The 2029 class is taking shape, and the early board is loaded. Baller’s Top 50 for the 2029 cycle pulls names from every major shoe circuit in grassroots hoops, Nike’s EYBL, Adidas 3SSB, Under Armour, and Puma, then lines them up against ESPN’s own 2029 rankings. The result is a clean look at where the two boards agree, where they split, and who is climbing.
Everything below comes straight from the board itself, including the ESPN ranks listed for each player. Read it as the receipts, not a guess.
Who sits at the top of the 2029 class
Baller has Draydne McDaniel at No. 1. He is a forward out of Florida who plays at Prolific Prep and runs with Pro One on the Under Armour side, which makes him the highest-ranked Under Armour player on the entire board.
ESPN sees it slightly differently. On ESPN’s 2029 list, JJ Crawford holds the No. 1 spot and McDaniel slots in at No. 2. Baller flips that order. So the two boards agree on the top two names in the class, they just disagree on who wears the crown. Crawford reps Rainier Beach, one of the most respected high school programs in the country, and rolls with the NW Rotary Rebels on the Nike circuit.
Here is Baller’s top ten, with each player’s ESPN rank in parentheses:
- Draydne McDaniel, F, Florida (Prolific Prep / Pro One, UA) ESPN rank 2
- JJ Crawford, G, Washington (Rainier Beach / NW Rotary Rebels, EYBL) ESPN rank 1
- Josiah Brooks, G, Florida (SLAM Miami / Nightrydas, EYBL) ESPN rank 10
- David Johnson, SF, West Virginia (Huntington Prep / The Family, EYBL) ESPN rank 4
- Jordan McDaniel, G, Michigan (The Family, EYBL)
- Cayden Gaskins, F, Florida (Christopher Columbus / Nightrydas, EYBL) ESPN rank 3
- Grant Duggins, C, North Carolina (Greensboro Day / Team CP3, EYBL) ESPN rank 12
- Austin Leonard, SG, Georgia (Grayson) ESPN rank 5
- Mason Grivna, C, Kentucky (Ballard / Wildcat Select, 3SSB) ESPN rank 17
- Reggie Evans Jr., SF, Florida (SLAM Tampa / Austin Rivers Select, 3SSB) ESPN rank 7
A few things jump out. Two McDaniels land in Baller’s top five. Florida puts three names in the top ten with Brooks, Gaskins, and Evans. And the biggest gap between the two boards inside the top ten belongs to Josiah Brooks, who Baller ranks third while ESPN has him tenth. That is the kind of split that makes the spring live period must-watch, because the head-to-head reps will settle the argument on the court.
Baller vs ESPN: where the boards split
This is the fun part. ESPN has rankings attached to 25 of the 50 players on Baller’s board, so you can put the two evaluations side by side and see who is buying what.
The clearest disagreements, straight from the numbers:
- Josiah Brooks: Baller 3, ESPN 10. Baller is much higher on the SLAM Miami guard.
- Mason Grivna: Baller 9, ESPN 17. Another player Baller rates well ahead of ESPN.
- London Jackson: Baller 17, ESPN 8. Here ESPN is the higher of the two by a wide margin.
- Flory Kuminga: Baller 16, ESPN 9. ESPN again leans higher.
- Grant Duggins: Baller 7, ESPN 12. Baller likes the North Carolina center more than ESPN does.
The two boards line up almost perfectly on a handful of names too. David Johnson sits fourth on both lists. Cayden Gaskins is sixth for Baller and third for ESPN, close enough to call a match. When two independent evaluations land on the same player in the same range, that is usually a sign the talent is real and not just hype.
The 14 names ESPN added to the board
The updated board also folds in 14 players flagged as ESPN additions, prospects who showed up on ESPN’s 2029 list and got pulled into the combined Top 50. That group runs from David Johnson at No. 4 all the way down through the back half of the list.
The ESPN adds are: David Johnson (4), Austin Leonard (8), Cadien Hudson (11), Majok Ater (20), Chudier Diew Yak (21), Alex Alexander (22), Aaron Parker (23), MJ Postell (27), AJ Scott (28), Bronx Ganaway (29), Jeremiah Triplin (33), Will Phillips (37), Felix Okam (39), and Kiir Nang (40).
Most of those new names do not have a shoe circuit or AAU club attached yet, which is why a chunk of the board is still circuit-unlisted. As the spring schedule fills in and these players land on travel rosters, expect those blanks to fill fast. For now, they are the wildcards of the class.
EYBL runs the 2029 class
If you want the headline number on the circuit side, here it is. Of the 50 ranked players, 29 come out of Nike’s EYBL. That is a clear majority of the board from one circuit, and it is the kind of depth people point to when they call the Nike grassroots pipeline the deepest in the sport.
Adidas 3SSB is next with six ranked players. Under Armour shows up with two, led by Baller’s No. 1 Draydne McDaniel and joined by Canadian guard Jaylen Shepherd on the UA Next side. Puma grabs one spot through Florida center Turic Chol Gol. The remaining 12 players are not tied to a circuit yet, and as noted above, most of those are the fresh ESPN additions still waiting on a travel home.
Circuit split at a glance:
- EYBL (Nike): 29 players
- 3SSB (Adidas): 6 players
- Under Armour (UA / UA Next): 2 players
- Puma: 1 player
- Not yet listed: 12 players
The story is simple. EYBL owns the volume, but the No. 1 overall spot belongs to Under Armour, and a dozen circuit-free names mean the brand map for this class is far from settled.
Florida is the capital of the 2029 class
Geography tells its own story. Florida leads every state with six ranked players, including Baller’s No. 1 Draydne McDaniel, top-three guard Josiah Brooks, and No. 6 Cayden Gaskins. South Florida programs like Nightrydas and SLAM are all over the top of the board.
Maryland is next with four ranked players, and the DMV pipeline runs straight through Team Durant. Georgia and California are tied for third with three apiece. After that, the map spreads wide, with West Virginia, Washington, Michigan, Arizona, Virginia, Ohio, and Ontario each putting two names on the list.
That Canada number is worth a callout. Two of the Top 50 come out of Ontario: Jaylen Shepherd (No. 41, Crestwood Prep and Canada Elite) and Mateo Moise (No. 48, Toronto Alliance). Canada keeps producing pros at a faster clip every year, and the 2029 class adds to that pipeline.
Top states on the board:
- Florida: 6 players
- Maryland: 4 players
- Georgia, California: 3 each
- West Virginia, Washington, Michigan, Arizona, Virginia, Ohio, Ontario (Canada): 2 each
The AAU programs stacking the most ranked talent
Recruiting is a team sport before it is an individual one, and one program is winning the 2029 cycle so far. Team Durant leads the board with four ranked players, anchored out of the DMV and including Harlem Nunez, Elijah Schneeberg, Dylan Sauritch, and Tylen Kingsby at Huntington Prep.
Nightrydas, the South Florida program, is right behind with three ranked names, headlined by top-three guard Josiah Brooks and No. 6 Cayden Gaskins. From there, a cluster of clubs put two names each on the list: The Family, Oakland Soldiers, Renaissance, and Vegas Elite. If you are building a viewing schedule for spring and summer, those six programs are the place to start.
Position breakdown: guards run the show
The 2029 board leans toward the backcourt. Counting every guard label on the list (G, PG, CG, and SG), guards are the single biggest group by a comfortable margin. Wings and forwards (W, SF, F, and PF) make up the next tier, and true centers are the rarest commodity with four listed.
Those bigs are worth knowing by name, because size always travels in recruiting. Grant Duggins (No. 7) and Mason Grivna (No. 9) are the top-ten centers, and Turic Chol Gol at No. 50 gives Puma its lone representative down the stretch of the board. In a guard-driven class, the players with real height tend to climb as their frames fill out, so keep an eye on that group over the next couple of cycles.
The Baller scouting list inside the rankings
One detail that sets this board apart: 16 of the 50 players carry the star tag marking the original Baller scouting list, the names that were flagged early before the wider recruiting world caught on. That group includes Baller’s No. 1 Draydne McDaniel, No. 2 JJ Crawford, and No. 3 Josiah Brooks at the top, plus names like Flory Kuminga, Isaiah Rider IV, and King Bacot deeper on the list.
Put those two groups together, 16 original Baller picks and 14 ESPN additions, and you get a board that blends early independent scouting with a national outlet’s read on the class. When both arrows point at the same player, that is the prospect to track.
What to watch as the 2029 class develops
A few storylines are already worth following heading into the live period:
The No. 1 debate. Baller has Draydne McDaniel on top, ESPN has JJ Crawford. They are the two best players in the class on both boards, so every time they share a floor it is appointment viewing.
The circuit-free wildcards. Twelve players, most of them ESPN adds, do not have a shoe circuit yet. Where they land will reshape the brand map for the entire class.
The Florida vs DMV race. Florida has the most ranked players with six, but Maryland and Team Durant are right there. Those two regions are going to trade haymakers all spring.
The center watch. Only four true bigs made the board. In recruiting, size is the trait that moves rankings fastest once players grow into their frames, so the names with height could climb quickly.
This is the early read on the 2029 class, pulled straight from Baller’s Top 50 and cross-checked against ESPN’s rankings. Bookmark it, because the order at the top of a class this young rarely holds. Check back as the circuits tip off and the board starts to move.
All rankings, positions, schools, clubs, circuit affiliations, and ESPN ranks are sourced directly from Baller’s 2029 Top 50 recruiting board. Circuits referenced: EYBL (Nike), 3SSB (Adidas), UA and UA Next (Under Armour), and Puma.