Grassroots Stockrisers Heading Into The Final Live Period
The grassroots circuits have proven to be a major factor in the recruitment of future college basketball players over the years, and the landscape has continued to expand year in and year out.
The sneaker circuits have been known to be the place where most of the Division One talent lies when a player is in high school. According to a 2023 article from The Circuit, approximately 78.2% of American-born NBA players had competed on one of the sneaker circuits. Outside of that, a lot of incoming talent homegrown in the USA has came from various independent circuits, with other routes seemingly coming into existence.
In this article, we'll run through some of the New England based teams and guys on those squads who have seen a boost in their potential college opportunities come since the spring, with some taking off on the national level.
Let's take a look.
Expressions Elite (EYBL)
Jemison saw his stock soar nationally as of late moving up in the national rankings put out by 247Sports, and deservedly so. The St. Thomas More 2025 was the second leading scorer throughout the first three sessions of the EYBL for Expressions at 13.1 points per game.
At 6’8, Jemison brings elite shooting skills shown by his 37.1% three point percentage on 70 shots, a good sample size heading into Peach Jam. His defensive versatility and rim protection are another added dimension of his game, and another reason of why he has seen his name rise nationally.
Offers since the start of the spring include Georgetown, Penn State, Alabama, Wake Forest, Louisville, Mississippi State, Boston College, St. John’s, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, and Kansas.
The Notre Dame West Haven product finished off one of the most impressive high school performances in New England this past winter, leading his team to the Division One title in the CIAC.
Toure was the second leading scorer on the Expressions 16U squad at 13.3 points per game heading into Peach Jam. He is an explosive leaper that can finish with power above the rim, meets larger players at the rim for blocks, and has exponentially improved his shot creation.
With Guinea in the U17 he dropped 50 points on China on an impressive 21/27 from the field. He debuted in the top 100 of the latest 247Sports 2026 ranking, and has taken off nationally.
Offers since the start of the spring include Providence, Arizona State, UCF, Alabama, Oregon, Penn State, Louisville and Texas A&M.
Terry announced his transfer to CATS Academy in the middle of the spring, and since then he has continued to elevate his game.
The 6’6” wing has impressive tools that are starting to catch coaches attention. He’s got good rebounding instincts using his body to haul in boards. He can handle the ball a bit for his size with daunting length to match. If he can elevate his shotmaking ability from behind the three-point line, he may reach a whole new level.
After receiving his first D1 offer in April from Albany, he has picked up offers from Old Dominion, Boston University, Providence and Xavier.
Mass Rivals (3SSB)
Keel recently announced that he would be taking his talents to Putnam Science beginning in the fall. The class of 2026 point guard has continued to step up for the Rivals this spring averaging around 11 points per game with 5 assists.
His shiftiness off the dribble and ability to stop on a dime for pull-up’s make him a tough assignment for opposing guards, and were big factors in his contributions to Bradford Christian’s NEPSAC AA Championship this year.
Since the 2026 contact period began just over a month ago Keel has received offers from Albany, Bryant and St. Bonaventure, but his list of interests is much longer with a number of schools in the mix.
The Brewster Academy product has been a part of the 247Sports national rankings for the class of 2026 since their creation last fall, but this spring he has started to get more and more high majors looking at him.
Just the other day, Wilkins poured in 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a matchup with the Arkansas Hawks at 3SSB, averaging about 16 points and 6 rebounds per game on the circuit. He is a physical wing that can finish above the rim with force, contribute as a catch and shoot threat, and play tough defense protecting the rim with his long reach.
Wilkins has picked up offers from Boston College, Iowa, Seton Hall and Texas A&M since the start of the spring and was contacted by the likes of Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Xavier, Rutgers, Alabama, Georgetown and Virginia Tech in June.
Entering the spring with no Division One offers in his hand, Governor Academy’s Momo Nkugwa has changed that since.
The southpaw’s impressive bounce towards the rim allows him to throw down some highlight-reel dunks. He has some twitch to sneak around defenders, but he’ll bump a defender right off as well. Just the other day he poured in an efficient 20 point game for the Mass Rivals - 9/12 from the field and 2/5 from deep.
Since the scholastic period Nkugwa’s received offers from Fairfield, Albany, Maine, Stonehill, Manhattan and Canisius.
Middlesex Magic (UAA)
Heading into the spring, Frost was one of the focal points of the Phillips Exeter offense that ultimately took home the title in the NEPSAC A. Since then, he has continued to build on his stock, as he just recently earned a spot in the 247Sports top 150.
It was just over a year ago in June 2023 that Frost received his first Division One offer from Le Moyne. This year, he has taken things to a whole new level - especially in the UAA. For the season, he is averaging 15.7 points per game and 6 rebounds on 46% from the field and 44% from long range.
High majors are flocking in on the Beverly Massachusetts native and deservedly so. Since the start of the spring he’s seen offers from West Virginia, Iowa, Syracuse, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Boston College, Saint Joseph’s, Wisconsin, Miami, Yale and Villanova.
In terms of a true stock riser, a player who is boosting their recruitment and becoming a more well-known name, Alex Wilkins is likely up there for the number one spot.
Wilkins has picked up 21 Division One offers since April 30th and do not be surprised if that number keeps increasing. The exposure provided to the 6’5” guard by playing with Middlesex in the UAA has proven to be huge for his recruitment.
Wilkins brings a smooth, scoring skillset to the guard spot with size to complement it. He brings a high-competition level to the court whenever he’s on it, shoots it well, and has lots of room to maximize his frame down the line.
His offers include Holy Cross, Boston University, Miami (OH), Fairfield, Towson, Siena, Northeastern, UMBC, Albany, UIC, Bryant, UMass, Chattanooga, Davidson, Furman, Iona, Florida Gulf Coast, North Carolina A&T, Duquesne, Hofstra, Northern Kentucky, and FIU.
The St. George’s forward has been dubbed a scholarship level prospect for some time now, and just starting to see that come to fruition with offers starting to roll in.
Veillette brings deceptive athleticism to the court and makes a large impact in the paint on both ends of the court. He maneuvers around screens well on defense and is an integral communicator amongst his teammates on that end.
In June he picked up his first offer to play at the Division One level from Fordham, and has since gotten offered by Lafayette, Le Moyne, Merrimack, UMBC, Loyola (MD), Brown, Navy and Mount St. Mary’s.
BABC (3SSB)
The incoming 2026 point guard for Worcester Academy is coming off two straight MIAA championships, and not having lost a high school game since 2022. For the BABC, he has continued to play winning basketball game in and game out, highlighted by multiple high scoring performances of 24 and 28 points respectively.
Jenkins is a very intriguing guard prospect who you can tell works very hard on his game in his free time. He plays suffocating on-ball defense with quick feet to match, and can score it from all three levels. Recently, he just started to get up above the rim and dunk the ball.
The future is bright for this twitchy guard and his recruitment is starting to reflect that as well as he has picked up offers from Albany, Bryant and Providence over the past two months.
Following a big announcement that he would be transferring to Brewster Academy, Ebuka Okorie is starting to see his options following this high school season expand vastly.
Okorie has had Division One recruitment for some time now, but more schools are finally starting to throw offers his way. His high motor play coupled with his true point guard play have got him a lot of looks thus far. He sees the floor well as a passer, plays with high feel for the game, and does a good job of limiting turnovers.
With offers from Samford and Bryant coming over two years ago, Okorie has seen more offers come in from the likes of Albany, Fairfield, Brown, George Washington, Rice, Northeastern and Harvard.
The Lawrence Academy wing prospect has garnered much attention in the New England region for his play and has been dubbed a scholarship-level prospect for a long time now. This summer he is starting to pick up traction for his play with the BABC 16U squad picking up a handful of college offers. In a game against Davis Brothers 3SSB, he posted a strong line of 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Egbuonu's game starts with his built frame where he is oftentimes one of the strongest players on the floor. He brings a smooth fluidity to his game to complement his sturdy frame, with slashing prowess and shooting skills from mid-range and behind the three-point arc.
Since June, Egbuonu was re-offered by the new Bryant regime, as well as from Albany and George Washington.
Kelvin Odih, RI Elite (PRO 16)
The South Kent prospect had some big recruitment heading into this past high school season, but has really taken off nationally in the PRO16 this spring/summer.
As the primary option for his RI Elite squad, Odih has put his smooth scoring ability on display. He’s got solid shot creation skills, and is a force to be reckoned with when driving to the basket - He will dunk on whomever is in his way.
Heading into the PRO16 championship this upcoming weekend, Odih has received offers from Creighton, SMU, Colorado, LSU and Missouri.
Tony Williams, New Haven Heat (MADE)
The New Haven Heat point guard has been giving opposing defenses a whole lot of trouble this year with his crafty skillset. With Warren Keel’s transfer to Putnam, the two guards form one if not the most shifty and dynamic guard tandems in the region.
Heading into the spring, Williams had started to pick up some looks from schools receiving offers from Gardner-Webb and Quinnipiac, but his play has done the talking for him. Butta is one of the fastest players on the court, dribbles with the ball on a string and finishes relentlessly at the basket.
Since May, Albany, Fairfield and Bryant have extended him offers.
Andrew Alekseyenko - White Mamba (MADE)
The 6’8 forward at the Rivers School is back for one more year, as he reclassed into 2025 back in the fall, and it’s definitely looking like a smart decision.
Helping form the White Mamba club squad coached by former Celtic Brian Scalabrine and his Baystate Jags coach Tim Bollin, Alekseyenko has been their leader. He’s got a very physically developed frame which he uses to power his way to the basket, and spaces the floor as a shooting threat.
This spring he picked up his first Division One offer from Boston University with Albany, NJIT, Penn, Cornell, UMBC and Navy extending offers his way in the months following.
Offers are just a baseline for where a prospect may play in college and are in no way a ceiling or floor of where their talent may take them. Rankings that follow are often a subjective opinion based on the prospects projected level and current recruitment, and are never truly perfect.
This notion was perfectly conveyed by our founder Adam Finkelstein in response to a tweet referencing the fact that 10x NBA All-Star James Harden was ranked 20th in his class in high school: "There are numerous factors, variables, and subtleties that go into projecting a prospect's future. Those can't all be conveyed on a simple list, but ask any sports media company in the world and they'll tell you people are going to be much more likely to click that list than they are a detailed explanation of the markers that could potentially indicate the direction a prospect is heading.”
In other words, you will definitely see the prospects in this article ranked in our upcoming revised rankings, but that is no way the one and only way to portray their true skill level.
Jaxson Terry
Kelvin Odih
Abdou Toure
Warren Keel
Alex Egbuonu
Ebuka Okorie
Amir Jenkins
Ryder Frost
Dylan Veillette
Momo Nkugwa
Andrew Alekseyenko
Alex Wilkins
Sebastian Wilkins
Tony Williams
London Jemison