Ranking Release: Class of 2026 Climbers Aplenty

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2422715' first='Elliyon' last='Kinzer']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seniors typically sense the closing window on their high school careers and therefore often play with a greater sense of urgency. More than most the following players elevated their game in the last two months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2634289' first='Malachi' last='Brown'] </strong>(Knoxville Catholic) signed with University of Michigan after a whirlwind recruitment. New to the Fighting Irish program, Malachi is averaging 14.1 points per game behind only star teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1959161' first='Cade' last='Murphy']'s 21.2 ppg. Malachi tugs down 6.8 rebounds per and plucks 2.3 steals per. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205018' first='Gavin' last='Fitzpatrick'] </strong>(Whitehaven) hopped up about 30 spots. Remember senior forward Fitzpatrick advanced to the State Tournament last March with Memphis East though his 16 game minutes in the loss to Bradley Central did not impress. Fitzpatrick's senior year with Whitehaven is going well. Late September Kishwaukee offered high-academic forward <strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2205018' first='Gavin' last='Fitzpatrick']</strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/gavin-fitzpatrick/"></a> </strong>and LeMoyne-Owen offered him the day prior. Both Shawnee Community College and Southwest Community College are offers on the table too since before that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ensworth guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2308938' first='Steven' last='Sherman'] </strong>spent the last two years barking that he is a Top 10 player in the state. He keeps proving how skilled of a scorer he is and this recent jump reflects upon the senior's abilities. Walters State Community College offered him Saturday. Speedy. After turnovers Sherman eagerly shoots upfloor out Ensworth's 2-3 zone like a sprinter leaving his starting blocks. Must add good weight to defend body-to-body at the college level. Sherman is a quick reactor with quick hands to passes in his area. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2422715' first='Elliyon' last='Kinzer'] </strong>(Smyrna) impresses almost every coach he faces, surprising them with his scoring. Through his first twelve games "Yon" is averaging 25.3 points per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oak Ridge senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2817446' first='Charlie' last='Taubenheim'] </strong>leads a team in transition, a team replacing much.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2678918' first='Amaury' last='St. Ann'] </strong>plays for Bartlett. He plays sparingly some games, but other games he makes an impact. The #1 team is the deepest, most talented team in the state and Amaury is a good basketball player capable of playing beyond high school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2869668' first='Cole' last='Winters'] </strong>(Beech) is a guy we overlooked until August of this year. College coaches identified him in July as a worthy target and many offered him in the intervening months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>State Champion <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2296673' first='Wilson' last='Luton']</strong>, like [player_tooltip player_id='2678918' first='Amaury' last='St. Ann'], suffered reputationally by playing with so many talented teammates. His coach understood that he can play and the climb reflects our deepening respect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2610424' first='Tahj' last='Davie'] </strong>(Clarksville Academy) does just about everything better than average: rebound, shoot, handle, defend, drive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2640155' first='Kamden' last='Lanxter'] </strong>(Alcoa) gives the new 3A team slashing and scoring. Thugh he still needs to bulk up and gain strength his capacity for creating his own shots is pertinent for the State Tournament aspirants. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2363276' first='Foster' last='Coleman']</strong> (CAK) paces a balanced scoring unit for the Division II-A East District 1 frontrunner Christian Academy of Knoxville Warriors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BraylinDavis_/status/2002787782272721101?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BraylinDavis_/status/2002787782272721101?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2118261' first='Braylin' last='Davis'] </strong>(USN) is averaging just under 30 ppg. To be fair to other volume scorers, Davis' team defeated some really cupcakes in December. To be fair to Braylin, his jet-quick first-step creates problems for most defenders, regardless of high school level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Other Climbers</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2749439' first='Aiden' last='O'Leary']</strong> (Roane County)<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1975489' first='Kaleb' last='Lewis']</strong> (Rockvale)<br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2852268' first='Vernon' last='Roberts Jr.'] </strong>(Davidson Academy)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->