2025 Initial Rankings: The Storylines
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[player_tooltip player_id="1381414" first="Jack" last="McCaffery"] The race for #1 is on Valley point guard Curtis Stinson Jr Curtis Stinson Jr 6'5" | PG Valley | 2025 State #157 Nation IA , son of former Iowa State standout Curtis Stinson, snatched the…
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Continue ReadingThe race for #1 is on
Valley point guard Curtis Stinson Jr Curtis Stinson Jr 6'5" | PG Valley | 2025 State #157 Nation IA , son of former Iowa State standout Curtis Stinson, snatched the #1 spot in the initial rankings after a strong freshman season, great spring with KC Run GMC, and a stellar performance at the Crossroads Invitational. Stinson holds an offer from Missouri and is a dynamic playmaking guard with excellent size at 6-4. He impacts the game on both ends of the floor with his size, IQ, and athleticism, but he’s not alone…
Iowa City West wing Jack McCaffery Jack McCaffery 6'8" | SF Iowa City West | 2025 State #70 Nation IA , a 6-8 sharpshooter, is a multi-faceted offensive threat who can score inside and out. The son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery has a ton of upside as a big shooting wing who is working to expand his all-around offensive game. Fellow intriguing wing Nitish Sankaranthi Nitish Sankaranthi 6'7" | SF Waukee Northwest | 2025 State IA is the only other 2025 currently holding a scholarship offer, with Sankaranthi’s offer coming from South Dakota State. He spent a large majority of his freshman season playing with Waukee Northwest’s sophomore team but should become a major contributor for the Wolves moving forward. A long and athletic 6-8 wing, he provides a ton of defensive versatility.
Davis Kern Davis Kern 6'8" | PF Linn-Mar | 2025 State #244 Nation IA of Linn-Mar, a prototypical modern big man who can stretch the floor, score around the rim, and protect the paint, and Kiki Deng Kiki Deng 6'4" | SG Valley | 2025 State IA of Valley, an athletic, slashing wing with good size and length at 6-4, round out the top five in the initial rankings and each could push for the top spot in the rankings throughout their high school careers. Will someone else emerge to push this top five?
Strongest class since…?
I haven’t seen too much of this class yet, but in what I have seen, I’m extremely excited about the potential of this class. Stinson and McCaffery are both Power 5 players, and there are a few others who could enter that conversation as well. I’ll go on record and say that 2025 will have the most Division I players since the star-studded 2019 class, as well as a ton of talented Division II options.
Eight different grassroots programs, including three out-of-state, represented in the top 10
Only two programs have more than one player in the top 10, with D1 Minnesota (McCaffery, Deng) and Martin Brothers (Kern, McKowen) landing two players each. The talent is spread out more than in any other class in recent memory, and the allure of shoe circuit teams (KC Run GMC, D1 Minnesota, Nebraska Supreme) has been a major pull for some of the top players in the class.
Size and length aplenty
Wingspan has become more and more important in modern basketball, and this class is filled with long players who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. In addition to being excellent players, part of what separates the top five players at this time is their exceptional size and length. Throw in players like Luke Wieskamp Luke Wieskamp 6'6" | SF Brophy Prep | 2025 State AZ , Josh Brauer Josh Brauer 6'4" | SF Dubuque Senior | 2025 State IA , Thomas Meyer Thomas Meyer 6'4" | SF Clear Lake | 2025 State IA , Ryan Watters Ryan Watters 6'6" | PF Central DeWitt | 2025 State IA , Carter Loney Carter Loney 6'9" | C Johnston | 2025 State IA , and Emiliano Barrantes Emiliano Barrantes 6'9" | PF Grand View Christian | 2025 State IA , and you’ve got a ton of players with game-changing length.
Be patient!
There are 55 players currently ranked, and if you don’t see your name on this initial rankings list, be patient! Over the course of these players’ high school careers, the rankings will expand to at least 250 players, and there is plenty of time to be seen and make your name known to us, others around the state, and college coaches. Also, remember that these rankings are extremely fluid and there will be major movement with each update that comes. There is no reason that you can’t go from unranked to the top-ranked player in the class. Keep working hard, developing your game, and trust the process!