Top 10 teams in North Suburbs of Chicago 2025-2026 season!!!!

Should be an exciting year in Northern Cook County and Lake County. Top two teams are rivals Warren Township (Gurnee) and Waukegan. Both located in Lake County. Will play each other twice as members of North Suburban Conference. Could another third meeting be in the offing in post season again?

1) Warren Township (Gurnee) (4A): Start with best player in state in junior point guard Jaxson Davis. Does it on both ends. Running mate Senior Braylon Walker is very underrated. Two end monster as well. Senior Joel Paasch didn’t play much last season but is a big time catch and shoot three point threat. Transfer senior guard LeBron Massey from Cristo Rey (Waukegan) adds depth. Junior Tayte Cordova transferred back from Tennessee. Mid range king senior Avonn King scores in the paint and hits the glass. Junior Cashius Collins is an athletic forward that adds depth on interior.

2) Waukegan (4A): Deepest team in talent and experience in North Suburbs. Four year varsity performers Carter Newsome running point and wing Simereon Carter who’s back from shoulder injury that had him out in Spring and Summer. King of Bounce crashes the glass and can hit the three. Newsome is a two end monster who is a three level scorer and plays with pace. Senior wing Jaali Love is another big time athlete that crashes glass and will dunk on you. He’s a four year varsity performer as well. Senior guard Adrian Serrano is a hard nosed player who defends and can hit threes. Senior guard Jeremiah Edwards is a knockdown three point shooter. Homewood Flossmoor senior wing transfer Ryan Brown gives them another athlete who can hit the glass and get out in transition.

3) New Trier (Winnetka) (4A): Favorite to win Central Suburban South. Looking for third trip to state finals in four years. Division one backcourt of Princeton commit Christopher Kirkpatrick and High Point commit Danny Houlihan. Kirkpatrick is a two end monster as well as three level scorer who can pass the ball in halfcourt or transition. Houlihan is a knockdown three point shooter specifically off the catch. Lefty fills it up from deep. Senior Max Vogel is a Colby College commit who can score on attacks to the rim or from three. Senior MJ Burns is another shooter who gives them depth. Junior Matthew Logue gets out on the break and dunks anything close to the rim at 6’5”. King of Bounce. Defends multiple positions and crashes the glass. Junior Elton Jaegetskog gives them toughness on the glass and defends top players. Junior Owen Foster is an athletic rim protector and has bounce to dunk on you. Look for 6’7” freshman Denym Wallace to score on the interior, mid range, and from three. Hits the glass on both ends.

4) Deerfield (3A): Experienced team who should push New Trier for Central Suburban South title. Dartmouth commit Jake Pollack (6’9”) is a four year varsity performer. Lefty is tough to deal with on the interior and can step out to hit threes. Senior Case Western Reserve commit Evan Nagler can fill it up from deep. Seniors Ethan Weiner and Jack Sterzik are football players who give them toughness and crash the glass. Senior Chase Arenberg can shoot it from three and is a baseball standout. Junior Tommy Donahue is a versatile guard who can hit threes. Sophomore Charlie Yellen is a knockdown three point shooter. Freshman Zach Newman will help out on the glass.

5) Loyola Academy (Wilmette) (4A): College bound backcourt of seniors Cornell commit Trey Williams and Denison commit Samuel Golden. Williams is athletic, can get to the rim and finish through contact and make nice passes to shooters. Golden is a knockdown three point shooter who hits them in bunches. Senior Brody Muney-Johnson is physical and will crash the glass. Senior Danny Lee knocks down three pointers at a high rate. Junior Luke Alvarez can run a team and knock down threes. They’ll play their usual tough defense and control tempo.

6) Stevenson (Lincolnshire) (4A): Lost a lot but has some experience back. Senior guard Donny Williams has serious bounce at 6’0”. Nasty two dribble mid range jumper as well as finishing at the rim. Senior Rocco Pagliocca is a four year varsity performer who has been injury prone the last two years. Can run point and hit threes. Senior Aidan Albrecht is another knockdown three point shooter who’ll have to help on the glass. Junior Quinton Frakes at 6’5” will have to take care of the glass. Sophomore Max Dabbs at 6’7” will give front court depth. Sophomore Bilguun Ankhbayar is a talented young guard who can shoot.

7) Evanston Township (4A): Lost four senior starters off a team that finished third in Class 4A. They could surprise with their dribble drive offense. Senior Timi Ogunsanya is a three year varsity performer who can fill it up from three or attack the rim. Have a lot of small guards who are scorers. Senior Tristan Wilcox is one at 5’9”. Junior Vito Rocca is in his third year of varsity play. Rugged hard nosed player at 6’5” who can hit threes. Two sport athlete (football). Juniors Dion Lane Jr and Dillon Pompey can fill it up from deep. Lane Jr is a two sport athlete (baseball). Junior Tate Schroeder is another big time three point shooter who’s also a golfer. Ayden Payne is another football player who’ll hit threes off the bench. Junior Mekhi Collins (6’6” 300 pounds) is a division one football lineman who’ll give size to a team who needs it. Sophomore Ben Ojala is their best player. He can fill it up from deep but will run a lot of point this year.

8) Libertyville (3A): Lost a lot but have two aces in the hole. Senior wing Winona State commit Bryce Wegrzyn is one of the top forwards in the North Suburbs. He can score in the paint and knockdown threes mostly off the catch. Sophomore Terrence Davis Jr is one of the top players in the state in his class. Athletic with bounce who attacks the rim off dribble penetration and scores at the rim. Has a nice mid range jump shot, and defends a number of positions. Will have to find a third scorer from some first year varsity players.

9) Niles North (Skokie) (4A): Lost a bunch of experience from last years team specifically four starters who are all playing college basketball. Team shoots threes or attacks the rim. That will not change. Returning starter is senior Mustaf Rexhepi who hits the glass, defends, and takes charges. Senior Osman Khan has his chance to step up. Sniper from three. Senior Enzo D’Andrea will run some point. Punzal can run the point as well. Junior Collin Tobin should be their best player. Three level scorer who can run point or play off the ball at 6’3”. Junior Dominic Mann is a sniper who hits deep threes. Sophomore Judah Maxwell will help on the glass. Could surprise some people and win Central Suburban North.

10) Vernon Hills: Senior laden team who feels it’s their time to win the Central Suburban North. Senior Jeremy Zamost will run the show but can score from three or on attacks to the rim. Senior Graham Lis is a lefty who can fill it up from three and score in mid range. Senior Brady Larsen is a three level scorer who hits threes from everywhere, attacks the rim for finishes and mid range pull-ups. Senior Daniel Obhiambo is a King of Bounce who blocks shots, hits the glass, gets out in transition, and will dunk on you. Junior Riley Cline is another knockdown three point shooter.