A freshman who was not afraid at all to make an impact, McLean is a floor spacer from the power forward position as he was letting it fly from downtown with seven 3-point attempts. McLean was confident in his first career college game and made quick decisions with the ball in his hands, which is essential with the pace Queens wants to play at. With McLean and Caleb Jones making early season impacts, it appears Queens nailed multiple evaluations from the 2026 high school recruiting class.

The second Queens University signee to make this list McLean is a high upside forward with a ton of ability that transferred into NC to play for Coach Antonio Lowe at Winston-Salem Christian. McLean offers a great blend of two way skill and physical ability to this Winston-Salem Christian lineup. McLean has the ability to make outside shots, impose himself on smaller opponents, and guard multiple positions on the floor. Frankly, his defensive upside along with the outside touch is what makes him a truly appealing prospect and a guy that made a lot of sense for Queens to get signed early in their class. There’s a real world in five years where we talk about McLean as one of the 5-6 best players in this class when their college careers are all wrapping up.

Nicholas excels at scoring in traffic and uses his length effectively to disrupt shots on defense. His ability to score under pressure and impact both ends of the court makes him a dual-threat big man.

✅ Translatable Skills: Scoring in Traffic, Shot Disruption, Dual-End Impact