2026 Watch List: F/C Positional Breakdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earlier this week we released our first edition of the class of 2026 watch list and the number of potential elite prospects in this class is quite impressive. Because we like to give the younger groups of players a full year of high school basketball experience before officially ranking them, we should be able to place them in a formal ranking format on our next update. We continue our coverage of the 2026 class by breaking down some of the F/C prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956486' first='Barron' last='Linnekens'], Harvard-Westlake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most of the guys you'll see on this list are long term projects who didn't see a whole lot of varsity minutes and Linnekens fits into that description. The 6-foot-8 freshman played a big role on Harvard-Westlake's talented junior varsity squad and should make his way into the varsity rotation during his sophomore season. Linnekens projects as a true five-man with his inside scoring skill-set and his ability to set big on-ball screens to free up guards. With his hands, footwork and feel for the game, Linnekens is a big man to watch in the 2026 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956510' first='Dominic' last='Perfetti'], St. John Bosco</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perfetti logged some solid varsity minutes at the four-spot and showed that he has a chance to be a viable stretch option in the St. John Bosco offense next season. The 6-foot-5 forward has a smooth three-point stroke off the catch and made his mark in pick and pop action or when trailing the play in transition where he confidently stepped into a jump shot. It will be interesting to watch his development over the next few seasons to see if he can add the ball skills to play the three.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956502' first='Dominique' last='Bentho'], Harvard-Westlake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bentho is another Harvard-Westlake product with a ton of upside. The 6-foot-8 center saw some limited varsity action this past season and his ability was evident even in a small sample size. Bentho has the tools you can't teach a big man: great hands, footwork, and feel and court awareness with his back to the basket. With [player_tooltip player_id='994936' first='Jacob' last='Huggins'] graduating, and the five-spot open in the starting lineup, look for Bentho to see a good chunk of those minutes next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956511' first='Jumaa' last='Kitendo'], JSerra</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kitendo made his biggest impacts on the defense and rebounding fronts during his freshman season at JSerra. The 6-foot-10 center is long, agile, athletic and has great instincts and timing when blocking and contesting shots around the rim. While still raw on the offensive end, Kitendo showed catching and finishing ability out of the dunker spot and his willingness to rim-run provided good vertical spacing for the JSerra guards to have more room to operate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->