Nation’s top-ranked basketball team, prospect highlight this year’s Bojangles Bash
.jpg "Marcus Spears Jr. and Dynamic Prep (Texas) will be playing in the 2025 Bojangles’ Bash at Ridge View High School in Columbia, SC.")
The annual Bojangles Bash high school basketball showcase tips off Thursday at Ridge View High School.
The three-day event features top in-state and national talent on display. This year’s out-of-state teams: top-ranked Dynamic Prep (Texas), Montverde Academy (Florida), Cambridge Arts, Technology and Science (Massachusetts), Burlington School (North Carolina) and Cross Creek (Georgia). In-state schools will be CA Johnson, Gray Collegiate, Greenville, Wilson and host Ridge View.
Here is what to watch for this weekend:
Marcus Spears Jr. leads Dynamic Prep’s return
Dynamic Prep is ranked No. 1 in the latest ESPN Next’s Top 25, released this week and is making its second straight appearance.. Dynamic is coached by Columbia native and former first-round NBA Draft pick Jermaine O’Neal.
Dynamic Prep has wins this season over Faith Family (Texas) and Florida-based Columbus , and Southeastern Prep .
Dynamic features Marcus Spears Jr., ESPN’s No. 1 ranked player in the country for the Class of 2027. Spears is the son of former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Marcus Spears.
Spears Jr. has more than 20 Division I offers and is averaging 14.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game this season.
Dynamic also has University of Texas signee Austin Goosby and Texas Tech signee Dakari Spear, both ranked in the top-50 by ESPN for Class of 2026.
This will be O’Neal’s third straight year he has brought Dynamic back to Columbia for a high-profile event. The school won the National Division championship at the 2023 Chick-fil-A Classic and then went 3-0 at the Bash last year.
Future Clemson Tiger to play in Bash
Davidson Day (NC) is making its first appearance in the tournament and features Clemson signee Will Stevens and Cody Peck, the top-ranked player in NC for Class of 2026 by 247Sports Composite rankings.
The 6-foot-11 center signed with Clemson in November and picked the Tigers over Vanderbilt, South Carolina and St. Mary’s. Stevens averaged 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game last season.
More teams, players to watch
Montverde, CATS and Burlington School will play in their first Bash and bring rosters full of Division I prospects.
Montverde has unsigned Class of 2026 top-50 prospect Joe Philon, Northwestern signee Jayden Hodge LSU signee and top-50 Class of 2027 prospect O’Neal Delancy.
CATS, located in Braintree, Massachusetts, will feature Fordham signee Desmond Bellot, Loyola signee Jaxon Terry and top-100 Class of 2027 prospect Nicolas Matrovic.
Burlington School also will be playing in its first Bash and feature Class of 2027 prospect Charles Purr, who has offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, Penn State, Mississippi State and Cincinnati, among others.
SC’s top prospect in action
Josh Leonard, the No. 1 prospect in SC for Class of 2027, returns to the Bash for the second straight year with his Wilson High squad.
Leonard is ranked No. 9 nationally by On3/Rivals and in the top-30 nationally by other recruiting rankings. South Carolina and Clemson are in the mix for Leonard, the 2024 SC Gatorade Player of the Year, along with Tennessee, North Carolina State, Miami, Cal among others.
In-state teams on display
Host Ridge View is the two-time defending Class 5A Division I champion and features a roster made up of Division I prospects DJ Wylie, RJ Davis and CJ Moore.
Defending Class 5A Division II champion Greenville is in the event with first-year head coach Yerrick Stoneman, who led Ridge View to four championships and spent the last three years at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. The Red Raiders feature guard Caden Coleman.
Columbia’s CA Johnson High School is in the field and preseason No. 1 team in Class A this year. The Green Hornets feature Milton McCray, Aiassac Germany and Tony Odom.
Boajngles’ Bash schedule, scores
Tickets: Can be purchased online at thebashoops.com. Two-day passes available.
Thursday
2 p.m. — Ridge View 72, CA Johnson 71
6-7:30 p.m. — Bojangles Bash FREE Kids Camp for 2nd-8th Graders (Sold out)
Friday
6 p.m. — Gray Collegiate 70, The Burlington School (NC) 58
7:30 p.m. — Montverde Academy (Fla.) 61, CATS Academy (Mass.) 51
9 p.m. — Ridge View 73, Dynamic Prep (Texas) 67
Saturday
1:30 p.m. — Cross Creek (Ga.) vs. CA Johnson
3 p.m. — Greenville vs. CATS Academy (Mass.)
4:30 p.m. — Davidson Day (NC) vs. Gray Collegiate
6 p.m. — Wilson vs. Dynamic Prep (Texas)
7:30 p.m. — Montverde Academy (Fla.) vs. Ridge View
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
