Today we honor our underclass players of the year Tyran Stokes (Juniors), Davion Thompson (Sophomores) and A.J. Williams (Freshmen) along with National Coach of the Year Glenn Farello of FAB 50 power Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.). These players along with 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Cam Boozer will headline the 31st Annual Elite All-American Team.
2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA: Cameron Boozer, Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 6-9 FThis power forward who led his team to the FAB 50 national title is one of the most highly-honored high school players of all-time. He’s been the best player in Florida for three years and led the Explorers to four consecutive FHSAA Class 7A state titles. He’s is the fourth ever two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year (joining LeBron James, Greg Oden and Brandon Knight) in a honor that includes academics and off-the-court criteria. He’s the first two-time Mr. Basketball USA honoree since James. He was also named the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year at the McDonald’s All-American Game, where he was named co-MVP after scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Boozer is one of the best rebounding forwards to come down the pike in years and finished his career with 2,593 points and 1,395 rebounds. He was also a top three finalist for 2024 Mr. Basketball USA when he was named National Junior of the Year and will be the first three-time first five Elite Team All-American since James between 2001-2003.
Boozer is the fourth consecutive Mr. Basketball USA honoree and the fifth in six years from Florida. The only Mr. Basketball USA in that time from from another state is 2021 honoree Chet Holmgren of Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.). Boozer is also the third consecutive honoree who will play collegiately at Duke, joining 2024 honoree Cooper Flagg and 2022 honoree Dariq Whitehead. To view the full Mr. Basketball USA release, the Mr. Basketball Tracker voting results, and comments from Boozer, CLICK HERE.
For all-time Mr. Basketball USA honorees dating back to 1954-55, CLICK HERE
2025 National Junior of the Year: Tyran Stokes, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 6-6 FThe Louisville, Ky., native made a big impact in his first season of CIF competition after starring for academy-type program Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) as a sophomore and freshman. This powerful wing has long been considered one of the best prospects in the national class of 2026 alongside good friend Brandon McCoy Jr., who missed approximately half the season at St. John Bosco (Calif.) with injury. Stokes has already been named Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year after leading Notre Dame to a No. 10 ranking in the final FAB 50. Three of Notre Dame’s losses were to FAB 50 No. 5 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and Mr. Basketball USA candidate Brayden Burries. Two of those losses came in the CIFSS Open Division title game and the SoCal open championship and Stokes nearly willed his team to victory in each. He finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the section title game and was even better in the regional final, dominating action as much as Burries did to the tune of 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
For the season, Stokes used his unique combination of power, explosiveness and competitiveness to average 21.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 3.4 apg. He wasn’t a slam dunk pick, as Jordan Smith Jr. of Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) was also seriously considered. Smith, however, wasn’t player of the year in the WCAC or for the All-Met team by the Washington Post. Stokes was chosen for the L.A. Times’ 10-man all-star team, named all-CIFSS Open Division, and considered a California Mr. Basketball finalist with Burries and all-time state scoring leader Tounde Yessoufou. Stokes is the first honoree in the junior class from California since Marvin Bagley of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in 2017. Bagley subsequently re-classified after that season to enroll at Duke and there is chatter Stokes could re-classify up in class as well.
For all-time Junior Player of the Year honorees dating back to 1954-55, CLICK HERE
2025 National Sophomore of the Year: Davion Thompson, Bolingbrook (Ill.) 6-3 G
There was plenty of history made in Illinois high school basketball during the 2024-25 season, as the sophomore class produced some of the state’s best overall players more than ever before. Leading the way was this smooth lefty who displayed terrific scoring ability and a calm demeanor in pressure situations that most tenth-graders don’t always handle so well.
As a freshman, Thompson was named the Herald-News Player of the Year by the daily newspaper in the Chicago suburbs, but this year he stepped up his game enough to earn statewide recognition. In fact, he was named the Illinois State Player of the Year by the Chicago Sun-Times, the first sophomore to earn the honor in 67 years. Not even all-time greats such as Quinn Buckner, Derrick Rose, or Jabari Parker were able to accomplish that.
That prestigious honor came after Thompson averaged 25.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.3 apg for a Raiders club that advanced to the Class 4A sectional semifinals, where they lost to Downers Grove North, 29-26, in a slow-it-down affair. In addition to his skill level and clutch play, Thompson is a dead-eye shooter. He shot 58 percent from the field, 49 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent at the charity stripe. Behind Thompson’s terrific play, Bolingbrook was 28-5 this season and was FAB 50 ranked at No. 50 for a short period of time.
Interestingly enough, he was named Sun-Times State Player of the Year over another tenth-grader and that helped his candidacy on a national level, as 6-foot-1 Jaxson Davis led Warren Township (Gurnee, Ill.) to the Class 4A state title game. Davis was named Gatorade State Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He’s the first sophomore to earn that honor since the award began in 1981.
Just as some juniors may re-class up to speed up the developmental process and attend college, some underclassmen will head to academy-type programs this off-season. It’s already been announced Thompson will transfer from Bolingbrook to Link Academy (Branson, Mo.), which is part of the Nike EYBL Scholastic League.
Thompson is the third honoree in this class from Illinois and the first since 2011 when Parker was considered a prodigy out of Simeon (Chicago). The first tenth-grader honored from the Land of Lincoln was Lowell Hamilton of Providence-St. Mel (Chicago, Ill.) for 1982-83.
For all-time Sophomore Player of the Year honorees dating back to 1967-68, CLICK HERE
2025 National Freshman of the Year: A.J. Williams, Dutchtown (Hampton, Ga.) 6-7 SFSimilar to the 2027 class, the freshman class has some outstanding prospects that will be great players down the line, but there is not many yet that have dominated high school opposition, earned statewide honors and easily rate and stand out as one of the best prospects in the national class. Williams is one of the few that foots the bill in all those categories. He wasn’t an overwhelming choice, but the player that made the most sense among 6-foot-4 Adan Diggs of Williams Field (Gilbert, Ariz.), 6-foot-5 Miles Simpson of Webster Groves (Mo.) and 6-foot-1 Machai White of St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.).
Williams gets the nod after leading Dutchdown to the GHSA Class AAAAA quarterfinals and a 26-4 overall record. Williams finished his freshman campaign averaging 17 ppg, 11 rpg and 3 apg as the team’s go-to player down the stretch. Williams also was named AAAAA State Freshman of the Year by sandysspiel.com, and was the only first-year player to earn honorable mention among AAAAAA-AA programs. Williams uses an efficient attack to get to his scoring spots and is a good rebounder for his position with a solid combination of athleticism and basketball I.Q.
Williams is the first ever freshman choice from the Peach State.
For all-time Freshman Player of the Year honorees dating back to 1967-68, CLICK HERE
2025 National Coach of the Year: Glenn Farello, Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.). Competing in the toughest traditional high school hoops conference in the country, this veteran coach went over the 600-win mark in his 18th season at the helm of one of the most consistent programs in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). The Panthers finished with a 27-6 mark and ranked No. 11 in the final FAB 50 after the club opened up at No. 23 in the preseason. Under Farello, the Panthers have been preseason FAB 50 ranked 11 of the past 13 seasons.
Farello’s coaching record now stands at 611-216, including his years at Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.). He led that program to its first state title in 2002. Since taking over at Paul VI for the 2007-08 season, the Panthers have won five WCAC Tournament titles, the first two coming in 2012 and 2014 and three out of the past four. The program has also win the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) state title eight times, including five in the past eight seasons.
Against some of the toughest nightly competition in the country, the Paul VI program has reached true national acclaim over the past ten seasons. The 2022-23 team spent some time at No. 1 in the FAB 50 and the 2023-24 team went unbeaten in the ultra-competitive WCAC. That club finished No. 3 in the FAB 50 after it reached the championship game of Chipotle Nationals, where it lost to an all-time great Montverde Academy (Fla.) team that went unbeaten.
Under Farello’s leadership, the program has made eight consecutive appearances in the WCAC Tourney semifinals and has also advanced to five consecutive WCAC title games. Paul VI has won three of the past four and back-to-back the past two seasons. In the 2025 WCAC title game, Paul VI defeated preseason WCAC favorite Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 58-54, as top-notch junior Jordan Smith Jr. netted 29 points.
PVI has won four consecutive WCAC regular season titles and is 54-3 in that time. In the WCAC playoffs, the Panthers are 11-1 in that time frame, an incredible run of dominance in an ultra-competitive league.
Farello is the first honoree from a VISAA program and the third ever from Virginia, joining two legendary prep coaches. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) coach Steve Smith was the honoree for 1992-93 and Stu Vetter of Flint Hill (Oakton, Va.) for 1985-86.
For all-time National Coach of the Year honorees dating back to 1969-70, CLICK HERE
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
