 Lake Forest graduate, headed to prep school for a year following high school. He played this past season at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut, garnering some Division I interest, including an offer from Missouri-Kansas City.
But in this day of roster building and scholarship numbers growing to 15 at the Division I level, the size, skill and potential of Mordini will bring added attention. It all caught the eye of Kansas.
Mordini, who averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game at Avon Old Farms, committed and signed with the Jayhawks last week.