It's been four months since we first unveiled our Best of New England prospect rankings. At the time, the high school season had just ended and we were turning the page to the grassroots portion of the basketball calendar.
Since then, Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller have been following the region's elite talent at AAU tournaments and prep showcases throughout the spring and summer. Their notebooks are jam-packed with new observations and thoughts on player development and rising names to know.
Next week, that will culminate in our newest Best of New England rankings. You'll see a fresh Top 50 for the 2027 class, and for the first time, a ranked Top 50 for the 2028 class. The 2029 class will expand slightly to a 20-player watch list.
How are Steve and Ethan approaching their lists? They discussed some of the notable changes below.
Ethan:Â The big news with this update is the first appearance of a ranked Top 50 in 2028. It really forces us to take a hard-lined look at the depth of this class as players become upperclassmen. And, since players still have plenty of time to be recruited, it's more on us to determine their collegiate projections since we can't always reference known college interest.
The girls 2028 class at least has an easy starting point: Ella Peper. She's the best college prospect I've ever covered locally (I got involved just after Caroline Ducharme!). Peper, Alannah Morantus and Hillary Simo have separated themselves from the rest of the 2028s. But the next 10-12 players challenged me because I like all their games a lot and I really had to nitpick.
Steve, I feel like it's tougher with your boys 2028 class? How does the top tier shake out for you and what do you think of the class as a whole?
Steve:Â This is a fun class for us to dive into. A lot of our 2028 names were heading into their freshman seasons when we launched Basketball Journal in 2024, so we've had a long runway of tracking them and their development.
This is definitely a challenging group to differentiate at the top. On the boys side, much like the girls, there are a bunch of household names in the region who have been known for years. Prospects like Malachi Odugbela, Adriel Cantave and Jackson Perri have impressed as underclassmen for years. There's also a nationally-ranked prospect in Derek Swartz to consider. Are you noticing a theme? There will be lots of guards at the top of my 2028 rankings, which isn't totally surprising. There are so many good ones, several of which are trending high after the summer live periods we just watched.
I'm excited for our updated 2027 rankings, too. So much has changed since April. Ethan, are there any girls we can expect to see make big jumps in your rankings?
Ethan:Â I have been raving about Paola Kanoute all spring and summer long. I had the French forward at No. 17 entering grassroots play, but she has been phenomenal with iBelieve Elite. Her pure open-floor speed and lateral mobility on defense at 6-foot-3 make her one of the most unique physical player types in this region. Kanoute can handle the ball, beat defenders in a straight line, make an advanced passing read and hit a spot-up 3. She needs to do all of that more consistently, but the flashes are there.
Kanoute has picked up her first five offers since April — and I believe she's being seriously under-recruited. I honestly think she has a high-major ceiling and is simply under the radar because she's been stateside for only one year, playing at a smaller Putnam Science program that now no longer exists. I'm excited to see where Kanoute ends up, both for high school next year and in college.
(Update: Since this story published, Paola Kanoute has announced she will be transferring to DME Academy in Florida. She no longer attends a New England school and is not a New England native, so Kanoute will be removed from the Best of New England rankings.)
Sam Barton (Dexter Southfield/Reading, Mass.) will make her rankings debut after fully putting an ACL injury behind her. She played with such great pace for MCW Starz's top 17U team this season. Barton is a solid 3-pointer shooter who's even better attacking closeouts and driving lanes. These types of secondary scorers who consistently pressure defenses matter a lot, and it's good to see Barton's confidence and energy return.
Those are my two biggest risers. How about you?
Steve: We're obviously not spoiling exact rankings until next week — but I can say that my biggest riser by far will be Newman wing Philipe Ndong after his strong grassroots season with the Middlesex Magic. He did not make my initial Top 50; admittedly, I did not see much of him last winter because he played for Newman's prep team. And he actually started the spring with the Magic's Hoop Group Showcase League team before being called up to their top 17U Under Armour Association team.
PROSPECT WATCH: Why Philipe Ndong is one of New England's top stock risers
At 6-foot-9, Ndong possesses so many attributes that are coveted at the next level — elite 3-point shooting, ball skills at his size, high IQ and much more. He produced consistently for the Magic, one of the top grassroots teams in the country, throughout the spring and summer and netted offers from Creighton, Marquette and South Florida, among others. His long-term potential is through the roof.
Two more names: Hotchkiss star Alonzo Archbold, who was No. 32 in our initial rankings, will be rising up. The 6-foot-8 wing is a matchup nightmare, he was outstanding during the NEPSAC Showcases in June and played a key role for New Heights as it won the Adidas 17U championship in July while collecting offers from Siena, ECU, Hofstra, Loyola Chicago and Missouri State. Phillips Exeter standout Christian Chartier (Hampton, N.H.) will also make his Top 50 debut after a stock-rising season with the New England Storm. The 6-foot-6 wing is one of the best shooters in New England.
Ethan, are there any players in either your 2027 or 2028 rankings that you may be higher on than consensus? Or prospects you feel are still pretty underrated? Give me some of your personal favorites.
Ethan:Â I really like the wing/smaller forward depth in the 2027 class, and there's a group around the middle of my Top 50 who make up some of my favorite player archetypes. That would include Barton as mentioned, and also Sarah Poland (Sudbury, Mass.), Riley Hamilton (Lexington, Mass.) and Skyelyn Schoen-Rene (Colchester, Conn.). I think those four are each so skilled at their positions. Poland is my top prospect of that bunch because she can run offense and make plays for others at a slightly higher level. But each of them play quality defense, shoot and drive well, and are consistent with their effort levels. They will be part of winning basketball teams in college.
Aiming a little higher up my 2028 board: Jordynn Elijah and Kayla Dunlap (Natick, Mass.) do not hold Div. 1 offers yet to my knowledge. I'd vouch for both of them as Div. 1-caliber prospects. Elijah is a 6-2 wing and a tremendous defender already who has improved her ability to play off drives and hit a spot-up 3. Dunlap, a 6-0 wing/forward, dominated the MIAA last year at Natick, showing a natural scoring touch and surprising explosiveness. They both need to get stronger and better at dealing with physicality, but they have high-level physical tools, skill and clear year-over-year growth.
Bottom line: Give me a wing with multiple pathways to winning impact and I will be a fan. Who would you go to bat for in your rankings?
Steve:Â I only had Malik Adamson (Boston, Mass.) at No. 44 in April's rankings, so maybe even I was underrating him a bit, but he just exemplifies winning basketball in every form. Constant hustle plays, an insane defensive motor and he's evolved into a very capable point guard who creates for himself and others. The 3-point shot is coming together, too. I think his height may have scared some Div. 1 schools off, but Siena will reap the rewards of that commitments. He's going to be super impactful there.
I'll also go to bat for Samuel Owusu-Aduomi in the 2027 class. Every time I watched this spring and summer with either BABC or Tilton, the 6-foot-5 wing performed. He can run an offense, he's super skilled, he can shoot, he's got athletic pop and he also makes hustle plays and rebounds on both ends of the floor. He's a value add to winning. He grabbed an offer from UMBC earlier this week and I believe he should have more recruitment than he's getting.
In the 2028 class, this might be a little bit of a cop-out, because he's going to be in my Top 10, but I think Malachi Odugbela (Providence, R.I.) deserves more national recognition. He should be on track for a national ranking at some point. He's a 6-foot-6 guard with a really diverse offensive skillset and at just 16 years old, he's projecting to get even taller. Once he adds more weight to his frame, he's going to be scary.
I'll give you an underrated 2028 name: Cushing's Mikey Chiara. It may have been hard to find consistent playing time in the Penguins' loaded backcourt last season and as he transitioned to a new program, but the guard is a knockdown 3-point shooter with strong defensive instincts and a super high motor. He had a big July with New Heights, picked up an offer from Wagner and is someone I think will be a big stock-riser this winter. He settled in around the middle of my first Top 50.
