By SAM LANCE
MESA, AZ — Nike EYBL kicked off its spring/summer slate this past weekend with Session 1 in Arizona. ZAGSBLOG was in attendance and is now here to catch you up with everything you may have missed. Below we’ll go over some top performers and stockrisers, as well as any other storylines at the 17u level.
TOP PERFORMERS
Dylan Mingo (PSA Cardinals): 23.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 3.3 stls, 58.5% FG, 57.1% 3FG. Jordan Smith Jr. (Team Takeover): 22.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 4.0 stocks, 60% FG. Qayden Samuels (Team Takeover): 24.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 44% FG, 40% 3FG. Ikenna Alozie (Utah Prospects): 21.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 62.2% FG, 30% 3FG. Katrelle Harmon (Vegas Elite): 24.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 stls, 44.9% FG, 31.3% 3FG. Christian Gibson (Houston Hoops): 21.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 stls, 48.2% FG, 31.6% 3FG. Jason Crowe Jr. (Oakland Soldiers): 25.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 44% FG, 16.7% 3FG. Elijah Williams (JL3 Elite): 22.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 49% FG, 35.7% 3FG. JJ Andrews (Bradley Beal Elite): 19.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 71.9% FG, 50% 3FG. Tarris Bouie III (Team Thad): 19.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 3.3 stocks, 46.7% FG, 33.3% 3FG. Marcus Johnson (Indy Heat): 19.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 3.6 stls, 41.5% FG. Ethan Mgbako (Team Melo): 18.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 47.6% FG, 35.7% 3FG.STOCKRISERS
Vaughn Karvala (Team Herro): 15.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 blks, 45.9% FG, 41.7% 3FG. Lucas Morillo (City Rocks): 15.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 stls, 44.7% FG. Kalek House (Oakland Soldiers): 16.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 3.0 stls, 46.3% FG, 35.3% 3FG. Anthony Brown Jr. (Team Durant): 17.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 40% FG. Trey Beamer (Team United): 19.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 stls, 37.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG. Desmond Bellot Jr. (Expressions Elite): 16.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 43.2% FG, 50% 3FG. Ethan Taylor (Mokan Elite): 11.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 73.3% FG. Cello Jackson (Nightrydas Elite): 11.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.0 blks, 51.7% FG. Troy Fason (NY Lightning): 15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 stls, 42.9% FG, 36.4% 3FG. Kohl Rosario (Team CP3): 16.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.7 stls, 51.4% FG, 41.2% 3FG. Promis N’Landu (UPLAY Candada): 13.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.3 stls, 46.9% FG. Luke Barnett (Arizona Unity): 11.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 43.3% FG, 30% 3FG.Top Performing Teams
NY Rens (3-0): The four-man combination of Jasiah Jervis, Asher Ellison, Na’Jai Hines and Jordan Skyers all had big weekends to help the Rens defeat Team Herro, Vegas Elite and Jet Academy. The Rens have a balanced scoring attack and are sneakily one of the best teams in the EYBL. Oakland Soldiers (3-0): The best backcourt in the EYBL may reside with the Soldiers. Crowe Jr. and House both scored at a high rate in Mesa and can get buckets in a variety of ways. Oakland defeated both Arizona Unity and Team Final, two of the better teams in the circuit en route to its undefeated record. PSA Cardinals (3-0): When you have Mingo — arguably the best point guard in the circuit — life can be easy. He simply willed PSA down the stretch against Expressions Elite and Team Durant to pull out close wins. The scary thing about PSA? It didn’t even have four-star big men Darius and Adonis Ratliff in Mesa. That’s a dangerous squad at full strength. Team CP3 (3-0): At the 16u level last season, Team CP3 made it to the Peach Jam title game. It’s looking like they could get back there this season. Five players averaged over nine points per game in Mesa including Rosario, Dionte Neal, Cole Cloer, Kendre Harrison and Nathaniel Williams IV. CP3 has size, point guard play, shooting on the wing and everything in between. It could be the best team in the EYBL. Team Takeover (3-0): Samuels and Smith Jr. are a load to deal with and will propel Team Takeover all summer long. The two five-stars lead the charge, but don’t forget about Prince-Alexander Moody and Parker Robinson, who had solid weekends. Team Takeover is one of the best defensive teams in the circuit and can suffocate you. Just ask Meanstreets and JL3 Elite. Team WhyNot (3-0): Two players in the top five of the class of 2026 rankings makes a good recipe for success. Christian Collins and Tajh Ariza both performed admirably in Mesa, and Ariza hit a late 3-pointer vs. Mokan Elite to help win the game. That may have been the biggest shot of the weekend. WhyNot has a total of seven ranked players and are probably the deepest team in the circuit. Team Final (2-1): The three-headed monster on the wing of Luca Foster, Sammy Jackson and Aiden Derkack is hard to handle. All three of those four-star prospects averaged double-digit points over the weekend. Team Final is certainly a team to look out for the rest of the summer. Utah Prospects (2-1): After making the move from Adidas 3SSB to the EYBL, the Prospects seem to be fitting right in. It’s only loss of the weekend came in overtime to a juggernaut in Team Takeover. The trio of Alozie, Junior County and Dean Rueckert will pose problems all summer long.OTHER STORYLINES
- One of the biggest storylines from EYBL Session 1 comes off the court. Miles Sadler, a top-35 prospect in the 2026 class, was inactive in Mesa due to a torn meniscus. Sadler said he’s not sure when he’ll be able to suit up again. This is a big blow for Arizona Unity, who with Sadler have one of the best chances to win Peach Jam.
- It’s always nice to have the NBA guys who founded these programs around. Both Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant were in Mesa to take in the action. Particularly, Beal had a long, heart-felt talk with his program following Saturday’s loss to ProSkills. It’s cool to see him invest that much time into his program, who won 16u Peach Jam last season. Whatever message he gave was well received, as his team turned around to beat the Florida Rebels on Sunday.
