SoCal Recruiting Update: Recent Commitments

<p>The late summer and fall seasons are when a bevy of official visits begin for prospects around the country and that has rang true among Southern California players. With the rise of transfer portal recruitment, we often see commitments made prior to the early signing period by high school prospects and seven of our Top 25 2026 players are officially off the board with more expected to come soon. Below we break down the SoCal-based commitments and what they mean for the programs they are going to.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956461' first='Jason' last='Crowe, Jr.'] | Inglewood | Class Rank: 4 | Commitment: Missouri</h4>   <p>Crowe will bring absolute instant offense to the Tigers program as he is currently 6th on California's all-time scoring leaders list, sitting only 328 points behind Tounde Yessoufou, who set the record last season at St. Joseph of Santa Maria. Crowe sports a career average of 36.2 points per game throughout his high school career, meaning, if he keeps pace with himself, he will only need about nine games to become the state's scoring king. </p>   <p>There are plenty of offensive scenarios that Missouri coach Dennis Gates can come up with to maximize Crowe's scoring ability but doesn't need much of a scheme as the 6-foot-3 guard has consistently produced numbers at a high level by getting baskets from any time and any place on the floor. His savvy shot-making in the mid-range and in the paint is all set up by his ability to knock down deep three point shots off the catch and off the bounce.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956542' first='Kaiden' last='Bailey'] | Santa Margarita | Class Rank: 8 | Commitment: Georgia Tech</h4>   <p>Bailey put together an explosive spring and summer playing on the EYBL circuit with Team Why Not and let the country in on what those in Southern California already knew: he's a gifted three-level scorer. The 6-foot-3 combo guard made his name regionally playing on smaller circuits, and for his father's independent team, but his recruiting stock went from regional to national after a couple sessions on Nike's premier exposure platform. </p>   <p>Bailey popped for coach Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech after a recent official visit, and while his high volume and dynamic scoring abilities will be discussed the most, he has developed into a true decision-making combo guard over the last year while playing at Santa Margarita. The increased feel within system and structure will benefit Bailey greatly at the next level.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956483' first='Zachary' last='White'] | Notre Dame | Class Rank: 9 | Commitment: San Diego State</h4>   <p>White is a seamless fit for a San Diego State program that values defensive toughness and versatility. The 6-foot-5 wing is one of the most switchable, smart and physical defenders out west and his hard hat approach to that end of the floor will allow him to immediately mesh with the culture of that program.</p>   <p>White has been known to guard positions 1 through 5 at the high school level and I see him as a guy who can defend 1 through 4 in the Mountain West because of his combination of physical tools and lateral and vertical athleticism. Offensively, White is more of a slasher and finisher in transition who cleans up the offensive glass for second chance opportunities than he is a guy who will have the ball in his hands to get a bucket. He has improved his off-catch three-point shooting ability - especially from the corners - but still needs to become more of a perimeter offensive threat.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956524' first='Isaiah' last='Rogers'] | Corona Centennial | Class Rank: 13 | Commitment: Stanford</h4>   <p>Rogers spent the first two seasons at Centennial studying the game behind the likes of Jared McCain (Duke/NBA), Eric Freeney (UCLA) and Carter Bryant (Arizona/NBA) and stepped into the limelight last season as the go-to guy on a young team. There were some bumps in the road as Centennial struggled through a difficult schedule, but Rogers remained steadfast in his approach and it's looking like the Huskies could have a resurgence this season.</p>   <p>From the moment Rogers entered high school, you knew he would become one of the region's premier scoring guards. The 6-foot-2 combo guard has always played at his own pace - never sped up - and used his deceptive footwork, creative ball handling ability and changes of speed and direction to get to his comfort zones, which came to be mid-range jumpers and three-point shots.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1956520' first='Brayden' last='Kyman'] | Santa Margarita | Class Rank: 14 | Commitment: Washington State</h4>   <p>We've mentioned Kyman a few times over the last few months from our stops at Section 7, California Live and on the PUMA circuit and the overarching takeaway about his commitment to Washington State is that it couldn't be a better fit for his skill-set. The 6-foot-8 forward was one of the first players in the class to stamp his college and his offensive skill, feel and versatility at the four/five spot will be nearly plug and play for the Cougars. He can step out on the perimeter and hit open three's off the catch, attack closeouts and make decisions, score inside over smaller defenders and trigger offense in a point forward role.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2131782' first='JRob' last='Croy'] | Riverside Poly | Class Rank: 22 | Commitment: Saint Mary's</h4>   <p>The connection with Croy and Saint Mary's goes beyond a program recruiting a player as Croy's father, Cal Baptist head coach Rick Croy, is one of many Randy Bennett protege's who has gone on to Division I head coaching success. JRob's hard-nosed, high IQ and no-nonsense approach to the game fits Saint Mary's to a "T" and when you add in the perimeter shooting and playmaking skill-set along with the coach's son basketball IQ that the 6-foot-4 senior brings to the floor, it seems like a really good match up in Moraga.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2425687' first='Acen' last='Jimenez'] | La Habra | Class Rank: 24 | Commitment: Dartmouth</h4>   <p>It's been a tremendous story to see the rise of Jimenez over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-1 point guard doesn't play for "name brand" high school, instead opting to stay at his home public school, La Habra, and, until midway through the spring when he joined with Dream Vision's 3SSB program, had always ran with local club programs. Despite taking a different path, Jimenez earned himself a Division I scholarship to Dartmouth where he will bring a very poised and high IQ approach to the point guard position. The senior doesn't immediately jump out at you with elite athleticism or physical tools, but, when you watch him orchestrate an offense and compete on both ends of the floor, you can see the Big Green's vision.</p>

The late summer and fall seasons are when a bevy of official visits begin for prospects around the country and that has rang true among Southern California players. With the rise of transfer portal recruitment, we often see commitments made prior to the early signing period by high school prospects and seven of our Top 25 2026 players are officially off the board with more expected to come soon. Below we break down the SoCal-based commitments and what they mean for the programs they are going to.