SD 2026 Prospect Rankings Debut
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The South Dakota Prospect Rankings are finally here! Practices for the high school season will be starting in a few weeks. This is the perfect time to check out the rankings. It is going to be fun to see how these freshmen look once the season gets rolling. As we all know, players can drastically change from their 8th-grade to 9th-grade season. Look below to see who made the Top 10! Further below is a link to check out the full rankings. Keep an eye out in the coming days for more information on individual players.
2026 Top 10 Prospects
Highlights
***SD 2026 FULL RANKINGS***
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROSPECT RANKINGS
How do you guys decide where a player gets ranked? Let me tell you.
North Dakota & South Prep Hoops Prospect Rankings are compiled by our writers with input from high school, AAU, and college coaches who watch a ton of ND & SD basketball. We put a lot of time and energy into it — probably too much! — and we are as diligent as we can possibly be to get it right. We never intentionally set out to bury a kid or leave them off the list. We try not to be biased — other than favoring kids with talent, grit, and a desire to get better. We work hard at being fair. But at the end of the day, not everyone will be happy, and that’s OK. Rankings are updated three times a year, in October, February, and June. Here are some other important things you should know.
-College coaches have a lot of influence. If there is no clear consensus on the top players in each class, we give them the last word.
-AAU matters. In the winter update, we are obviously adding players who are having great high school seasons. This is the primary opportunity for athletes who don’t play AAU ball to make their mark. It is a reality, however, that players who do not play AAU are greatly diminishing their opportunity to make the prospect rankings. They are also limiting their opportunities to play college basketball since being seen by 10 coaches is statistically less likely to yield the desired result than being seen by 100.
-Most importantly, this list is about college potential, not current performance. Let me repeat that. THIS LIST IS ABOUT COLLEGE POTENTIAL, NOT CURRENT PERFORMANCE. This is the big one, the factor that causes the most consternation, and the most misunderstanding, especially among keenly interested parents.