Breaking Down the Updated 2016 Rankings

We unveiled our updated Class of 2016 rankings here at Prep Hoops Iowa yesterday, and there was plenty of movement up and down the rankings, plus an additional 38 players ranked as we extended the list to 188. Below you’ll find some highlights of the new rankings (which you can see here).THE USUAL SUSPECTSThe top five players in the class remained the same, and in the same order, headlined by the trio of Iowa commitments from Martin Brothers - Dubuque Wahlert's Cordell Pemsl, Spirit Lake's Ryan Kriener and Linn-Mar's Jordan Bohannon. They are followed by a pair of Iowa City West and Iowa Barnstormer teammates in Wali Parks (No. 4) and Tanner Lohaus (No. 5).  A BEVY OF NEWCOMERSThere are a number of highly ranked newcomers to the rankings, including four of the top 17 players. Carlo Marble (West Des Moines Valley) debuts at No. 6 after spending last year in Michigan with his ailing father. Des Moines Christian wing Keaton Van Soelen was a revelation on the grassroots circuit over the summer, picking up a pair of Division I offers, and checks in at No. 7. He recently committed to Air Force. Other new additions include Riley Till, a 6'7" wing from Dubuque Wahlert (No. 16), Tra'Von Fagan, a combo forward from Cedar Falls (No. 17), Tony Bonner, a bruising big body from Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (No. 27), Dontre English, a physical scoring guard from Des Moines North (No. 28), and Mitchell Burger, an electric scorer from Cedar Rapids Xavier (No. 30). HELP STILL AVAILABLEWhile the top five players are off the board, there are still ten of the top 25 players in the class who remain uncommitted, with abilities that could help at a variety of levels. The aforementioned Marble is an athletic wing who holds a Division I offer and should be able to help out mid-major programs looking for size and athleticism on the wing. Shammond Ivory (No. 13) and Jaylan White (No. 15) are a pair of guards from Kingdom Hoops Elite that could help out Division II's in a major way. Till and Fagan could also be big contributors at the Division II level. The remaining group looks like solid lower level Division II, higher level NAIA players and should certainly be garnering major discussion from a number of college programs. Additionally, there are a number of players who would excel at the Division III level. MARTIN BROS, BARNSTORMERS REIGN SUPREMEAs has been the case for a while now in Iowa, Martin Brothers and the Iowa Barnstormers reign supreme in our rankings and on the court during grassroots season. Martin Brothers has eight of our top 29 players on its roster, headlined by the trio of Iowa commits sitting at the top of our rankings. Iowa Barnstormers has 10 of our top 33 players, showcasing the depth in their program. Another program of note, Kingdom Hoops Elite has five of the top 24.