2026 Rankings Risers

Here's the players who's stock took the biggest increase in value and stock rise. The biggest climbers in rankings and essentially the players who saw the biggest scale of improvement since last year.   [player_tooltip player_id='2114433' first='Zyon' last='Hawthorne'] had the smallest jump of this list but possibly the most significant. Hawthorne moved from 7th to 2nd on the tail of several recent mid-major type offers including most recently LaSalle, Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas State. Hawthorne has missed several games towards the end of the year due to sickness but has bounced back for AAU season to start cooking early.   [player_tooltip player_id='2462309' first='Brody' last='Hamric'] has had a huge jump from 27th to 7th based on the interest he's garnered over the last few months with several coaches reaching out to contact and introduce themselves to the 6'3" point guard who doubles as a highly recruited quarterback in the fall. Hamric has likely high level D2 or even lower level D1 athleticism with his body is physically ahead of schedule and looks the part.   [player_tooltip player_id='2437132' first='Jayce' last='Gum'] was absolutely spectacular at our fall event in Wheeling WV last October and as we've followed up throughout the season we've found out he plays that way almost every night out. A 6'5" wing who has a sweet stroke from deep but doesn't shy away from a drive off the wing to finish with a nasty dunk. Great combination of strength, speed and length. Gum done more than enough on the court as well as raised some interest early in 2025 to push his rank (19 to 9).   [player_tooltip player_id='2345905' first='Harrison' last='Riggs'] is one of the more interesting stories in the last twelve months and having one of the biggest if not the biggest ranking risings we've seen (91 to 10). A kid who hit a huge growth spurt but maintained his skill and agility level (some would say its even better) as well as added muscle to his 6'4" frame. Riggs is as skilled as nearly anyone in WV as well as athletic enough to dunk in traffic on a transition play. Look for an absolute monster year next season with Riggs being one of the state's top players and possibly surpassing a few more in the rankings.   [player_tooltip player_id='2313271' first='Evan' last='Hughes'] has continued to impress as well as improve his game and physical stature. Hughes having to play the "big" for Cabell-Midland many times while in the lineup has helped him develop more of a dynamic game which has pushed his ranking from 33 to 16. We think he'll be a double double machine next year and even a triple double threat as the Knights get some inside help from young players and allowing Hughes to play more swingman.   [player_tooltip player_id='2377003' first='Darrell' last='Claybrook'] is one of the most improved players I think I've personally seen in the past year. Claybrook has tremendous floor presence and composure with and without the ball. He's versatile enough to transition from either guard spot and be a distributor or a scorer. We've liked his progress enough (especially after his state tournament appearance) to push him from 31 to 18.   [player_tooltip player_id='2683734' first='Braydon' last='Swanson'] spent the beginning of the year for Kiel Van Metre coming off the bench and the end of the year being the guy he couldn't take off the floor. Swanson's game transformed him into a match up problem for many and saw him go from 82 to 51 in our rankings based on his progress and projection.   [player_tooltip player_id='2686841' first='Austin' last='Porta'] is a name we might hear a lot of next year despite playing at a small school in north central WV. Porta is nothing short of a serious scorer everywhere, anywhere and anytime which is the reason for his movement from 83 to 56 in our rankings. The 6' combo guard has zero fear against bigger defenders whether they're closing out on a jumper or if he's flying through the lane going at the rim. One of the more fun players I've got to see this past season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2500111' first='Matthew' last='Mullen'] is a player I'm rather excited about for next year. While Mullen wasn't the imminent scoring threat most nights due to having some tremendous talent around him, he's in line next year to be a real double double machine and if he grows a bit a very marketable prospect for many colleges which we're banking on and pushed his ranking from the Watchlist to 66th.   [player_tooltip player_id='2704995' first='Nathan' last='Dixon'] moved right outta the basement of the rankings in January into the top 75 going from 95 to 73. Dixon consistently improved week to week as one of the most improved players we saw this whole season from December to March. Again like so many others Dixon lacks the physical strength to push himself to be a legit prospect for the next level, however, if he puts the work in he'll have some suitors by this time next year.   [player_tooltip player_id='2605714' first='Zay' last='Hall'] creeped his way into the top 100 from the Watchlist to 91st in the rankings. Hall has huge upside and with some work on his skills on the offensive end, namely shooting, his stock could take another significant rise. He has the building blocks for a stellar senior season but will need some fine tuning to make it happen. Nobody can certainly question his next level athleticism at 5'8" and dunking the ball with ease as well as elite speed on the court.

Here's the players who's stock took the biggest increase in value and stock rise. The biggest climbers in rankings and essentially the players who saw the biggest scale of improvement since last year.