One of my favorite small town guards to watch in the 2026 class, Bates is the engine behind a John Glenn squad that starts four juniors and is already one of the top teams in eastern Ohio. With his creativity as an isolation scorer, Bates has the dribble moves to beat his defender off the bounce and score using floaters or layups at the rim. I was also impressed by John Glenn’s scrappiness using the full court press that Bates was a part of on the defensive end of the court. I’m assuming Bates will be a priority target for local program Muskingum but I also anticipate his talents being of interest to a handful of other small college programs that will get to know him this spring and summer.

Bates was going crazy on Tuesday night in a rivalry battle where he carried John Glenn to a tight victory. Bates was shifty on the ball and getting where he wanted to off the dribble and scored off numerous isolation opportunities, mostly using the floater to avoid shot blockers. His highlight of the game had to be a nasty pull-up 3-pointer at the end of a quarter. Defensively, John Glenn full court pressed the entire game and Bates used active hands to force turnovers and get easy buckets in transition. One of the top players in eastern Ohio’s 2026 class, John Glenn is sitting at 10-1 halfway through the regular season.