Analyst Projects Nation’s No. 1 Prospect to Blue-Blood Program

Rivals senior national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw thinks the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class is headed to a blue-blood program. Tyran Stokes is one of the most heralded prospects in the 2026 high school basketball recruiting class and he is nearing a commitment.

Analyst Projects Nation’s No. 1 Prospect to Blue-blood Program

Shaw is projecting Southeastern Conference powerhouse Kentucky to ultimately land 2026 five-star small forward Tyran Stokes. The 6-foot-7 Stokes is the consensus No. 1 overall player in the rising high school senior class.

Kentucky’s biggest threat, Shaw says, is fellow SEC school Arkansas. That’s somewhat ironic, considering the Razorbacks’ head coach, John Calipari, used to lead the Wildcats. Calipari won a national championship at Kentucky in 2012.

Stokes has officially visited Kentucky, Kansas and Louisville. He also plans to take official visits to Oregon, Gonzaga and Southern California, per Jacob Polacheck of On3’s KSR+.

For much of Stokes’s recruiting process, Shaw writes, “the buzz with Stokes has surrounded Louisville and Kentucky. Over the last couple of months, conversations with sources around the recruitment have started to shift toward a Kentucky lean with Arkansas and John Calipari picking up some momentum.”

Stokes, by the way, is a native of Louisville, although he plays high school and AAU basketball on the West Coast.

Late last month, 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham also weighed in on Stokes’ recruitment. Branham believes that the four main contenders are Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville. Similar to Shaw, Branham says that Kentucky, led by head coach Mark Pope, is positioned well for Stokes.

Tyran Stokes Has Phenomenal High School Resume

Stokes is a standout at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. As a junior in the 2024-25 season, he averaged 21.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Notre Dame went 28-8 overall, with MaxPreps placing the Knights at No. 11 nationally.

Following last season, MaxPreps named Stokes to its junior All-America first team. He will significantly contend for national player of the year honors as a senior, along with All-America showcases. Looking ahead to 2025-26, MaxPreps has Notre Dame at No. 3 in its super early top 25.

Team USA

In July, Stokes played a key role as USA Basketball won the gold medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland. Over seven contests at this event, Stokes averaged 14.7 points, 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per encounter. He connected on an impressive 70.6 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.

The USA proved thoroughly dominate in Switzerland, going 7-0 and claiming the gold-medal game over Germany by a final of 109-76. Team USA has now won a record nine FIBA U19 World Cup titles. At the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, the United States averaged a whopping 114.6 points per contest, a new record at the event.

Peach Jam

This spring and summer, analysts and scouts doled out high praise to Stokes for his play on the AAU circuit. He competed for the 17U team of the Oakland Soldiers in Nike’s EYBL league. During the EYBL’s regular season, Stokes averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. In July, at the EYBL’s season-ending Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., he was equally as good. At Peach Jam, Stokes averaged 22.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per affair.

His points per game at Peach Jam were No. 2 overall in the main 17U division. The scouting experts at The Circuit named Stokes to their All-Peach Jam first team and their All-Defensive squad.

Whether it’s Kentucky, Arkansas or another program, whichever suitor scores a pledge from Tyran Stokes has a game-changer in its 2026 class.

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