Capitol City Classic – 2026 More Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 Capitol City Classic took place this past week and while much of the pre-tournament focus was on the national teams with top-ranked players that were in attendance, it was the in-state squads that stole the show as three of the four teams in the semifinals were from Oregon - specifically the Three Rivers League - and in the end, it was Tualatin hoisting the trophy in a win over Oregon City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had the opportunity to drop by the event on multiple days to take in the action and while we missed out on seeing the eventual champs Tualatin in action, we saw every other team from Oregon at least once. Here's a look at some more top performers we saw from the junior class of 2026 that play at schools outside of the 6A classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jonah Laselle (2026 West Albany)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With offensive options such as [player_tooltip player_id='2046424' first='Gavin' last='Aguilar'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2045350' first='Owen' last='Hopkins'] on the team, Laselle has largely settled into more of a glue-guy type of role. The 5-foot-11 guard will knock down open shots, battle on defense, and do the little things that help win games. At the Capitol Classic in a couple of games, he took on more of a main role and a double-double performance of 11 points and 12 rebounds in the consolation round was critical to a Bulldogs victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2572921' first='Tyson' last='Walker'] (2026 West Albany)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The man inside for West Albany, Walker was solid throughout the entirety of the tournament setting up shop down low and shooting high percentage shots, getting physical on the boards, and holding his ground on defense. He may be a little undersized in the post at 6-foot-3 but more than makes up for the lack of height with his strength, athleticism, and motor on both ends.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606556' first='Ty' last='Read'] (2026 Churchill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top big men in the event, Read continued to show in Salem how he's continuing to develop as a post threat. He started off the tournament posting a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double against eventual champ Tualatin, and followed that up with another 13-point, 11-rebound double-double against Woodburn. Overall he ran the floor well and was aggressive with his finishes at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2351853' first='Jace' last='Litten'] (2026 Churchill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the smoother jump shots in the tournament belonged to Litten, who used his combination of 6-foot-3 size, overall athleticism, and sweet shooting stroke to be a mismatch for opposing defenses. He was arguably the Lancers' most consistent offensive threat throughout the tournament and finished off the event strong with a 15-point performance in the team's last game against Wilsonville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TJ Wright (2026 Churchill)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong finish at the Capitol City Classic for Wright, who had his moments throughout the tournament. In Churchill's last game, the 6-foot lead guard was super aggressive offensively, looking to attack and get to the hoop where he got a number of buckets finishing with 15 points. Defensively, he locked down and tried his best to limit Wilsonville star guard [player_tooltip player_id='1368276' first='Cole' last='Hammack'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->