STOUGHTON, Mass. — The 2025 grassroots season is hitting an important inflection point in the calendar.
The opening NCAA live recruiting period looms next weekend from May 16-18, which allows Division 1 coaches to watch recruits play in-person. It’s the first of several live periods this spring and summer, which gives coaches valuable insight and added context on players. For recruits, it’s a crucial opportunity to impress in front of coaches against high-level competition.
This past weekend was the calm before the storm, in a sense. But the Hoop Group’s annual New England Jam Fest gave teams from around the region – and beyond – a chance to stay sharp against good competition before heading out to live period events across the country next weekend. It was a valuable opportunity, too, to see New England AAU teams play locally under one roof. Top sneaker circuit teams like BABC, Mass Rivals and Middlesex Magic in addition to several independent grassroots teams participated in the event, with some of the top recruits in the region taking part.
Jam Fest was split up into four different locations around southeastern Massachusetts over the weekend; I picked the Dana Barros Basketball Club to catch the 17U and 16U squads compete as dozens of Division 3 coaches from the area lined the walls to watch. Here are seven standouts who caught my eye – including some new names I hadn’t previously got a good look at – as I roamed the courts for Saturday’s action.
