There’s a very familiar name at the top of ESPN’s rankings for the best 2027 boys’ basketball player.
Wednesday night, ESPN updated its basketball recruiting rankings for the 2027 class, and sitting in the No. 1 spot is Marcus Spears, Jr., son of ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears.
Spears Jr. is a 6-foot-7, 180-pound power forward who plays for Dynamic Prep out of Plano, Texas. He already has a ton of offers from some of the top programs around the country, including Texas, Houston, Indiana, Tennessee, Miami, Arkansas, USC, and Kentucky.
Updated ESPN boys’ high school player rankings for the class of 2027. @SCNext
🔗 https://t.co/wKuF8vecn3 pic.twitter.com/P38D2vKhB8
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) August 14, 2025
Spears, Jr. picked up plenty of athleticism from his parents. “Swagu” played for the LSU Tigers before a nine-year NFL career, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys. “Swagu” joined ESPN in 2014, mostly appearing on the SEC Network, but is now a regular on ESPN morning shows as well as NFL Live and Monday Night Countdown.
The former NFL star was also the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year for men’s basketball in high school. His wife, Alysha Smith, is a former first-round WNBA pick.
🙏🏾 Proud of you kid https://t.co/uE0ZDRiHWw
— Marcus Spears (@mspears96) August 15, 2025
As for why Spears, Jr. pursued basketball and not football, he told ZagsBlog that his father didn’t want him to play, and he gave it up after one season.
“I just hung it up and I never went back,” he said.
It seems to be paying off.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.