With June’s summer shootouts upon us, which includes two “live” period weekends where college coaches will be out evaluating prospects, the high school basketball calendar has officially turned the page to 2026-27.
High school coaches will get to start molding their teams for a few weeks this month through team camps, shootouts and summer leagues.
Here are a four questions to be answered in the coming weeks.
Where will the players land?
While always prevalent to some degree over the many decades of high school basketball, transfers are at an all-time high. Transfers have become a way of life and the norm in the sport.
There are two times of the year to keep an eye on player movement. The first is the arrival of June basketball as players register at new schools and teams assemble for the aforementioned “live” events. The other is when school officially begins in August.
Many players have already departed their school for others. But the expectation is several of the state’s best will be on the move sooner than later, significantly altering a power shift or absence in the sport.
Who’s No. 1?
There isn’t an obvious preseason No. 1 team heading into 2026-27, though the early contender is Neuqua Valley.
The return of the high-scoring duo of Cole Kelly, one of the top 50 prospects in the Class of 2028, and Illinois commit Mason Martin is elite. It’s not every day you return two high-major prospects who scored 40-plus points a night a year ago.
In addition to Kelly and Martin, there are several experienced pieces returning for coach Todd Sutton. How good that supporting cast develops and improves in the offseason, which we will get a glimpse of in June, could determine the viability of Neuqua Valley in the top spot.
Who’s the best prospect in 2028?
There are two highly-ranked national prospects in the junior class: Kelly and Bolingbrook’s Brady Pettigrew.
Both are enjoying stellar offseasons that have led to high-profile camps and tryouts, recognition and all kinds of high-major interest.
The national rankings will tell you Pettigrew has the edge. He’s ranked as high as No. 13 in the country by ESPN and is a consensus top 20 player in the country. And while the 6-3 guard is the No. 1 ranked prospect in the state, the gap is closer than some realize
But we’ll take what seems to be a high level but pretty friendly and respectful competition between the two standouts.
What new names will emerge?
The names of up-and-coming freshmen are introduced during the season. Some take the opportunity by storm while others dip their toe in the deep end while gaining valuable experience.
All of it is a lead up to blossoming as sophomores. So what players in the Class of 2029 are poised to emerge and set the stage this summer for a big sophomore season?
Keep an eye on the Mount Carmel duo of DK Heard and Ronald Johnson, who showed glimpses a year ago. Big man Elon Henderson of Leo and Young’s TJ Jamison did as well and are set to make a jump.
Bloom guard Keiwon Gulley, New Trier’s 6-7 Denym Wallace and Geneva guard Cody Rader produced as freshmen, while St. Laurence’s Evan Lemons and Payton’s Orlando Bohlen are flying under the radar.
But look for the biggest jumps and impact from a pair of players outside the Chicago area: Emaurion Jackson of East St. Louis and Dallas Marshall of Bloomington. These two are loaded with talent and feature attractive measurables as big, long perimeter players.