At the 84-team Riverside-Brookfield Shootout, more than 125 college programs watched key Class of 2027 and 2028 prospects separate themselves during the first high school basketball live period.
The first high school basketball live period didn’t arrive quietly at the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout. It came with noise and motion from an 84-team field, and college coaches from more than 125 programs getting a full look at who can handle the moment.
Two seniors, in particular, left the weekend with their stock moving upward. Benet’s Ed Stasys and Belleville West’s J’Dyn Lloyd stood out as recruitable prospects. with the 6-8 Stasys and 6-5 Lloyd now viewed as two of the five best prospects in the Class of 2027. Mid-major programs are already keeping fingers crossed. Stasys offers size and athleticism, runs and moves well, and his defense and competitiveness put him in a distinct tier. Lloyd’s game is getting sharper too, including an improved face-up jumper. He visited Drake this past week and picked up an offer, with the expectation that more mid-major offers will follow.
The state’s hottest commodities also drew attention, even if they’re still only juniors. Bolingbrook’s Brady Pettigrew and Neuqua Valley’s Cole Kelly are both building toward their next step. but they’ve already added more high-major offers following the weekend. Pettigrew remains a consensus top 25 player in the Class of 2028 as he continues to polish his game and reach “an entirely different level.”.
Depth and pedigree showed up on the court as well. Three teams in the expanded Catholic League—Benet, St. Laurence, and St. Ignatius—went 4-0 over the weekend, and that kind of weekend performance doesn’t happen by accident.
St. Laurence carried that momentum into the June live period. Markese Peoples has been on a red-hot spring, and his intensity didn’t cool off at Riverside-Brookfield. A 6-2 guard, Peoples plays like an offensive problem when he barrels downhill with the basketball. During the live period, he added offers from MAC schools Toledo and Central Michigan.
Marist’s Kendall Meyers also looked like a player ready for a bigger role. The lone returning starter for Class 4A state champ Marist. Meyers is a versatile 6-5 wing preparing to shoulder more load as a senior. Along with a group of younger, up-and-coming players, Meyers helped lead the RedHawks to a 4-0 record at R-B.
Benet’s roster offered another reason for attention: Cormac Hanus. A 6-5 senior, Hanus is described as a shooter with size on the perimeter. He’s one of several unknown Benet players who could contribute to what is expected to stay among the state’s top teams.
The weekend also brought a strong jolt from younger talent. Bloom’s Larry Ellis, a 6-2 guard, opened eyes and made a name for himself after standout stretches. He joins sophomores Kaden McClellan and Keiwon Gulley in what’s described as a dynamite young backcourt.
In Class 3A, East St. Louis—defending state champs—may have moved on from Saint Louis recruit Jamison White. but the Flyers are still positioned as a title contender again. The group is led by emerging seniors Phillip Jones and Terri’yon Webster. and the overall message from the weekend was simple: they didn’t lose their punch.
Even with the usual talent bar high, Young’s roster drew its own kind of attention. While it’s rare for Young not to have a big-named. highly-recruited player—Tennessee-bound Marquis Clark was the latest last season—the Dolphins are viewed as a team better than people expect. The blend of experience and youth helped them play hard and with purpose, finishing 4-0 at R-B. Coach Tyrone Slaughter’s group didn’t just show effort; it showed structure.
Loyola’s Luke Alvarez is one more prospect moving into clearer focus as the next phase approaches. With a rock solid junior campaign behind him, Alvarez is poised for a big senior year. Across four games, he averaged 22.8 points while shooting 46 percent from three and hitting 21 made three-pointers. With high academics and his 6-1 size, he’s described as a dream recruit for small college programs.
Oswego’s Ethan Vahl left a mark in a way that doesn’t go unnoticed by coaches: he put up 31 points on Benet. There are efficiency questions to answer in some key areas, but his backcourt talent is undeniable.
Crane’s Jamier Montgomery doesn’t always get there quickly—he can be streaky—but when he does, he’s a versatile and potent scorer. The 6-2 guard, lean and long, draws attention with a quick dribble-to-shoot motion that changes the rhythm of games.
For Niles North, Collin Tobin quietly built a big junior year without much fanfare. In the Class of 2027, the powerful guard opened eyes at R-B and was named one of the weekend’s biggest stock risers.
And for Deerfield, the weekend offered a glimpse of a breakout. Tommy Donahue. a 6-5 senior. was a key part of a Warriors team that reached the Class 3A state championship game last season. where it fell to East St. Louis. But he was described as complementary then, sitting behind Jake Pollack and Evan Nagler while averaging 6.7 points a game. Now the role is expanding. At R-B. he made contested shots and drilled nine three-pointers in one game. finishing four games averaging more than 20 points a game.
The weekend’s biggest takeaway wasn’t just who scored or who won. It was how clearly the players separated themselves when coaches were watching and the first live period had already set the stakes. In a landscape where talent is often hard to measure until it’s under pressure. Riverside-Brookfield gave prospects a stage—and many answered it.
Riverside-Brookfield Shootout high school basketball college programs Ed Stasys J'Dyn Lloyd Brady Pettigrew Cole Kelly Markese Peoples Kendall Meyers Cormac Hanus Luke Alvarez Ethan Vahl Tommy Donahue