Louisville native Tyran Stokes is basketball phenom at 15. Is a homecoming in his future?

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Brian Sitter coached against Tyran Stokes for two years before the Louisville native joined his Vegas Elite team in March to play up two age groups on Nike's EYBL circuit.

Athleticism and physicality are givens with Stokes, 15, who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds. The Class of 2026 prospect out of California's Prolific Prep made that clear at Peach Jam when he took off from the free-throw line and threw down one of the most emphatic poster dunks of the summer's marquee AAU basketball tournament.

What astounds Sitter and his staff — and Division I coaches across the country — is Stokes' court vision.

"He's very unselfish," Sitter told The Courier Journal. "He sees the floor extremely well. He sees the plays as they develop. He sees people open before it happens. His decision-making and his basketball IQ are extremely high for somebody his age."

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Fresh off a gold-medal run with Team USA at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Mexico and a trip to the National Basketball Players Association's Top 100 camp in Florida, Stokes yet again commanded attention at Peach Jam.

He averaged 11.5 points on 51.3% shooting with 5.3 rebounds per game, helping Vegas Elite to a second-place finish. He ranked among the tournament's top facilitators with 36 assists against 25 turnovers across eight contests. He showcased awareness on defense and explosiveness in transition, key factors in his team posting a +49 point differential during pool play. He shined with LeBron James sitting courtside for an 87-80 win against Expressions and future Prolific Prep teammate AJ Dybantsa.

Stokes' performance was rewarded Monday, when On3.com named the sophomore its No. 4 high school player in the nation, regardless of class.

"He's going to continue to get better; he's going to continue to get all the accolades he deserves," Sitter said. "I think the maturation for him, the most important thing, is functioning within a successful team and leading teams to wins."

Stokes' future is bright, and his vision for it is crystal clear. As more colleges come calling — and the clamoring for his return to the Bluegrass State grows louder — he doesn't plan on slowing down his progression anytime soon, especially when he and the only player ranked higher than him in the Class of 2026, Dybantsa, join forces at Prolific Prep.

"There's always room for improvement," Stokes said, pointing specifically to becoming a more consistent pull-up shooter off dribbles and screens. "I've been playing good so far, but I've always got to step up my game someway somehow."

Stokes said during a 2022 interview with Pro Insight he began playing basketball competitively as a first grader in Louisville, where he lived until age 9. From there, he made stops in San Diego and Atlanta before settling with his mother in Napa, California, and choosing to enroll at Prolific Prep last August with several scholarship offers already to his name.

Aside from his mom, Stokes said his "whole family lives (in Louisville), pretty much." He told reporters at Peach Jam he had not visited his hometown since Christmas — but would "definitely" consider returning to play college ball in the area.

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Stokes announced Oct. 14, 2022, via Twitter he had received a scholarship offer from U of L. One week later, the talented freshman took an unofficial visit to Louisville Live, where he towered over the crowd of Cardinals fans gathered at Slugger Field to ring in the start of the Kenny Payne era.

"I love how the fans are involved in everything that goes on with the school," Stokes said. "They're always coming and showing support."

Payne prioritized Stokes at Peach Jam. He did not miss a Vegas Elite game — and went three deep with assistants Josh Jamieson and Nolan Smith twice — during the first three days of a live evaluation period that ran from July 6-9.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari and members of his staff were also in attendance; and within two days of the tournament ending Stokes had reported receiving offers from the likes of Auburn, Kansas, Ole Miss and Texas Tech.

The Wildcats have not yet officially joined his list of suitors, which also incudes prominent programs such as Alabama, LSU and Texas.

It should be noted that Stokes told reporters at Peach Jam he "wasn't really a Louisville fan" growing up and could see himself playing at "Kentucky, Gonzaga and Duke." At the rate his game is advancing, and with the publicity he'll no doubt get running the court alongside Dybantsa at Prolific Prep this season, it's not a stretch to say those offers could be right around the corner.

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"Somewhere I just feel at home," Stokes said when asked what he's looking for in a college destination. "Somewhere I can play my game, get my team involved and just do what I do."

Only time will tell if that that sentiment leads him back to his hometown — or if he'll continue to put Louisville on the map from afar.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Tyran Stokes, star 2026 basketball prospect, gives recruitment update