Updated 2026 Rankings: Fastest Stock Risers (Part 1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earlier today we released the updated 2026 rankings. Here is Part 1 of the Fastest Stock Risers:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717250' first='Hunter' last='Aime'], Albuquerque Academy</strong>: The 6-foot-11 Aime was so dominant in Albuquerque Academy's state tournament quarterfinal win over Taos with 15 points and 7 blocks that he was quickly offered by New Mexico Highlands. Another productive summer on the AAU circuit and Aime could be ready for a dominant 2025-26 season. He'll certainly be one of the most watched players in the Duke City region next season. Yes, he can even drain threes. First-Team All-District.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300002' first='Luis' last='Archuleta'], Tucumcari</strong>: Archuleta followed up his superb sophomore campaign in 2023-24 (19.0 ppg) with an outstanding junior season. He eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark in early February, putting him within range of 1,500 career points when next season begins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717249' first='Hayden' last='Bruhn'], Logan</strong>: Bruhn and teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717329' first='Mason' last='Wallin']</strong> both earned First-Team All-State honors after leading the Logan to the Clas 1A state title, and for good reason. Additionally, Bruhn was Prep Hoop New Mexico's Class 1A Player of the Year. Bruhn averaged 19.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.7 steals, statistically making him one of the most dominant players in the state. Bruhn and Wallin combined for 37.7 points and 19.5 rebounds per game in 2024-25, and both return next season, making Logan heavy favorites to go back-to-back for the blue trophy. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler'], La Cueva</strong>: Expectations were low for La Cueva coming into the 2024-25 season after they lost several prominent players from 2023-24, but the 6-foot-4 Butler and significant contributions from several other players allowed the Bears to win 19 games and reach the quarterfinals of the 5A playoffs. Butler was solid all season long as he averaged 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. He scored 20+ points 8 times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck'], Cobre</strong>: Guck emerged as one of the state's top scorers this past season as he averaged 24.9 points per game. Only Cleveland G [player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht'], our #1 prospect in the 2026 class, averaged more. But Guck is more than just a scorer as he averaged 10.7 rebounds, making him one of the few players in the state to average a double-double every game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300003' first='Devaughn' last='Kensey'], West Las Vegas</strong>: Kensey was the second leading scorer in Class 3A this past season behind [player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck'] (see above)&nbsp; as he led the Dons with an average of 24.4 points per game. Like Guck, he was also an outstanding rebounder (11.9 rpg) and defender (2.5 steals per game). &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693635' first='Juan' last='Limas'], Highland</strong>: Limas was the unheralded hero of Highland's season-long run to the 4A state championship game. He took over the scoring responsibility when 3-point ace [player_tooltip player_id='1687821' first='Jesus' last='Licon'] was sidelined until mid-January with an injury. He finished averaging 15.7 points and 7.4 rebounds. He scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the 4A state championship game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694572' first='Cayden' last='Richardson'], Rio Rancho</strong>: Richardson is an intriguing 6-foot-5 prospect that displayed significant improvement from his sophomore season. Tripling his minutes played. Richardson averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 2024-25. Rio Rancho will have a new head coach in 2025-26, so it will be interesting to see how he utilizes Richardson. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2175827' first='Alex' last='Starr'], Bosque</strong>: Another intriguing 6-foot-5 prospect. Starr's role with Bosque this past season wasn't necessarily to score because the Bobcats had multiple players handling the point production. Instead, Starr's job was primarily to rebound and play defense. He did those jobs well. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega'], Artesia</strong>: Vega rose to No. 2 in our rankings because he has good size (6-foot-3) and is one of the top 3-point shooters in the state. Earned Honorable Mention All-State and First-Team All-District honors. Artesia returns every major contributor from this past season's Class 4A state championship team, so they should be the favorites when the 2025-26 campaign begins in November. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats to 2026 F/C [player_tooltip player_id='1717250' first='Hunter' last='Aime'] (<a href="https://twitter.com/hunter_aime?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hunter_aime</a>) on receiving 1st Team All District Honors! <a href="https://t.co/6UMnQIddlm">pic.twitter.com/6UMnQIddlm</a></p>&mdash; Academy MBB (@AbqAcademy_mbb) <a href="https://twitter.com/AbqAcademy_mbb/status/1897810420137709635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">22 points to reach my 1000 point career!<a href="https://twitter.com/RussellGurule?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RussellGurule</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://t.co/UJgcTMuudv">pic.twitter.com/UJgcTMuudv</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2300002' first='Luis' last='Archuleta'] (@LuisArchul22522) <a href="https://twitter.com/LuisArchul22522/status/1888439133573455977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> Although Cobre lost to Hot springs tonight by 2 points, Cobre Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck'] hit 1300 career points. <a href="https://t.co/cqL0d95VNv">pic.twitter.com/cqL0d95VNv</a></p>&mdash; CobreSports (@CobreSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/CobreSports/status/1890274802671448500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Junior Year <br>All-District <br>All-State <br>State Champ<br>🏆 🥇 🐶 <a href="https://t.co/kcsC7KOWz4">pic.twitter.com/kcsC7KOWz4</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega'] (@BraylonVega2026) <a href="https://twitter.com/BraylonVega2026/status/1902793186269139411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->