Winners from the June Scholastic Period
With summer hoops wrapping up, it's time to look at some of the players who really helped their cause with college coaches or made significant strides in their games. First off, a look at the June HS period and the players who caught our attention with their dominant play, significant development or opened our eyes for the first time.
JJ Sanchez, 6-5 2025 F, Montgomery
Sanchez and Montgomery ripped through the June HS period undefeated, including a championship at the Boys California Live event and 4-0 record at The Hoop Review Summer Preview event with wins over Anaheim Canyon, Santa Ana Foothill, Rolling Hills Prep and St. Bernard. None of their games were particularly close, and the 6-5 forward was a major reason. College coaches were front and center as Sanchez picked apart longer, athletic defenders with his methodical pace, strength and footwork in the post, timely shooting and uncanny passing ability. They're still split as to what level this translates to, but he leaves June with significantly more interest than he started.
CJ Aldrich, 6-0 2026 G, Rancho Buena Vista
Aldrich and Jalen Williams (below) were arguably the fastest rising prospects during the June period. For Aldrich, the month served as a coming-out party to coaches who haven't seen him with his high school team the past two seasons and only became familiar with him in his supporting cast role on his club team, Dream Vision. Serving as the Longhorns primary scoring option and ball handler, Aldrich put together a dazzling month, which included a championship at the UCSD tournament and a 3-1 showing in Roseville at Boys Cali Live. Coaches were able to see that Aldrich is a dynamic, three-level scorer that is capable of taking over a game both as a scorer and a playmaker, though they wanted to see him do more of the latter. They also saw an area where I noted improvement, effort on defense. Aldrich was much more engaged and consistent on that end fighting over screens and staying in front of the ball. Already near the top of the 2026 group, Aldrich made a forceful case that he might not be as far from the very top of that class.
Jalen Williams, 6-2 2026 G, San Marcos
Williams was another prospect who elevated his stock with coaches with his play at both the UCSD Team Camp and the Boys Cali Live event. Coming off of a strong spring AAU period with Players Play, where he plays up a grade, Williams quickly demonstrated the type of easy three-level scoring ability that catches coaches attention. A combo guard with underrated strength and finishing ability, Williams led his team to a runner up finish at UCSD and a championship in Nor Cal, where he scored 20 points in three of his four contests. Defensively, while he's not a lockdown defender, he showed flashes of on-ball physicality and is very good at sneaking into passing lanes for steals to get his team in transition offense. The next step for Williams is to hone is playmaking skills for his teammates, as right now, he's firmly in the scoring/shooting guard category, and would be undersized for his position if he doesn't grow. Still, his June has rocketed him up the 2026 boards in SD -- and beyond.
