2025 Rankings Update: Top Newcomers (Pt. 2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The spring and summer club and high school basketball scenes gave us a great number of opportunities to see prospects in team and showcase style events. With the 2025 class preparing for their junior season of high school basketball, we put a fresh update on our rankings for that class. In this piece we dive into the top newcomers and what earned them a spot in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 62 [player_tooltip player_id='2119934' first='Jayden' last='Smoot'], Rancho Christian</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smoot showed this summer that he has what it takes to run the show at Rancho Christian next season. The 6-foot-3 lefty is a high level athlete who finishes above the rim in transition but also has plenty of skill in his arsenal, especially with his consistent catch and shoot three-point shot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 69 [player_tooltip player_id='2119936' first='Jayden' last='Xu'], Santa Monica</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xu might be one of the best three-point shooters we have in SoCal. He has incredible balance, an effortless release and picture-perfect mechanics which makes him a knock down threat from three-point and mid-range levels. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 74 [player_tooltip player_id='2119938' first='Shane' last='Frazier'], Brentwood</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Frazier is a high-energy and athletic guard/wing who can really stretch the floor with his three-point shooting ability. At 6-feet-4 with pop in his legs, the rising junior is a straight-line drive finisher who can score through contact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 75 [player_tooltip player_id='2119939' first='Dylan' last='Gomez'], Crean Lutheran</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gomez earned his way onto this list with his three-point and mid-range shooting abilities. The 6-foot-1 shooting guard gets great elevation on his jump shot and can get hot in a hurry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 76 [player_tooltip player_id='2119940' first='Travis' last='Paleo'], Foothill</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paleo plays with great pace and command for the point guard position. He's best in ball screen action where he uses hesitations and changes of speeds to get into the lane where he can pull-up for a mid-range jumper or floater. Paleo is also a high level passer with elite vision and is unselfish by nature.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->