Montverde Academy, the No. 1-ranked team in both our preseason Florida and national power rankings, will be among high school basketball’s best this season. The Eagles have a loaded roster, just as they have had in years past. Some of the nation’s top recruits have suited up in the purple and gold over the years, and we offer a look here at the five best. (Ratings courtesy of the 247Sports Composite.)
RJ Barrett
Considered the nation’s No. 1 overall player in the 2018 class, Barrett is the highest-rated recruit to play for Montverde Academy. A huge piece of the 2017-18 Eagles team that went 35-0, Barrett has gone on to play four seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks after being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played a year collegiately at Duke after graduating from Montverde.
Cade Cunningham
Of the nation’s top recruits, Cunningham was the No. 1 player in 2020, and he shined for a deep Montverde Academy team that went 25-0 during the 2019-20 season. The former five-star went on to play one season at Oklahoma State and now is in his second season with the Detroit Pistons after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Ben Simmons
The third former Montverde Academy player who was considered No. 1 in his respective class out of high school, Simmons was the top player in 2015. After one season at LSU, Simmons was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. The three-time All-Star now in his first full season with the Brooklyn Nets after six years in the Sixers organization.
Dariq Witehead
One of the more recent top recruits to come from Montverde Academy is Whitehead, who was rated the No. 2 overall player nationally in the 2022 class. A star forward on the court for the Eagles just last season, Whitehead recently began his freshman season at Duke.
Jalen Duren
Duren was the No. 6 overall player in the 2021 class after he reclassified from 2022. At the conclusion of his prep career, the five-star center went on to play a season collegiately, and is currently in his first NBA season with the Detroit Pistons.
In addition to those five, here are a few additional top recruits who have taken the court for Montverde Academy in recent years, some of whom are currently still playing for the Eagles:
- Dillon Mitchell
- Scottie Barnes
- Sean Stewart
- Kasey Hill
- Caleb Houstan
- Dakari Johnson
- Asa Newell
- Kwame Evans Jr.
- Precious Achiuwa
