The 2023 McDonald’s All-American Games will tip off Tuesday in Houston as part of the buildup to the Final Four at NRG Stadium this weekend. The girls game will start at 5:30 p.m., and the boys game is set for 8 p.m.
The boys game features another loaded class of future basketball stars.
BetTexas.com, your home to coverage of the state legislature as it tries to legalize Texas sports betting, utilized 247Sports to see which NCAA conference got the most commitments from the 2023 McDonald’s High School All-American class. So far, 15 different schools are represented by this year’s class.
The Southeastern Conference has the most players — six — while the Big 12 and Pac 12 each have five, Atlantic Coast Conference has three, Big Ten has two, Big East has one and two are not committed. Those two are Matas Buzelis, who has opted for the G–League, and Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA star LeBron James, who remains uncommitted.
2023 All-American Commits by Conference
When sports betting does become legal in the state, BetTexas.com will provide all the Texas sportsbook promos.
Kentucky Stacking All-Americans
The SEC leads the way thanks to four headed to Kentucky, which is the most for one university. Three of them will be on the East team. They are high school teammates 7-foot center Aaron Bradshaw and point guard D.J. Wagner from Camden, N.J., and 6-7 forward Justin Edwards from Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia. Shooting guard Reed Sheppard from North Laurel, Ky., will suit up for the West.
The other two from the SEC are Auburn’s Aden Holloway, a 6-1 point guard from Prolific Prep in California, and Arkansas’s Baye Fall, a 6-11 center from Accelerated Prep in Colorado. Holloway will be on the East and Fall the West squad.
Big 12, Pac 12 Nab Five Each
The Big 12, whose streak of national championships ends at two since Texas lost its chance to follow Baylor (2021) and Kansas (2022) by losing to Miami in the Elite Eight, has five recruits headed to five different schools.
The East team includes Kansas’ Elmarko Jackson, a 6-3 shooting guard from South Kent School (Conn.). The other four will be playing for the West: Iowa State’s Omaha Biliew, a 6-9 power forward from Waukee, Iowa; Oklahoma State’s Brandon Garrison, a 6-9 center from Del City, Okla.; Texas’ Ron Holland, a 6-8 power forward from Duncanville, Texas; and Baylor’s Ja’ Kobe Walter from Link Academy (Mo.).
The Pac 12 boasts five with two headed to Oregon and one to Colorado, Stanford and Southern California.
The two bound for Oregon are 6-9 power forward Kwame Evans from Monteverde Academy in Florida, playing for the East, and 6-7 small forward Mookie Cook from AZ Compass Prep in Arizona playing for the West.
The Pac 12’s others are 6-7 Colorado forward Cody Williams (Perry High School, Ariz.) on the East team, and West teammates Isaiah Collier, a 6-4 point guard headed to USC by way of Wheeler, Ga. and Stanford’s Andrej Stojaković, a 6-7 forward from Jesuit in Sacramento, Calif., and the oldest son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković.
All three of the ACC’s new freshmen are headed to Duke. Jared McCain, a 6-3 shooting guard from Centennial (Calif.) will play for the West, while 6-8 power forwards Mackenzie Mgbako from Roselle Catholic in New Jersey and Sean Stewart, Evans’ teammate at Monteverde Academy, will play for the East.
Both of the Big Ten’s McDonald’s All-Americans are headed to Michigan State, with 6-10 center Xavier Booker from Cathedral in Indiana playing for the East and 6-2 point guard Jeremy Fears from Joliet West, Ill., playing for the West.
The Big East has one thanks to UConn signing 6-6 point guard Stephon Castle from Newton, Ga. Castle, who will play for the East team, will join a Huskies team that has reached a Final Four and will be a favorite to cut down the nets in Houston next Monday as national champions.
Unfortunately for state basketball fans, there will be no legal betting on the Final Four. The Texas House State Affairs Committee took no action on HB 1942 last week.
Once that bill has hopefully made some more progress, BetTexas.com will be your go-to source for reviews of the best Texas betting apps.
