Midwest Live: Friday Ohio 2026 Standouts

Midwest Live brought out dozens of teams to the Cedar Point Sports Center for a live period event that is regarded as one of the best in the country in the month of June, in this article I'll break down my Ohio 2026 standouts from Friday.    One of the biggest potential stock risers of the weekend, Hamilton certainly did not disappoint in an event opening win over Canton McKinley where his fingerprints were all over the game. An impressive shot maker, Hamilton made a handful of 3-pointers off the dribble and was shooting the basketball with a ton of confidence. The highlight of the game came when Hamilton jumped a passing lane and dunked on a defender in transition. Knocking down 3-point shots, playing above the rim, creating shots for yourself and others is a great combo to get recruited and I think Hamilton did himself a ton of favors on Friday.     In a battle between two of southeast Ohio's best, Straub helped Saint Clairsville get an impressive win in a game where he shot the ball at a high level from 3-point range. Straub is a tough cover at the high school level due to his floor spacing ability combined with his athleticism and size. If Straub can consistently finish in traffic against a contest and defend in space without fouling, he'll take his game to the next level. As it currently stands, Straub has an extremely high offensive ceiling at the next level and is one of the most exciting players to come through the Ohio Valley area over the past few seasons.     A prospect who has battled injuries and just returned to the court last weekend during the Kentucky live period, Owens is kicking the rust off with some impressive offensive play. One of the most skilled bigs in Ohio, Owens knocked down a few pick and pop 3-pointers and displayed his soft touch on floaters and hook shots. When Owens continues to work his way back to 100% on the court, I'll be looking for him to make a big defensive impact as a rim protector for a Goshen squad that could surprise some people this winter in the greater Cincinnati area.     Another one of the biggest stock risers of any player on Friday, Plantz had 49 points and 23 rebounds through two contests. Plantz was assertive in the paint with multiple dunks and finishes at the rim in the game I caught. I also liked that Plantz was confident to stretch the floor from the mid-range to 3-point line area of the court. One of his best plays all night came on a lefty drive and finish against a strong shot contest. If Plantz can continue to play with this toughness at both ends of the court in July, he'll be sure to add to his college interest over the next month.     Brunswick has one of the best guard duos in Ohio as Drexler and [player_tooltip player_id='2288543' first='Sean' last='Barnett'] were playing at a high level together. On the first possession of the game Drexler hit a deep wing 3 and that was a sign of things to come as the Blue Devils were making it rain all game. Drexler had a couple impressive skip passes to shooters and created shots for his teammates often. When Drexler can spot-up and launch or get to his spots on a pull-up, Drexler is tough to stop as a scorer. In their second game of the day that I didn't catch, Drexler hit a game-winning shot to close their day 2-0. If Brunswick is going to win a region in Division I, this year with a talented senior guard duo is as good of a chance as they'll have.     My first chance to watch Lutheran East all summer did not disappoint me as the young Falcons went 2-0 against some tough competition. Crumble is the senior leader on the squad and returned from a visit to Stanford with a productive night of basketball. Crumble had a couple nice passes including a big-to-big assist and an extra pass to a shooter on the perimeter. Crumble also drew a couple fouls just being aggressive on the interior. The Falcons have a chance to win a fourth straight state title with Crumble leading an extremely talented group of younger prospects.     A recent Miami (OH) commit, Horton was really impressive with his future college head coach in attendance. Horton is one of the more skilled bigs in Ohio and was a tough cover on the interior with a couple tough post moves off pivots and pump fakes with his back to the basket. Defensively is where I really thought Horton shined as he was active against the pick and roll and jumped a few passing lanes. Horton will be one of the toughest low block players to defend in the MAC but if he can have a defensive impact as well, he'll be a impact player sooner rather than later in Oxford.

Midwest Live brought out dozens of teams to the Cedar Point Sports Center for a live period event that is regarded as one of the best in the country in the month of June, in this article I'll break down my Ohio 2026 standouts from Friday.