Hot topic questions surrounding the updated 2025 On3 150 rankings

On Monday, On3 released an updated 2025 On3 150 ranking. The previous update for this class was in August. In the time since the previous update, we have seen travel ball championships and NCAA Live Evaluation Periods. The On3 national team has racked up the miles along with watching countless hours of streams and film. 

Storylines from the 2025 On3 150 Ranking Update

This update saw AJ Dybantsa continue in the No. 1 spot for his fourth update. On3 first moved Dybantsa, originally in the 2026 class, to No. 1 when he announced his re-classification in October. Dybantsa won his second gold medal with USA Basketball and led his Oakland Soldiers team to the championship game of Nike’s Peach Jam.

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 hot topic questions, applied to the 2025 On3 150 class update.

Read the full 2025 On3 150

How close was the race for No. 1?

This continues to not really be a conversation in this 2025 recruiting cycle. AJ Dybantsa has been On3’s top overall prospect in high school basketball since we first started ranking him in the 2026 class. He has since re-classified into the 2025 recruiting he continues to be On3’s top overall prospect in high school basketball.

Speaking with NBA Scouts throughout the year, there is an excitement about the upside of Dybantsa’s future. It has been a while since we have seen a prospect, at this stage in his development, with the offensive repertoire, the athleticism, the positional size, the projectability, etc. Even with the production that Dybantsa is already putting on the table, he seems to add pieces to his game consistently.

This class, as a whole, is shaping up nicely for the 2026 NBA Draft. There are numerous players who, if they were in different graduating years, would be in the conversation for the No. 1 overall player. The prospects of players like Cam Boozer, Nate Ament, Chris Cenac, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson all have NBA Scouts buzzing. However, even in one of the deeper classes, at the top, we have seen over the past few cycles, there is simply no questioning who is at the very top of the class.

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

This question is always an interesting one to, not only write but also to, check back on. For example, in the previous 2025 On3 150 ranking update (August), I wrote about San Antonio (TX) Brennan point guard Kingston Flemings, and Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy wing Dwayne Aristode. Now, both Flemings and Aristode are ranked as top 20 players (Aristode No. 18 and Flemings No. 20) across the industry.

For the purposes of this update, let’s discuss Mouhamed Sylla. The 6-foot-10 center transferred this off-season to Phoenix (AZ) Bella Vista Academy after playing, at least his last two seasons, with the NBA Academy Latin America. Currently, Sylla ranks as the No. 1 center in the class. He has a unique skill and that is his defensive ability. Sylla is able to sit on the ball and turn a ball handler in the backcourt while also switching down a line-up and acting as one of the top rim protectors in this recruiting cycle (sometimes in the same possession). Offensively, he has touch with his right and and is comfortable getting to his left shoulder.

In the overarching scheme of things, this 2025 recruiting cycle is filled at the top of the class with wings and forwards. There are currently only four centers ranked among On3’s top 50 players in 2025. For comparison’s sake, there are 13 shooting guards, 12 small forwards, and 13 power forwards. We look across the college basketball landscape and see the desirability that good centers bring to teams by looking at the value centers – good centers – continue to have for teams in the transfer portal.

And while I am not saying that a team’s best player has to be a big man, but a quick look at teams who advanced in last season’s NCAA Tournament and you will see a lot of good bigs. Zach Edey (Purdue), Donovan Clingan (UConn), Grant Nelson (Alabama), DJ Burns (NC State), Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Ian Schieffelin (Clemson), Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), and Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) made up last season’s Elite Eight.

Sylla is going to have to continue developing his offensive game, adding a little more versatility. But, with the value that is put on the position, and Sylla’s unique and potentially game-changing ability, his value became too obvious to ignore as he moved from No. 18 to No. 13 in the recent rankings update, and remained the No. 1 center in the class. .

Who was the toughest player in the class to rank?

Koa Peat has been an increasingly tough player to slot when it comes to updated rankings. At the end of the day, Peat’s production has continued to be too difficult to ignore. The 6-foot-8 power forward at Gilbert (AZ) Perry High has now won three state championships and three FIBA gold medals.

He is also Arizona’s two-time reigning Gatorade Player of the Year award winner. Peat produces at each level he plays. He is comfortable with the ball in his hands and he has an innate way of elevating the play of his teammates around him.

With that, On3 has made it a point to let it be known that the rankings are geared toward the NBA Draft. A look around the league, and there are questions that Peat carries with how his game will translate to the highest levels. The main two I hear NBA Scouts bring up are the jump shot and his heavy feet. In talking with NBA Scouts about Peat, these questions concern them regarding his long-term outlook.

With that said, Peat is one of the most winning players high school basketball has seen in recent times. His domestic and international success is hard to ignore. He has also made it difficult to disregard the fact that Peat’s abilities translate very well to the college game, and he will most likely find some early, and consistent success.

As of this update, Peat is a five-star, where he has remained since the very first 2025 ranking debuted. He produces.

Which player(s) could you see outplaying their ranking?

This one is also fun to look back on and see how things move in between updates and writings. In the last update, I wrote about Florida commit CJ Ingram in this space. Ingram is now up to No. 26 in the class. In the update prior to August, I wrote about Iowa State commit Jamarion Batemon who is now up to No. 44 in the class.

Joshua Lewis, a 6-foot-7 commit to USF, is a player who has always intrigued me in this class. He has nice length with fluid athleticism and a smooth shooting stroke. While Lewis is still ironing out pieces of his game, he is producing. He averaged 16.6 points while knocking down 15.3 for his 73-game high school career. He is going to need to continue adding weight and with that work through his off-movement footwork and his base/core strength. However, there are some natural things in place with him (size, athleticism, length, touch, etc.) that are tough to look past. This might be one that you need to give a little time to, but I am intrigued with what the long-term outcome may look like. He is currently No. 39 in the updated 2025 On3 150.

Another player who could end up outplaying, their already lofty, ranking is No. 4 overall Chris Cenac. The 6-foot-10 forward simply has so many natural tools, and his game continues to compound and develop. The reason why Cenac could outplay his ranking is that he has as much upside as any player in this class. When you look at the natural tools he has, his size, his skill set, his athletic fluidity, and his continued trajectory, Cenac’s versatility and ability to create advantages around him are in line with what the NBA is looking for in players. With his tools on full display, he debuted in the top 25, at No. 23, for On3 in the October 2023 update. Certainly, at the current time, Cenac’s floor is a little lower than some others in the class, giving him a larger variance of outcome, but if he reaches his top-end ceiling, there is something unique, something we have not seen over the past few high school classes.