Hot topic questions from July's 2026 On3 150 ranking update

On Monday, On3 released an updated 2025 On3 150 ranking. The previous update for this class was in April. In the time since the previous update, we have seen half of a high school basketball season pass by. The On3 national team has racked up the air miles along with watching countless hours of streams and film. 

Storylines from the 2026 On3 150 Ranking Update

This update saw Brandon McCoy hold serve in the No. 1 spot for the second update. On3 first moved McCoy to the top of the class in the March update when we expanded the rankings from 50 to 100. McCoy has had a strong summer with the Arizona Unity program, playing up on Nike’s EYBL 17U Circuit. He is currently in Istanbul, Turkey with the USA Basketball U18 Team.

On3’s rankings use a baseline of first projecting for the NBA Draft, with a career in the league being a secondary projection tool. Our goal is to assess a prospect’s long-term potential, ultimately manifested by the NBA Draft. We look at a player’s career developmental arc and how their game projects moving forward. 

Here are some of the top topic questions, applied to the 2025 class update.

Read the full 2026 On3 150

How close was the race for No. 1?

For the first time in a while, the conversation for No. 1 in a ranking update went right up to deadline. Brandon McCoy, the 6-foot-5 guard from Bellflower, California held serve at the top of the list. However, both Tyran Stokes and Caleb Holt had excellent arguments for the spot.

Stokes is a 6-foot-7, wildly explosive player. His highlights are high, and when he is playing consistently and with purpose he can be as physically dominant of a player as this class has. With that said, the consistency is not always there. Stokes does not always assert his dominance like he can, which leads to long stretches of little production. He has the physical presence and he has nice instincts off the ball, developing a more consistent jump shot off movement is next for him, along with expanding his handle with wiggle and counters.

Holt has steadily continued to improve his overall game. He made his mark as a defensive presence, a player who can routinely guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player, and consistently make things difficult. He is a good athlete and has a lengthy and projectable frame. Holt has developed his game off the bounce, looking comfortable as secondary or complimentary ball handler. His jump shot and middle game have also started to become more consistent. With some others at the top of this class there are some high highs and low lows, with Holt, there is a steady presence that you can count on. He has earned his fifth star and he has placed himself in the conversation at the top of the class.

With Brandon McCoy, he has positional size mixed with the ability to play on or off the ball. He has showcased with the USA Basketball U17 that his best position might be as a secondary guard. With the fluid nature of today’s game, teams at the highest level are implementing systems where they have multiple players who can initiate offense on the floor. McCoy has passing acumen, he has wiggle and counters off the bounce, and he has a useful middle game.

McCoy will need to continue adding strength, but his defensive presence is also tracking at a high level. He is capable of guarding the opposing team’s top perimeter threat, whether they are playing the one, two, or three. McCoy has some pop a the point of attack, on both ends of the floor, and when you couple that with his potential archetype outcomes towards the highest level, that is why he remained at the top of this class.

Which player(s) are you higher on than others?

It is so early in the process for the 2026 cycle and different lists are starting to come to fruition. This was the first update of a full 150 names and we are shooting to have six or seven more updates before putting this 2026 class to bed. Earlier this week I wrote an article about 6-foot-7 SG Michael Phillips and for the last update, I wrote about 6-foot-10 PF Cody Peck, so for the purposes of this space I will talk about Davion Adkins and Joe Philon.

Adkins is a 6-foot-8 forward who has really taken off over the past six to eight months. The long-armed Texas native has always been springy, but his instincts have really started to kick in of late. Adkins is becoming a terror defensively, able slide his feet with perimeter based forwards and act as a weak side rim protector. In fact, his instincts as a shot blocker are very intriguing. He is averaging 3.8 blocks per game on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.

Adkins has also developed his offensive game. Very efficient, mostly playing out of the dunker spots and as a roll man, he has started to develop his pick and pop jump shot, consistently knocking down 18-foot jumpers and showing the confidence to stretch it out to the three point line.

Philon is a unique player who shows a high ceiling. Listed at 6-foot-8, Philon is comfortable on the ball, making plays for himself and his teammates. He is a jack-of-all-trades type of forward, who can guard up and down a line up depending on matchups. Philon will still need to continue getting stronger, adding strength to his core and base, and he will also need to iron out his floor game. Ultimately, he is not going to be a primary initiator, so learning how he can be most dangerous with the ball will be imperative for him.

Players at his size, who can dribble, shoot, and pass at his age are very interesting. So far on the UAA Rise Circuit this summer, Philon is averaging 19.7 points. 5.5 rebounds, and almost three assists per game. He is also knocking down 39.4 percent of his threes and 53.2 percent of his twos while averaging 2.5 steals and 1.8 blocks.

Who was the toughest player in the class to rank?

There is no denying the success that Jalen Montonati has experienced to this point in his high school career. He was part of a USA Basketball U16 gold medal winning team last summer and a state championship with his Owasso (OK) High School team.

This summer, Montonati is averaging 16.2 points while shooting 41.7 percent from three on Nike’s E16 Circuit. The 6-foot-6 wing is a noted shooter, a volume guy who has a confident release with great balance. The piece of his game that makes things difficult is how does he affect the game when his shot is not falling?

Montonati has positional size and a high basketball IQ. His shooting can be inconsistent, as his misses are left and right, but the volume of shots he takes has the averages even out in the end. The four-star wing has to rely on others to create his open looks and defensively he leaves some questions.

Then there is that shooting. He pulls gravity by a defense having to stay attached to him, and he does move well off the ball making the threat of him shooting equally, if not more, dangerous the shots he actually takes.

This one is difficult, how does is overall impact effect the game at the highest levels? Time will tell as this 2026 recruiting cycle continues.

Which player(s) could you see outplaying their ranking

This one is pretty easy to answer, twins Darius Ratliff and Adonis Ratliff each possess exponentially high ceilings. Darius standing 6-foot-11 and Adonis in the 6-foot-9/6-foot-10 range. The pair, who attending White Plains (NY) Archbishop Stepinac, are the sons of former NBA center Theo Ratliff.

Darius is a more steady presence of the two. He can score on the block, but also step out and knock down shots from beyond the arc. His playing time has been a bit sporadic of late, due to minor injuries. His game is intriguing as he has size, length and fluidity that could really take off as he continues to add weight and get in-game reps. The same with Adonis, who has the same three-point range as Darius and is a fluid athlete with defensive timing.

Both of the twins have seen some success when they have been on the floor. The way today’s game is going, with positional size, skill, and fluidity, there are two players to keep tabs on as they continue to progress.

Yale Davis is another player who could continue to rise in the rankings. The 6-foot-0 point guard from Columbia (SC) Ridge View High made his debut at No. 145 in his most recent update. His ability to self-create off the bounce is unique. He puts so much pressure on the defense with a live dribble and can really shoot it from multiple levels. Davis is coming off a state championship and is having a good summer on Nike’s 16u EYCL Circuit. As players continue to get better and stronger, continue to watch how the electricity Davis brings progresses.