Where Are They Now? Best of the Class of 2021 Update
The college basketball season is about to start and former Oregon prep players from the past few years will be suiting it up on the hardwood. We thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of our old rankings to see where some members of the top ten have been up to since they played at the high school level. We continue with the Class of 2021 – one that started high school with a lot of fanfare and then was directly affected by the COVID pandemic. Here’s a look at what happened with that class, including those who would have graduated with this class but either transferred out or graduated early (and thus, were removed from the final rankings):
1 – Darius Gakwasi, Central Catholic – PRINCETON
Gakwasi only played in a handful of games during the shortened 2021 high school basketball season, choosing to focus on getting started with his college career at Princeton. After appearing in 7 games and averaging 3.1 points as a true freshman in 2021-22, the swingman sat out the 2022-23 season due to injury.
2 – Trace Salton, Lake Oswego – MARIST
After the 2021 season at Lake Oswego, Salton decided to spend a prep year at Bridgton Academy which helped him garner a scholarship offer to Marist. As a true freshman in 2022-23, the strong swingman averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game in a reserve role.
3 – Dane Erikstrup, Beaverton – CAL POLY POMONA/EASTERN WASHINGTON
After briefly transferring to AZ Compass Prep at the start of 2020-21, Erikstrup finished up high school at Beaverton and helped the Beavers capture a Red Bracket culmination week title in the shortened 2021 season. He started his college career at D-II Cal Poly Pomona, where he was an immediate starter, averaging 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on his way to earning league Freshman of the Year honors. He transferred to Eastern Washington, where he averaged 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds last season.
4 – Roy Bunn, Jesuit – ACADEMY OF ART/EASTERN ARIZONA
After graduating from Jesuit, Bunn earned a spot at D-II Academy of Art in San Francisco, where he sat out his freshman season as a redshirt. In 2022-23, he transferred to Eastern Arizona where he started a point guard and averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 assists. He is currently looking for a spot to continue his career for his sophomore season.
5 – Nathan Meithof, McNary – WESTMONT/COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN IDAHO/OREGON STATE
Out of high school, Meithof started his college career at NAIA Westmont, earning GSAC Freshman of the Year honors after leading the league in scoring at 18.5 points per game. The athletic swingman transferred to the College of Southern Idaho for his sophomore campaign, where he averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on one of the top NJCAA teams in the country. After garnering multiple D-I offers, Meithof decided to come back home and sign with Oregon State, where he will sit out the 2023-24 season to rehab a knee injury.
6 – Luke Smith, Willamette – BUSHNELL
One of Willamette’s all-time leading scorers, Smith decided to stay close to home and sign with Bushnell, where he’s been a solid contributor off the bench the past two seasons. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds as a freshman in 2021-22 and 8.2 points and 2.1 rebounds this past year as a sophomore. One of the top free throw shooters in the Cascade Conference, Smith has shot .873 from the free throw line so far in his college career.
7 – Damontae Burns, Parkrose
Burns finished off a solid senior campaign with the Broncos but did not end up playing college basketball.
8 – Elijah Munyan, Gresham – CLARK (WA) CC
After graduating from Gresham, Munyan sat out the 2021-22 season to individually train and then enrolled at Clark (WA) in 2022-23. As a true freshman, he started 15 of 24 games and averaged 9.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game.
9 – Josh Wart, Amity
Wart initially signed to play college basketball at Chemeketa after his career at Amity, but did not end up playing.
10 – Nic Boyd, La Salle – MASSACHUSETTS-DARTMOUTH
Boyd spent a prep year at . As a true freshman at D-III UMass-Dartmouth, the guard was an immediate contributor as a freshman in 2022-23, averaging 7.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 22.3 minutes per game.
Some other notable players from that class included:
Nathan Bittle, Crater – OREGON
Bittle played his senior season of 2020-21 at Proflic Prep (CA) and earned McDonald’s All-American Game honors. He decided to come back home and signed with Oregon, where after averaging 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds as a freshman, he upped his averages to 7.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks as a sophomore starter in 2022-23.
Ben Gregg, Clackamas – GONZAGA
After earning 6A All-State honors as a junior in 2019-20, Gregg made the decision to graduate early and enroll at Gonzaga in the middle of the 2020-21 season. This allowed him to be a part of the Zags run to the national title game and he ended up averaging 0.9 points and 1.0 rebounds in limited minutes. As a true freshman in 2021-22, the versatile forward averaged 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds and increased those averages to 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game in 2022-23. His role should increase even more this upcoming season.
Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge, Jefferson – OKLAHOMA (FOOTBALL)/SOUTH ALABAMA (FOOTBALL)
The Oregonian’s 6A Player of the year in 2019-20, Rawlins-Kibonge decided to graduate from high school early in 2021 and enroll at Oklahoma to play football. He redshirted the 2021 season in Norman and then transferred to South Alabama, where he appeared in 3 games before a season-ending injury. He’s listed as a defensive lineman for this current season at South Alabama.
Drew Carter, Tigard – COLORADO (FOOTBALL)/UC DAVIS
Another early graduate, Carter enrolled early at Colorado to begin his dual football/basketball career. On the gridiron, he played in 6 games as a true freshman in 2021 and 3 games in 2022, completing a total of 10 passes and earned a spot on the basketball roster but did not appear in any games. He has since left Colorado and changed gears back to basketball, having signed to play the 2023-24 season at UC Davis.
Wayne McKinney, Lake Oswego – SAN DIEGO
McKinney left the state of Oregon after his sophomore season and finished high school at Coronado High School in San Diego. He decided to remain in the San Diego area and signed with the University of San Diego, where he has averaged 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists the past two seasons, largely as a starter.
64 – Luke Winkler, Grant – PACIFIC (OR)
A super late commitment out of high school – Pacific didn’t start recruiting Winkler until essentially July after his senior year – the Grant alumnus has most successful players from the class at the college level. He burst right out as a freshman averaging 9.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists and this past year as a sophomore, averaged 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and led the nation with 3.4 steals per game.
86 – Andrew Vaughan, Portland Adventist – WALLA WALLA
Vaughan found a college home with Walla Walla University after high school and while the team wins haven’t been many, the versatile swingman has been solid individually. He averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds as a true freshman in 2021-22 and led the team in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds.