AJ Williams, the No. 1 high school basketball prospect in the 2028 class, is reclassifying to the class of 2027, he announced Tuesday on Instagram.
The 6-foot-8 five-star small forward from Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Ga., is now ranked the No. 5 prospect in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports.
“I feel like I was ready for the next step and it was the best move for my long-term goals,” Williams told The Athletic.
Williams, 17, played on the Nike EYBL 17U circuit this summer with Team CP3 and established himself as one of the league’s most productive scorers. He averaged 20.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from 3-point range.
He also starred for USA Basketball at the FIBA U17 AmeriCup, helping Team USA capture a gold medal. Williams averaged 14 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists while posting efficient 47/42/87 shooting splits.
His recruitment has drawn interest from many of the nation’s premier programs, including Duke, North Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and BYU. Official visits will be scheduled “soon,” Williams said. He has already taken unofficial visits to Duke, Auburn and Georgia Tech.
He joins a growing list of elite prospects who have reclassified in recent years, including 2026 No. 1 recruit Marcus Spears Jr., Bruce Branch III, Adan Diggs and Baba Oladotun. Other notable prospects to make the jump in previous classes include AJ Dybantsa, Cooper Flagg and Alijah Arenas.
Why reclassify?
Reclassification isn’t a new trend in college hoops history, but it has become more common in the NIL era, as players look to get paid — and to the NBA — as quickly as possible. Look no further than recent college stars like Flagg and Dybantsa, who entered college a year earlier than projected.
The reasoning is simple: The sooner you get to college, the sooner you can turn pro, and then the sooner you can get to your second (and typically most lucrative) NBA contract. With college stars earning so much in the current environment, getting to that level a year in advance — even if recruits have to stay two seasons to be eligible for the NBA Draft — can be a huge financial gain. As The Athletic reported earlier this summer, the going rate for a high-major starter is typically in the seven figures, even for recruits coming straight from high school.
And Williams, because of his talent and the schools already after him, should expect to be in that earning range.
Also, from an on-court perspective, what else is there for a player like Williams — who already successfully played up a year at Nike’s Peach Jam this summer, and who looks physically ready for college tomorrow — to gain from an extra season of high school ball?
What will be interesting to track over the coming seasons is a new trend that, in many ways, is getting off the ground this year: two-year reclassifications for the world’s best 16-year-olds. This summer, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (Duke), Spears (Texas) and Nikola Kusturica (UCLA) reclassified to play college hoops, but due to their age, they will have to spend at least two seasons in school before they’re eligible for the 2028 NBA Draft.
In theory, it’s a win-win proposition for those players and their teams. The players earn more than they would’ve in high school, have access to better coaching and training facilities and get more exposure at the national level. The teams can theoretically save a little money by signing someone to a two-year deal — instead of paying them an exorbitant amount after their first season of college stardom — and, hopefully, create some semblance of roster continuity.
Or, at least, that’s how everyone expects these situations to work. Those three players, in many ways, are the test cases on which that strategy will be judged.
Scouting report
Williams has a modern, prototypical build with fluid movement. He’s a dynamic three-level scorer with polished footwork, feel for the game and play-making potential.
Williams has a big, strong frame that allows him to get anywhere on the floor when he wants. With his scoring ability and mental makeup, reclassification makes sense. When all is said and done, he may finish as the No. 1 prospect in the 2027 class and may be the No. 1 pick in the 2028 NBA Draft. This reclassification allows for him to be in the mix.
