SoCal 2025 Rankings: The Top Five
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In our first look at the Southern California class of 2025 rankings, it’s clear that there’s a good amount of Division I talent – from High Major to Low Major – in the Southland’s sophomore class. We’ll break down those…
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Continue ReadingIn our first look at the Southern California class of 2025 rankings, it’s clear that there’s a good amount of Division I talent – from High Major to Low Major – in the Southland’s sophomore class. We’ll break down those potential Division I-bound players in a series of pieces taking a closer look at each of their games and what landed them at their respective ranking, starting with the top five.
Tounde Yessoufou Tounde Yessoufou 6'6" | SF St. Joseph (Santa Maria) | 2025 State #20 Nation CA-S , St. Joseph (Santa Maria), No. 1 overall prospect
Yessoufou has been a dominant force throughout his time at St. Joseph and with Team Why Not on the club circuit. At 6-feet-6 and 210 pounds, the sophomore burst onto the scene as a freak athlete whose explosiveness, along with his strong, physical and high motor style of play made him a productive interior scorer, offensive and defensive rebounder and multi-positional defender. What earned Yessoufou the No. 1 overall spot was the improvements he made to his perimeter scoring arsenal. His three-point and mid-range jump shots have become a consistent weapon both off the catch and off the bounce which has made him even more difficult to defend.
Brayden Burries Brayden Burries 6'4" | SF Roosevelt | 2025 State #13 Nation CA-S , Riverside Poly, No. 2 overall prospect
There are few players in Southern California, and really on the west coast at-large, who can score as efficiently as Burries. The 6-foot-5 sophomore is hard to categorize into a specific position because he can play the point guard, shooting guard, wing forward and even the four-spot with success. Burries is a high IQ shot creator for himself and teammates and has the ability to score with finesse on the perimeter or use his strong frame to seek out contact and finish through it. Burries is a tough shot-maker who elevates over defenders on his mid-range and three-point shots, but can also create space from defenders with side-steps and step-backs off the bounce to get a clean look at a fading jumper. Burries has also shown the ability to score in post-up situations which enhances his versatility even more.
Nik Khamenia Nik Khamenia 6'7" | SF Harvard-Westlake | 2025 State #18 Nation CA-S , Harvard-Westlake, No. 3 overall prospect
Khamenia has an intriguing combination of size and versatility at the wing forward spot. The 6-foot-7 sophomore is an efficient off-ball scorer who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact. Khamenia knows how to play in a system, takes good shots within the flow of the team’s offense and has shown impressive passing ability off the wing and in the mid-post. Khamenia is a versatile scorer who can knock down three-point shots off the catch, mid-range jumpers off the bounce and operates well in mid-post situations where he uses his size to elevate and score over smaller defenders.
Jovani Ruff Jovani Ruff 6'5" | SG Long Beach Poly | 2025 State #117 Nation CA-S , Long Beach Poly, No. 4 overall prospect
Ruff is one of the most pure perimeter scorers in this class. At 6-feet-5, the Long Beach Poly sophomore is a fluid jump shooter both off the catch and off the bounce who makes hitting tough shots look easy. Ruff’s understanding of how to get to his spots, and manipulate the defense to do that, is a skill he’s developed that’s well beyond his years. He’s efficient at getting to his comfort zones on the floor, using limited dribbles and no wasted movement, to to take a one, two or three dribble bounce into his balanced mid-range pull-up game. Ruff has extended that off-the-bounce game to well beyond the three-point line.
Elzie Harrington Elzie Harrington 6'5" | PG St. John Bosco | 2025 State #25 Nation CA-S , St. John Bosco, No. 5 overall prospect
The first thing most notice when watching Harrington play is his ability to see the game a couple steps ahead of his competition. The 6-foot-5 sophomore is a true playmaking point guard whose willingness to set the table for teammates, smart decisions in transition and half-court settings and the ability to put teammates in positions to be successful makes him an elite lead guard in the 2025 class. Harrington has the size, plays with the pace and basketball IQ, to run a team at a very high level.