When the dust cleared on New England’s 2025 boys recruiting class, the region was well-represented on a national scale. A handful of prospects made summer decisions to reclassify from the 2026 class to head straight to college this fall as members of the 2025 class, making this a loaded group. A whopping 14 recruits from NEPSAC schools landed inside the top 150 of 24/7 Sports’ final national rankings.
Now, as college basketball practices begin across the country, our attention shifts to how their careers at the next level will unfold. There are 88 Division 1 prospects from New England or NEPSAC in our 2025 commitments database, and they’re all hoping to make an immediate impact at some level as freshmen. But in today’s college basketball world – in the era of the transfer portal – it’s never been harder to make a mark in your first year.
So, who from this class might carve out a significant role as freshmen? I tried this exercise last year, and had some wins. Cooper Flagg (Newport, Maine) – who won the Naismith National Player of the Year before being selected No. 1 in the NBA Draft – was an obvious choice, and Oswin Erhunmwunse and Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) made the Big East All-Freshman Team at Providence. I missed badly on not including CJ Cox (Lexington, Mass.), who became a starter at Purdue and helped the Boilermakers reach the Sweet 16.
Let’s try it again. Here are 10 New England freshmen – plus some honorable mentions – who I think will make an impact in 2025-26. These are based on a combination of the player’s talent, situation and pathway to playing time.
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
6-9 wing
Utah Prep/Brockton, Mass.
Like Flagg last season, this is the most obvious pick of the list. The No. 2-ranked recruit in the country – according to 24/7 Sports – and projected top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft will be the focal point for the Cougars, as a scoring and facilitating wing and multi-positional versatile defender in head coach Kevin Young’s NBA-style system. Surrounded by a loaded roster that includes scoring guards Richie Saunders, Robert Wright III and Kennard Davis Jr., plus a ton of shooting, Dybantsa will have a lot of space to operate offensively and do what he does best getting to the rim. Dybantsa also seems to be embracing the defensive end – he mentioned on our podcast last month that it’s becoming more fun for him – and he should make a huge impact on that end with his length and quickness.
London Jemison, Alabama
6-8 wing
St. Thomas More/Bloomfield, Conn.
The Crimson Tide returned several players from last season’s squad that made the Elite Eight, and they added several impact transfers. But Jemison enters the fold as Nate Oats’ highest-ranked recruit of his 2025 freshman class, and he offers a unique skillset that could help him earn early minutes. The long wing doesn’t need to dominate the ball and projects as a prototypical 3-and-D player; he shot 43.6 percent from deep on 10.7 attempts per game last season at St. Thomas More, and he told New England Basketball Journal upon his commitment that Oats views him as someone he can plug into different lineups.
Amir Jenkins, West Virginia
6-2 guard
Worcester Academy/Worcester, Mass.
The Mountaineers and first-year head coach Ross Hodge were aggressive in their pursuit of Jenkins, who reclassified to the 2025 class this summer to immediately join the program. I have a hard time believing they would have gone to lengths to get him if they didn’t have plans to use him – and Hodge even said, generally with freshmen, that they don’t want to put them in a situation where they’re playing minimally and losing a year. Hodge said that he believes Jenkins is mentally ready to contribute early, and with 15 newcomers on the team, there should be plenty of opportunity for the three-time high school champion to make an impact.
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Nasir Meyer, Wyoming
6-7 guard
New Hampton/Los Angeles, Calif.
Meyer had high-major offers from Xavier, Arizona State and Marquette before choosing Wyoming, which I believe got one of the steals of the 2025 class. The big guard made our All-Class AAA First Team last season after averaging 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game for New Hampton, and the three-level scoring matchup nightmare should step in as one of the Cowboys’ best players right away on a young roster. Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks already nicknamed Meyer “Mr. Fix It” and believes he can be an alpha leader as a freshman. I’d expect him to be in contention as the Freshman of the Year in the Mountain West.
Kelvin Odih, St. John’s
6-4 guard
SoCal Academy/Providence, R.I.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino infamously said earlier this year that he didn’t think he could “win big” with high school recruits, instead focusing his efforts on adding transfers to replenish his rosters. But that didn’t stop him from getting Odih, and in early-season practices, the legend hasn’t stopped raving about the nationally-ranked prospect and former South Kent and Rhode Island Elite star. He said Odih was the biggest surprise of the summer as he praised him for his effort and motor. That was a staple of Odih’s high school career – former South Kent coach Raphael Chillious once told me that he was one of the offensive rebounding guards he had seen – and I think that will help him carve out early playing time with the Red Storm.
Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
6-2 guard
Brewster Academy/Nashua, N.H.
Okorie, last season’s New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year, was one of the steadiest two-way guards in the country for Jason Smith’s nationally-ranked team at Brewster. Early returns are that he’s picking up where he left off with a strong first impression at Stanford practices, and there’s an expectation that he’ll be in the rotation right away. As good of a point guard as Okorie is, I’ve always appreciated his defensive intensity and motor; that combined with his IQ for the game will get him plenty of early minutes.
Ashton Reynolds, Central Connecticut State
6-4 guard
Williston Northampton/Brooklyn, N.Y.
Reynolds was a late 2025 commit, pledging to Central Connecticut State in mid-May; it was certainly a product of this era of recruiting, but it still puzzled me. Reynolds has high-major athleticism and impacts the game in every way on both ends of the court, one of the biggest reasons why Williston Northampton ran away with last season’s Class A championship. His postgraduate season with head coach Ben Farmer made him a year better and more prepared for the next level, and I think he’ll make an instant impact as one of the best freshmen in the Northeast Conference with his defensive versatility and athleticism.
Teshaun Steele, New Haven
6-7 wing
Darrow/Worcester, Mass.
Steele flew under the recruiting radar last winter; despite becoming Darrow’s best player in the Ducks’ breakthrough debut season in Class AAA and being chosen as our Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year, he didn’t have many offers and didn’t commit until late March. Let’s hope folks aren’t underestimating him again. Steele will walk into a brand new Division 1 program as one of 15 underclassmen, and he has the tools, length and skills to make an instant impact in the Northeast Conference. He’s already making big plays in practice.
Ty Tabales, Bryant
6-2 guard
New Hampton/Worcester, Mass.
Like West Virginia did with Jenkins – his former teammate at Worcester North – Bryant pulled out all the stops to get Tabales after his breakout performances in June and July, getting him to commit and reclassify into 2025. First-year head coach Jamion Christian took over the program with 16 newcomers and was in need of a ball-handling guard. Tabales, who’s older than most freshmen, said he feels ready to step in and be a leader for this group. He should have a significant role for the Bulldogs in 2025-26.
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Keyshuan Tillery, Cincinnati
6-0 guard
New Hampton/Albany, N.Y.
A universal top 60-ranked national recruit, Tillery was already likely to have an early role at Cincinnati. But then two-year guard Jizzle James, a starter last season, was dismissed from the program in August. Now, Tillery should get even more minutes in the backcourt alongside Day Day Thomas and Kerr Kriisa, and on a roster that includes several newcomers under third-year head coach Wes Miller. Tillery, a selection our All-Class AAA First Team last season after a huge final season at New Hampton, has impressed Miller with his mature approach, and said he has an expectation to play a big role.
7 more freshmen to watch: Andrew Alekseyenko (Colgate/Brookline, Mass.); Landon Clark (Princeton/Bangor, Maine); Preston Fowler (James Madison/Vernon, Conn.); Ryder Frost (Notre Dame/Beverly, Mass.); Jaylen Harrell (Providence/Boston, Mass.); Isaiah Langham (Brown/Stoughton, Mass.); Warren Keel (Radford/Lynn, Mass.)
