Prospect Spotlight: Kyle Braun
I first saw Kyle Braun play in the 2018 EYBL Atlanta session. He was with the Cal Supreme 16U group and although he showed some flashes, I thought he was an underused piece on their team. Fast forward a little over a year later, he now has 2 offers from Army and Navy after a successful travel season with the Cali Stars. Even with those, he is still an overlooked prospect who has proven to be worthy of heavier recruitment. He is leaving the summer with momentum and determination as we approach the high school season.
Braun has an impressive combination of shot-making ability and dynamic athleticism. He utilizes both effectively and takes what each game allows for. Braun is able to create space for himself off the bounce quite well and gets good elevation on his shot. While he is more of a scorer, Braun has shown that he can play on the ball and facilitate. When asked about his skills, he said “I am a reliable shooter who also looks to get my teammates involved. I like to push in transition and get quick layups. I would say I have a high basketball IQ and play hard on both ends.” After watching Braun in April, those thoughts proved to be true. He and his Cali Stars team came to Atlanta for the April live period and put together a nice showing. They brought an entertaining, fast-paced style to Atlanta, with Braun showing off a variety of skills. However, Braun still wants to display other parts of his game to coaches. “I really want to show coaches that I can defend and be vocal on defense. I also want to show coaches that I can handle the ball really well,” he said. Braun definitely has the tools to excel in those areas so I am encouraged to see how he develops there before the winter comes.
Braun felt good about his play during the travel season and thought he would have received offers even before the summer months, when Navy and then Army pulled the trigger. “I think the travel season went really well for me. I played exactly how I wanted to play. I think i surprised a lot of people, especially with my athleticism,” he said. Braun is an exceptional leaper who only needs a few steps to explode to the rim with authority. Although he left April without any offers, Braun remained patient and confident in himself. This paid off in June, as Navy extended him his 1st offer after he took a visit there. To go along with the Navy visit, Braun took a look at many other high-academic programs in the region during the month as well. He spoke about his visits, saying “I visited Princeton, Drexel, Lafayette, Army, Navy, Dartmouth, Cornell, and NYU. I really enjoyed every visit and camp. I got a good picture of every campus and how every school ran their system.” Although it was nice to view a lot of different campuses, nothing beat getting the Navy offer for Braun. He said “It was an amazing experience getting my first offer from them. I was not expecting that they would offer, so I was extremely excited. All my hard work paid off and I need to continue to push myself.” Just about a month later, Army also offered Braun after watching him again at the West Regional NCAA Academy. I could see more Patriot and Ivy League programs doing the same once fall workouts come around and they get to watch Braun in that setting.
Having felt like he was overlooked for quite some time, Braun has used that as fuel during his high school career. “I think I’m underrated because I’m from a small high school that isn’t known for basketball and I don’t play on a shoe circuit. Even looking at me you may not think I can hoop. I use that to my advantage to motivate myself and prove everyone wrong,” he said. Just from watching him during April, it was clear that he played with some fire. Braun is a confident prospect and his production matches it. He has proven himself in multiple settings, including camps with lots of guys who have bigger offers. No matter where he’s playing, Braun comes in with the same mindset, saying “You don’t need to be on a shoe team to make noise and get recruited. I just make sure I play as hard as I can because you never know who’s watching.” Taking this approach has served him well over the last few months and should continue to during his senior season, which he will play at El Camino High after transferring from Calabasas.
Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy finding sleepers and tracking their progress. After being hidden with Cal Supreme, Braun found an ideal situation with the Cali Stars. He was able to fully display his abilities and has a great group of supporters within the program that make an effort to get his name out there. While this spring and summer were productive for him, Braun seems focused on continuing to build to his resume during his final year of high school. The tools he has are ones that translate very well to the college level and will allow him to make a smooth transition in almost any system. His upward trajectory does not appear to be slowing down.