Potential No. 1 Prep Enters Duke Basketball Recruiting Radar

Tyran Stokes sports Tar Heel gear in public and has admitted to growing up a UNC basketball fan. Nevertheless, the Prolific Prep (Calif.) five-star is now drawing interest from the Duke basketball coaches.

Last week, national recruiting insider Andrew Slater reported that part of the Duke contingent was at Prolific Prep. One attraction for the Blue Devils' visit was five-star small forward AJ Dybantsa, No. 1 overall on the 247Sports 2026 Composite.

But they were also there to see Stokes, according to Slater.

The 15-year-old Stokes (on the younger side for his class) currently ranks No. 2 among the nation's high school sophomores. However, given his advanced skills and 6-foot-7, 225-pound frame, along with the fact Dybantsa's age (16) makes him a candidate to reclass to 2025, there's a chance Stokes ends up atop the 2026 rankings in the end.

Tyran Stokes has been one of the best players at the Nike Academy regardless of class. Absolute freak athlete who made some fantastic plays as a finisher and shot-blocker, hit 3s and was a handful to deal with in the one on one drills. pic.twitter.com/f6misYuW15
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) August 10, 2023

Here's a recent summary of Tyran Stokes' game courtesy of On3's Jamie Shaw:

"Stokes uses his physicality to his advantage...While Stokes is one of the more explosive players in his class and also one of the strongest, he also has the makings of an intriguing feel for the game. He will still need to tighten up the passing, but the reads can be high level."

Although several 2026 talents have caught the eyes of Jon Scheyer's crew, none hold a Duke basketball offer. Tyran Stokes and AJ Dybantsa are names to know, though, whenever Scheyer decides to get the ball rolling when it comes to officially targeting players in their class.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball recruiting news.