Top Class of 2026 Small Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2116626' first='Ethan' last='Gatewood']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late April, we updated the <a href="https://prephoops.com/tennessee/rankings/2026-rankings/">2026 player rankings</a>. In this feature the focus is small forwards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/position-ranking-table {"name":"acf/position-ranking-table","data":{"class":"2026","_class":"field_65cfb7374abb9","position":"77247","_position":"field_65cfbfcb19ad6","national_rankings":"0","_national_rankings":"field_660c1d73c0e49","state":"24753","_state":"field_65cfb88a603fe"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6812b2a7adb2f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Powerful Man-Children</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2367403' first='Aiden' last='Bolden'], [player_tooltip player_id='2345556' first='Daniel' last='Patton'], [player_tooltip player_id='1760996' first='Fred' last='Smith'], [player_tooltip player_id='1760994' first='Dorion' last='Bowen'], [player_tooltip player_id='2675160' first='Bronzden' last='Chaffin'], [player_tooltip player_id='2116626' first='Ethan' last='Gatewood'], [player_tooltip player_id='2678918' first='Amaury' last='St. Ann'], Bryson addox are all abnormally strong for high school hoopers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2367403' first='Aiden' last='Bolden']'s father, Wayne Chism, was tremendously strong as a rebounder and low-post scorer for the Tennessee Volunteers years ago when Bruce Pearl was still the coach in Knoxville. Bolden is also a bruiser. Unfortunately for Aiden the modern basketball game favors finesse over power and his outside shot will be the limiting factor going forward. If he can develop that three-pointer to average, then he will be a Top 3/4 player in the class. Even if he cannot, Bolden will still be a Top 10 player throughout his high school career. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2367403' first='Aiden' last='Bolden']</strong> is a State Champion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing with [player_tooltip player_id='2292618' first='Preston' last='Wade'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1659513' first='Christopher' last='Washington Jr.'] last winter enabled Bolden to play away from the basket plenty. It helped his development quite a bit. Still, Bolden is one of the best rebounders in Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2798064' first='Bryson' last='Maddox']</strong> will play college football someday and the recent offers indicate it will be at a high level. For Clinton High, Bryson is quite a solid basketball player right now. The 6-foot-4 forward improved and improves his strength with hours in the weight room. Many high school basketball players lag behind football players in weight room devotion. Maddux maintains an edge here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2678918' first='Amaury' last='St. Ann']</strong> proved nimble enough to play college small forward with Bartlett's Panthers this winter. St. Ann likes to do damage around the rim right now. Defensively, he will be able to switch to a number of positions throughout his career. Strong guy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakout Candidates</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1943896' first='Nickalai' last='Anderson']</strong> (Providence Christian Academy), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295221' first='Zion' last='Pinkerton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2735316' first='Rylan' last='Woods']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249601' first='Lawson' last='Gillespie']</strong> are breakout candidates in their senior seasons. Nickalai is a guy we have ranked in the Top 30 for years, but college coaches will get to see more in the next 12 months. Anderson is sure to have a big summer with Team Mookie 17u, a very visible program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everybody at Battle Ground Academy raves about <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249601' first='Lawson' last='Gillespie']</strong>. The former PrepHoopsTN Combine competitor shows good bounce and aggression around the rim. He will possibly be a college "2", if positions even matter anymore. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2295221' first='Zion' last='Pinkerton']</strong> is a nice athlete at 6-foot-4+ and he helped his team advance to the state semifinals in March. We will get to see more touches and game from him after Tyner Academy graduates two primary ball-handlers ([player_tooltip player_id='1259390' first='Rodney' last='Henderson'] III, [player_tooltip player_id='1500690' first='Adarius' last='Brewster']).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->