Young Guns: Eight 2026 Prospects To Watch in 2024-25

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The start of the 2024-25 regular season is now less than four months away. Here are some 2026 prospects to watch during the upcoming campaign:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kamren Apodaca, Tucumcari</strong>: As we've mentioned before, Tucumcari has a talented core of players returning in 2024-25, making them a contender for a deep playoff run in Class 3A. The 6-foot-4 Apodaca averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. And he'll only get better. Watch out for the Rattlers. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717293' first='Julian' last='Castillo'], Del Norte</strong>: In his first season of varsity action, Castillo proved to be a productive 3-point shooter (45 made) and an excellent defender with more than two steals per game. Castillo should be one of the catalysts as Del Norte looks to bounce back in 2024-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2402350' first='Kayden' last='Decker'], Cleveland</strong>: As a sophomore, the 6-foot-3 Decker averaged about 17 minutes per game, but he made the most of his time on the floor. Per 32 minutes, he averaged 13.3 points (highest Per32 of any 2026 prospect in the state) and 6.3 rebounds per game. With the Storm graduating several seniors, look for Decker to have a larger role in 2024-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Zadyn Lujan, Jal</strong>: Lujan contributed in several ways to the Panthers as a sophomore in 2023-24: scoring (5.0 ppg), rebounding (3.1) and assists (2.0). He has the potential to become one of the best all-around players in Class 2A over the next couple of years. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827470' first='Emmitt' last='McDaniel'], Organ Mountain</strong>: McDaniel helped lead Organ Mountain to the Class 5A state championship game last season. In one 3-game stretch in late February and early March, he scored a total of 51 points and shot 57.1 percent from the floor (20-35) against Las Cruces, Alamogordo and Roswell. Impressive. If McDaniel can sustain those type of numbers over an entire season, the Knights are in good shape. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega'], Artesia</strong>: Vega's recently announced decision to transfer from Hobbs to Artesia is certainly one of the more intriguing off-season developments. Vega was one of the top 3-point shooters in the state last season (54 3-pointers made) and he'll bring that important skill to the Bulldogs.     </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sam Waide, Gateway Christian</strong>: Waide averaged 14 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2023-24 but was highly productive. He averaged 9.1 points and 7.6 rebounds (highest Per32 of any sophomore in the state last season) per game and will look to boost those numbers as a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717329' first='Mason' last='Wallin'], Logan</strong>: The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Wallin is one of several promising young players returning for Logan in 2024-25. As  a sophomore, he averaged 16.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game for the Longhorns, cementing his status as one of the top young small school players in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BraylonVega2026/status/1811282564340224018","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BraylonVega2026/status/1811282564340224018 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->