Xavion Staton, top basketball recruit, transfers mid-season to Utah Prep

Xavion Staton, one of the top high school basketball players in the country, will play for a new program to close out his career.

The 7-foot, 210-pounder, who had been enrolled at Nevada’s Sierra Vista, will play the second semester of his senior season for Utah Prep. The Hurricane, Utah-based program is also home to AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, as well as top-50 prospect JJ Mandaquit and elite 2026 recruit Anthony Felesi.

“Let’s welcome the best big man in the country @XavionStaton who has transferred to Utah Prep for the remainder of his senior year! Let’s work,” wrote Utah Prep’s official Twitter account on Monday.

Let’s welcome the best big man in the country @XavionStaton who has transferred to Utah Prep for the remainder of his senior year! Let’s work! pic.twitter.com/rfz7x9i2iM

— Utah Prep Boys Basketball (@UtahPrepMBB) January 6, 2025

Staton played in nine games before the holiday break for Sierra Vista, averaging 7.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest. As a junior, he led the Mountain Lions to a 23-9 record and the Class 4A state championship in 2023-24. During that campaign, he averaged 13.8 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year.

A BYU signee, he’ll close out the year playing a national schedule with Utah Prep, who participates in the Grind Session circuit, as well as tournaments such as the upcoming Iverson Classic.

Staton, along with Dybantsa, are two of the highest-rated recruits in Cougars’ program history. With a big investment in their NIL offerings, BYU has quickly become a major contender for top prospects.

“Xavion, I think offensively, he’ll fit in really well with the amount of vertical threats that we like to have out there. He’s a guy who’s getting more skilled as he progresses in his high school career,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said on Staton after he signed in November. “Then defensively, he’s the best rim protector in the high school ranks in the entire country.”

More on Utah Prep, a new high school basketball power

Built on the site of Diamond Ranch Academy, which was forced to shut down by the state of Utah following the death of a student, Utah Prep rose from the ashes with staff from both Diamond Ranch and the former Real Salt Lake Basketball Academy.

Co-founder Brent Woodson — a BYU alum and New York businessman — was at the heart of the venture. Amid financial troubles for the school, The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Woodson aimed to bring in Dybantsa with hopes that the move would attract other world-class talents from around the country.

The Tribune reported that there were schools that offered the family over $1 million for AJ to play a single year of basketball. But in the end, Utah Prep won out with an offer for an ownership stake in the school and a $600,000 name, image and likeness deal.

Woodson hoped to build a school that rivaled the high school recruiting pedigree of IMG Academy. But instead of building a high school basketball powerhouse, Woodson was forced out “after the school fell behind on construction and bills.”

Utah Prep’s weight room still featured exposed wiring as recently as October, and it cut every sport but basketball. Its $70,000 tuition was reportedly cut in half to attract more athletes, and Staton is now one of two prospects to join the program mid-season.