HS Preview: ’26 F/C Poised to Take a Leap

HS Preview: &#8217;26 F/C Poised to Take a Leap

Devin Ugland October 22, 2025 @ 01:33 PM

<p>The high school season in Southern California is just under a month away and we wanted to take some time to shine a spotlight on some players who are poised to make a big leap as players and recruits. Below we take a look at six forwards and centers who we believe will boost their stock.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2131807' first='Abdoul' last='Bare'] | St. Joseph</h4>   <p>With the lack of traditional big men available in the class of 2026, Bare could see himself become a valuable piece of the recruiting scene. The 6-foot-9 center out of Central California is a high energy and motor guy with a live body and quick twitch athleticism as a rebounder and rim protector. Bare is still raw from an offensive standpoint, but he has shown flashes of the tools and athletic framework that can be developed by the right program.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2131790' first='Clayton' last='Grebing'] | Mission Bay</h4>   <p>Grebing is one of San Diego's premier prospects and quite possibly the best four man in that region. At 6-feet-7, the senior is a highly skilled perimeter-oriented forward whose ability to stretch the floor to the three-point line is his biggest strength. Grebing has also shown improvements to his interior scoring whether it's a right-hand jump hook or offensive rebound put-back. Grebing should be a priority target for Division II programs out west.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2888839' first='Harrison' last='Harper'] | Maranatha</h4>   <p>The 6-foot-7 forward brings a nice blend of inside-out skill and a big body with room to improve it. Harper brings interior and perimeter touch, ball skills as a driver, creator and decision-maker in dribble-hand off and ball screen actions. Harper's combination of size, skill and fluid mobility makes him an intriguing long-term development prospect.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2888781' first='Ismail' last='Abdul-Rahman'] | Mayfair</h4>   <p>Rahman is a long, wiry and bouncy vertical athlete who can play both the four and five spots at the high school level. The 6-foot-8 senior is at his best when running the floor in transition, spacing to the dunker spot, or setting a ball screen and rolling to the rim where he uses his pogo-stick leaping ability to finish above the rim. Abdul-Rahman has also shown flashes of touch out to the three-point line off the catch with time and space.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2425656' first='Jaidyn' last='Smith'] | Corona Centennial</h4>   <p>Smith has experienced slow but steady development and improvement that we believe will come to fruition this season. The 6-foot-7 lefty is a high level defender in a variety of settings - rim protection, ball screen coverages, ability to switch and contain guards and defensive IQ in help-side situations. Offensively, Smith is best as a rim-runner, interior finisher and a guy who can free-up guards with a ball screen.</p>   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Markee White Jr. | Santa Margarita</h4>   <p>White is one of the more interesting players in SoCal this season. The 6-foot-6 forward brings a combination of rugged toughness, physicality and mindset but also has the feel, basketball IQ and ball skills to operate in a point-forward type of role. White's value is in his versatility on both ends of the floor where he can compete inside and out and that dual impact makes him a tough cover at the high school level.</p>

The high school season in Southern California is just under a month away and we wanted to take some time to shine a spotlight on some players who are poised to make a big leap as players and recruits. Below we take a look at six forwards and centers who we believe will boost their stock.