Early Breakout Players in Northern VA

The high school season is still relatively young, but there's already been some players who are making quite the name for themselves across the state. Here's a look at six of the top early breakout players in the NOVA area.   Brian Mitchell | 6'5” WG | Paul VI '27   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Brian-Mitchell-Jr-crop-5548x3643-1765826114.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/Brian-Mitchell-Jr-crop-5548x3643-1765826114.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-3231379" /></a></figure>   Mitchell isn't having a breakout year as in no one knew him as he was a 20 point per game scorer at Varina the last few years, but he's making his presence known nationally after transferring to Paul VI and putting up huge numbers against a national schedule so far this year. Mitchell took a big jump this past summer as he started taking his body and conditioning more seriously, and he's had huge games of 24 points on10-for-15 from the field in a win over Archbishop Spalding, 31 points and 8 rebounds in a win over Prolific Prep, and 18 points and 8 rebounds in a nationally televised win over Archbishop Stepinac.   Nate McComb | 6'6” PF | Lake Braddock '26   Lake Braddock has got off to a huge start this season, and a big reason for it is the emergence of senior Nate McComb who has been as consistently productive as they come. He's a versatile inside-out threat who can score from all three levels, plays with a great motor on both ends and runs the floor in transition, and is averaging a double-double for an LB team that is currently undefeated.   O'Neal Allotey | 6'8” PF | Mount Vernon '27   There may not be a more intriguing prospect in all of NOVA public schools than Allotey, who has only been playing basketball for a couple of seasons and has started off the season in a big way with McLean. While he's still raw he's figuring it out averaging 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks through his first three games. He's long and athletic with the ability to play above the rim, he has soft hands and can already finish with both hands around the rim, and he has good touch out to 18 feet as well.   [player_tooltip player_id='2815378' first='Trey' last='Lonardo'] | 6'4” WF | George Marshall '27   Lonardo had a good sophomore season for Marshall last year as he started to emerge as their go-to guy late in the season, and he's transitioned right into that guy to start his junior season with a couple of big time games so far. Lonardo has had games of 25 points in a win over Brooke Point and 29 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Chantilly, showing his ability to score the ball from all three levels and impact winning on both ends of the court with his versatility.   Jordan Smith | 6'0” CG | Robinson '28   While he isn't the Jordan Smith who has been dominating headlines as the top 3 player in the country on national TV with PVI, this Jordan Smith is starting to make a name for himself in the NOVA public schools with his ability to flat out score the basketball at a very high clip! The 6'0” sophomore finished with 43 points in a game and what stood out was not just his impressive shot making but his confidence as he showed range out to the volleyball line, showed the ability to create space off the bounce, and the ability to make difficult shots on the move too.   [player_tooltip player_id='2966230' first='Devan' last='Howe'] | 6'0” PG | Gainesville ‘28   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Howe-Devan.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Howe-Devan.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2967825" /></a></figure>   Howe is emerging as one of the top lead guards in the NOVA area, as he has a talented Gainesville team rolling, and his ability to be a dual threat scorer and distributor to keep all of the talent happy has been the most impressive. The 6'0” lead guard plays with terrific pace and changes speeds well, he scores it efficiently from all three levels picking his spots and making teams pay, and he has great instincts on both ends of the floor.

The high school season is still relatively young, but there's already been some players who are making quite the name for themselves across the state. Here's a look at six of the top early breakout players in the NOVA area.