Florida has 118 basketball recruits in the 2026, 2027 and 2028 classes in the PrepRanks database, and 57 of them have committed. Ten of those 57 chose a college in Florida, an in-state retention rate of 17.5%. The best players are even less likely to stay: of the ten five-stars, six have committed as of October 16, 2026, and only one of the six chose a Florida school.
The three classes are at different stages. The class of 2026 graduated this spring and is now in college. The class of 2027 is in its senior year with most of its decisions still open, and the class of 2028 has no commitments yet. The retention number blends all three, so the 2026 results and the 2027 results are worth reading separately.
Class sizes and ratings
The 118 recruits split into 45 in the class of 2026, 47 in 2027 and 26 in 2028. The average PrepRanks Score is 71.5 out of 100, and 48 of the 118 carry four or five stars: 10 five-stars and 38 four-stars. A PrepRanks star rating comes from the composite of the major recruiting services plus an elite recognition bonus, which the methodology page explains.
The 2028 class is smaller because fewer of its players have been ranked so far. It will grow as the services add names, so the 26 is a count to date.
The top ten by PrepRanks Score
Every one of the top ten is a five-star. CJ Rosser, a 2027 power forward at Southeastern Prep, is first with a score of 100.0 and is uncommitted. Toni Bryant, a center at Zephyrhills Christian Academy, is second at 99.2. He is in the 2026 class and went to Missouri. Beckham Black, a 2027 point guard at Southeastern Prep, is third at 95.7 and is uncommitted.
| Rank | Player | Class | Position | Score | School | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CJ Rosser | 2027 | PF | 100.0 | Southeastern Prep | Uncommitted |
| 2 | Toni Bryant | 2026 | C | 99.2 | Zephyrhills Christian Academy | Missouri |
| 3 | Beckham Black | 2027 | PG | 95.7 | Southeastern Prep | Uncommitted |
| 4 | Caleb Gaskins | 2026 | SF | 94.5 | Columbus | Miami |
| 5 | Cayden Daughtry | 2027 | PG | 94.1 | Calvary Christian | Uncommitted |
| 6 | Obinna Ekezie Jr. | 2026 | C | 93.7 | Southeastern Prep | Louisville |
| 7 | Jordan Page | 2027 | SG | 92.1 | IMG Academy | UConn |
| 8 | Jaxon Richardson | 2026 | SF | 91.9 | Southeastern Prep | Alabama |
| 9 | Bentley Lusakueno | 2028 | PF | 91.9 | IMG Academy | Uncommitted |
| 10 | Dooney Johnson | 2027 | PG | 91.1 | East River | Gonzaga |
Four of the ten are uncommitted: Rosser, Black, Daughtry and Lusakueno. Three of those four are in the 2027 class, which is the one with decisions still to make.
Where the five-stars went
The four five-stars in the class of 2026 are already in college. Of those four, one stayed in Florida: Caleb Gaskins, a small forward at Columbus in Miami, went to the Miami Hurricanes. Bryant went to Missouri, Obinna Ekezie Jr. to Louisville and Jaxon Richardson to Alabama.
In the 2027 class, Jordan Page has committed to UConn and Dooney Johnson to Gonzaga, and neither is in Florida. Rosser, Black and Daughtry are the three five-stars still open. Every one of the six commitments is to a different program, so the state's elite talent is spread across the country and not collected by one rival.
Which schools produce the recruits
The state's recruits are concentrated in a few prep programs. IMG Academy in Bradenton has 19 recruits, the most in the state, with an average of 3.5 stars. Montverde Academy has 13 at 3.1 stars. Columbus and Southeastern Prep each have 8, and both average 4.0 stars. Riviera Prep in Fort Lauderdale has 6.
| School | City | Recruits | Average stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMG Academy | Bradenton | 19 | 3.5 |
| Montverde Academy | Montverde | 13 | 3.1 |
| Columbus | Miami | 8 | 4.0 |
| Southeastern Prep | not listed | 8 | 4.0 |
| Riviera Prep | Fort Lauderdale | 6 | 3.0 |
Volume and quality point to different schools. IMG has more than twice as many recruits as Southeastern Prep, yet Southeastern Prep places four players in the state's top 15 by score and IMG places five. Between them the two schools hold nine of the top 15. Southeastern Prep needs eight recruits to get there, which is a higher hit rate than IMG's 19.
Behind them, the Academy of Central Florida has 6 recruits, Villages Charter School has 5, DME Academy in Daytona Beach has 4, and Wellington Sports Academy in Hollywood and Gillion Academy in Miami have 3 each. Gillion's Marcis Ponder, a four-star center, is 13th in the state by score and is a 2026 recruit now at Florida State.
By position, the counts are close to even. Small forward leads with 27 recruits, followed by shooting guard with 24, power forward with 23, center with 21 and point guard with 19. Another four are listed as combo guards. No position has a clear surplus, so Florida is not a state that produces only one kind of player.
The top 15 tilts toward size. It includes four centers (Bryant, Ekezie, Dylan Betts and Ponder), four power forwards (Rosser, Lusakueno, Chase Foster and Jeremy Jenkins) and only three point guards (Black, Daughtry and Johnson). The point guard group is the smallest of the five main positions in the full list at 19, and it has a short top end.
Where the commitments go
The college with the most Florida basketball commitments is the Florida State Seminoles with four, at an average of 3.5 stars, and all four are from the class of 2026. Florida Atlantic and FIU have two each. The Michigan Wolverines, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Austin Peay and Marquette also have two apiece, and Michigan's two average 4.0 stars, the highest of any program with multiple Florida commits.
| College | Commits | Average stars | In Florida |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | 4 | 3.5 | Yes |
| Michigan | 2 | 4.0 | No |
| Pittsburgh | 2 | 3.5 | No |
| Northwestern | 2 | 3.5 | No |
| Florida Atlantic | 2 | 3.5 | Yes |
| FIU | 2 | 2.0 | Yes |
| Austin Peay | 2 | 1.5 | No |
| Marquette | 2 | 3.5 | No |
| Miami | 1 | 5.0 | Yes |
Florida State takes the most players from the state, and Michigan takes fewer but better ones. Austin Peay's two commits average 1.5 stars and FIU's two average 2.0, so the in-state commitments lean toward the lower end of the star scale, with Miami's Gaskins as the main exception.
Retention by class
| Class | Recruits | Committed | In-state commits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 35 | 7 |
| 2027 | 47 | 22 | 3 |
| 2028 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
The class of 2026 is finished: 7 of its 35 commits went to Florida colleges, which is 20%. The in-state group was Florida State (four), Miami, Florida Atlantic and FIU. The 2027 class has 3 in-state commits out of 22, to Florida Atlantic, USF and FIU. The 2028 class has no commits to count.
The two classes also differ in who commits where. The 2026 class has four Florida State commits and one each at Miami, Florida Atlantic and FIU, so its in-state commitments are concentrated at Florida State. The 2027 in-state commitments are three programs with one each, and Florida State has none of them.
The ten in-state commitments are Brandon Bass Jr., Caleb Gaskins, Collin Paul, Felipe Quinones, Marcis Ponder, Martay Barnes and Trey Beamer from the class of 2026, and Jomar Bernard, Kimario Sherman and Orlando Roche from 2027. Gaskins and Ponder are the two who appear in the state's top 15 by score, and the other eight are rated lower.
Counterpoint
The 17.5% figure blends a finished class with an unfinished one. The 2027 class still has 25 recruits who have not committed, and they include Rosser, Black, Daughtry and Jeremy Jenkins, a four-star power forward at Riviera Prep. If several of them choose Florida State, Miami or Florida Atlantic, the 2027 rate will rise. The 2028 class, which includes Lusakueno and Dylan Betts, a four-star center at IMG Academy, has not started deciding.
The sample is also small. Ten in-state commitments out of 57 shifts a few points with every decision. What the data can show is that the 2026 class mostly left, with Gaskins the one five-star to stay. It cannot yet show where the 2027 five-stars will end up.