LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Tounde Yessoufou and A.J. Dybansta are my respective choices as the top sophomore and freshman during the annual fall Pangos regional All-Frosh/Soph Camp circuit.
The camps, established in 2002 by Belmont Shore/Pangos founder and CEO Dinos Trigonis, had two-day sessions in Long Beach (West/Sept. 24-25); Duncanville, TX (South/Oct. 1-2); LaGrange, IL (Midwest/Oct. 15-16) and Philadelphia (East/Oct. 22-23).
Collectively more than 900 players, from the classes of ’25, ’26 and ’27, took part in the camps.
The 6-foot-6 Yessoufou (Santa Maria, CA, St. Joseph), who crushed folks in Long Beach, was the easiest “Most Outstanding Player for the entire camp” selection during any of the four Frosh/Soph stops.
Yessoufou, California’s Freshman of the Year in 2021-22, scored 28 points and snatched eight rebounds in the Top 30 Crème of the Crop All-Star Game to emphatically confirm who the camp’s MOP was going to be.
In a Saturday night (Sept. 24) camp game, Yessoufou scored 36 points – with six 3s – and blocked nine shots.
Yessoufou (pictured) edged Meleek Thomas (Pittsburgh Lincoln Park) in the Class of 2025 competition.
Thomas, possibly the best “combo guard” in the national class, was selected Most Outstanding Player, scoring a game-high 19 points, in the East’s Top 30 Crème of the Crop.
The East also produced my “Top 2026” choice in A.J. Dybansta (Needham, MA, St. Sebastian), who had pretty much locked up his camp MOP designation by Sunday morning.
The runner-up in the “best freshman” category is Phoenix Woodson (Oklahoma City Crossings Christian), the MOP at the South Camp and one of the three or four best passers among those 900 or so players who came home with Pangos t-shirts.
Rounding out my five-player, All-Pangos Frosh/Soph first-team selections is forward Xzavion Mitchell (Oshkosh, WI, North), the Most Outstanding Player for the Midwest session.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia are represented on my Top 60 all-Frosh/Soph choices, a total reached by including each of the 15-player all-Camp choices I made after each regional stop.
Seven states and D.C. are repped among the first- and second-team choices, with Wisconsin (Mitchell and second-team selection Devin Brown, the Top 30 all-star MOP at the Midwest Camp) the only state with two players among the Top 10.
As a reminder, these selections are based upon how each of these players performed while I watched them at their respective camps and not solely upon their potential as players beyond high school.
So, here you go:
BurlisonOnBasketball’s All-Pangos 2022 Frosh/Soph Camp Team
First Team
A.J. Dybansta 6-8 2026 Needham (MA) St. Sebastian
Xzavion Mitchell 6-6 2025 Oshkosh (WI) North
Meleek Thomas 6-4 2025 Pittsburgh Lincoln Park
Phoenix Woodson 6-6 2026 Oklahoma City Crossings Christian
Tounde Yessoufou 6-6 2025 Santa Maria (CA) St. Joseph
Second Team
Devin Brown 6-7 2025 Milwaukee Academy of Science
Acaden Lewis 6-3 2025 Washington (DC) Sidwell Friends
Barrett Loer 6-5 2025 Newport (RI) St. George’s
Jalen Montonati 6-6 2026 Owasso (OK)
Jason Scott 6-2 2025 Houston Westbury Christian School
Honorable Mention (Alpha sequence)
- Maximo Adams 6-6 2026 Harbor City (CA) Narbonne
- Aleks Alston 6-9 2025 Chicago Kenwood Academy
- Keiner Aspilla 7-0 2026 Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco
- Kaiden Bailey 6-2 2026 Irvine (CA) Crean Lutheran
- Christopher Birden 6-7 2025 New Orleans Newman
- Kade Bonam 6-7 2025 Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco
- Danny Carbuccia 6-0 2025 White Plains (NY) Stepinac
- Ethan Carter 6-7 2025 Fairburn (GA) Arlington Christian
- Christopher Cenac Jr. 6-8 2025 New Orleans Newman
- TreVaun Clark 6-7 2026 San Antonio (TX) Wagner
- Rashod Cotton 6-0 2026 Modesto (CA) Christian
- Jamson Coulter Jr. 6-2 2026 Olympia Fields (IL) Rich Township
- Camden Cowgill 6-3 2025 San Antonio (TX) Brennan
- J. Crumble 6-8 2026 Cleveland Lutheran East
- Badara Diakite 6-10 2025 West Hartford (CT) NW Catholic
- Bryce Dixon 6-3 2026 Dallas Pinkston
- Aaron Glass 6-3 2025 Rancho Cucamonga (CA)
- Juan Guerrero Hernandez 6-4 2025 Grafton (WI)
- Damon Friery 6-9 2025 Cleveland St. Ignatius
- Kellen Hampton 6-7 2025 Hayward (CA) Moreau Catholic
- Davion Hannah 6-5 2025 Glendale (WI) Nicolet
- J. Hazelett 6-7 2026 Indianapolis Franklin Central
- Braden James 6-7 2026 Grand Ledge (MI)
- Elton James 6-6 2026 Rock Hill (SC) Legion-Collegiate
- Jasiah Jervis 6-3 2026 White Plains (NY) Stepinac
- Brayden Kyman 6-7 2026 RSM (CA) Santa Margarita
- Tylan Lewis 6-1 2025 Spring Hill (TN) Independence
- Kentrell Martin 6-5 2025 Dover (FL) Strawberry Crest
- Brannon Martinsen 6-7 2026 Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
- Winni Matta 6-7 2026 Philadelphia Father Judge
- Ian Miletic 6-6 2025 Rolling Meadows (IL)
- Marcari Moore 6-3 2025 Ann Arbor (MI) Huron
- Payson Nietert 6-6 2025 Marion (IA) Linn-Mar
- Chidi Nwigwe 6-6 2026 Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic
- Trent Perry 6-3 2026 Frisco (TX) Lone Star
- Patton Pinkins 6-4 2025 Wolfforth (TX) Friendship
- Dietrich Richardson 6-5 2025 Peoria (IL) Manual
- LaDaryl Robinson 6-5 2025 Marion (AR)
- Jayden Savoury 6-6 2025 Orchard Lake (MI Saint Mary’s
- J. Spillman 6-3 2025 Newport (CA) Pacifica Christian
- Tae Simmons 6-7 2025 Northridge (CA) Heritage Christian
- Adrien Stevens 6-3 2025 Potomac (MD) Bullis School
- Delano Tarpley 6-8 2026 San Antonio (TX) Sotomayor
- Maximus VanLaningham 6-7 2026 Roseville (CA) Woodcreek
- Caleb Versher 6-2 2025 Playa del Rey (CA) St. Bernard
- Gabe Weiss 6-6 2026 Springfield (KY) Washington County
- Jake West 6-1 2025 Radnor (PA) Archbishop John Carroll
- Rodney Westmoreland 5-10 2026 San Ramon (CA) Dougherty Valley
- J. Williams 6-7 2026 Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic
- Issac Williamson 6-1 2025 Riverside (CA) Poly
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