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Tyran Stokes, the top-ranked prospect from the Class of 2026, has been red-hot since returning to the AAU scene earlier in May. He has also been busy training ahead of his upcoming senior year this fall. Stokes' trainer, Jon McCall, is all praise for the Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) small forward.
McCall, in an interview with Hoops HQ released on Tuesday, said that he believes Tyran Stokes is the best player from the Class of 2026.
“It’s not even close,” the trainer told Hoops HQ. “To me he was in the top three, top five regardless of class last year. Like if a lot of people — I don’t ever put him and A.J. (Dybantsa) against each other, I don’t ever compare — but it’s definitely a conversation.
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"And if that’s a conversation with how clear A.J. was (No. 1) to me, then when it comes to this class, there’s nobody you can talk about when it comes down to Tyran," he added.
McCall also spoke about how he's working on Tyran Stokes' game as well as his physicality.
“For Tyran, I wanted to focus on getting him lighter on his feet, being more graceful with his landings,” he said in the interview. “So we did a lot of barefoot stuff, a lot of stuff in the pool just to get him to have more body control in an elusive way versus relying on just brute strength. Getting him to be able to move differently through gaps versus, trying to force his way through gaps.
"And then just kind of being able to work on his stability, his balance. And that will give him longevity, especially with how high he plays off the ground,” he added.
McCall serves as the Oakland Soldiers Director of Player Performance and has worked with not just Stokes' former Oakland Soldiers teammate, AJ Dybantsa, but also NBA star Jalen Green.
Tyran Stokes originally planned to skip the AAU season, sparking reclassification rumors
While Tyran Stokes is helping carry the Oakland Soldiers alongside Jason Crowe Jr., it wasn't his original plan, as he had announced skipping this year's AAU season ahead of his senior year, as he wanted to develop his overall game.
With schools like Louisville and Kentucky already circling, the decision to not play AAU sparked rumors that he was skipping AAU so he could reclassify to the Class of 2025. That didn't happen, though, as he suited up for the Oakland Soldiers once again.
