The shoe-sponsored AAU circuits will wrap up their current seasons soon, with Syracuse basketball recruits eyeing championships in the Nike and Under Armour Association leagues.
Nike's EYBL circuit, beginning today and running through Sunday, will conduct its annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C. Meanwhile, the Under Armour Association ("UAA") league, starting on July 17 and lasting through July 20, will hold its final playoffs in the Chicago area.
In this column, I'll examine which Orange targets in those two leagues are significant contenders to cut down the nets in the main 17U division.
But first, let's give a shout-out to Syracuse basketball 2026 priority recruit Deron Rippey Jr., a five-star point guard who this past weekend helped lead the 17U team of the New York-based New Heights to the quarterfinals of the season-ending Adidas 3SSB playoffs in Rock Hill, S.C.
A tough break today for @NewHeightsNYC’s 17’s, as they made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. In their first year back on the @3SSBCircuit in years, they definitely attracted plenty of attention due to players from NYC, New Jersey & even Philly.…
— Dave's Joint (@daves_joint) July 13, 2025
Rippey, as I first reported last week, will take an official visit to the Hill in late September. One of his New Heights teammates is 2026 four-star big man Asher Elson, who holds a scholarship offer from the 'Cuse.
Also reaching the 3SSB quarterfinals was the Boston-based BABC, which is led by 2026 five-star wing Abdou Toure. The top-15 national prospect has a Syracuse basketball offer, and the 'Cuse watched him last weekend amid an NCAA-permitted live period.
BABC 17U falls to D1 Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Adidas 3SSB championships, 80-77, in an instant classic.
— Steve Hewitt (@steve_hewitt) July 12, 2025
Tough loss for BABC after rallying from 17 down to force overtime. Amir Jenkins hit this buzzer-beating 3 to send it to OT.
Jenkins finished with 28 points. pic.twitter.com/eqdkLn6T05
Syracuse basketball targets will play in season-ending AAU playoffs this week.
In the UAA league, keep an eye on the Boston-based Middlesex Magic, which this spring and summer has proven one of the top squads on that circuit. Two standouts for the Middlesex Magic are 2026 four-star wing/power forward Quinn Costello, who holds a Orange offer, and 2026 four-star point guard Ryan Moesch, who has received some level of interest from the 'Cuse staff.
Middlesex Magic Under Armour Association Session 3 overall program record is 18-3!!
— Middlesex Magic (@MiddlesexMagic) July 13, 2025
15u 7-0
16u 5-2
17u 6-1
Overall UAA regular season records:
15u 10-1
16u 9-6
17u 12-3
Headed back to Boston before we fly to Chicago for the @UANextBHoops Finals! #MagicFamily
Switching over to the Peach Jam, Syracuse basketball fans will want to monitor teams such as the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover, the Las Vegas-based Vegas Elite, the Los Angeles-based Team Why Not, the Phoenix-based Arizona Unity, the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant, the Irving, Texas-based Drive Nation, the Albany, N.Y.-based City Rocks and the New York City-based Renaissance Hoops.
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀. 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄. 🍑🏆#EYBL | #PeachJam pic.twitter.com/LWApkRHJxb
— EliteYouthBasketball (@NikeEYB) July 15, 2025
Here's a link to the Peach Jam schedule in the 17U division. Below, I'll note the record of every team, and the key players for Orange fans to watch.
Team Takeover (14-1)
Jordan Smith Jr., 2026 five-star shooting guard, holds offer, has visited
Qayden Samuels, 2026 five-star wing, holds offer
Vegas Elite (10-5)
Maximo Adams, 2026 four-star small forward, holds offer, wants to visit
Team Why Not (10-5)
Christian Collins, 2026 five-star forward, holds offer
Arizona Unity (9-6)
Aliou Dioum, 2026 four-star center, holds offer
Miles Sadler, 2026 four-star point guard, holds offer
Rokiem Green, 2026 four-star guard, holds offer
Paul Osaruyi, 2027 five-star big man, holds offer
Team Durant (8-7)
Baba Oladotun, 2027 five-star forward, holds offer
Anthony Brown Jr., 2026 four-star point guard, holds offer, has visited
Drive Nation (9-6)
Dakari Spear, 2026 four-star shooting guard, holds offer
City Rocks (7-8)
MJ Madison 2026 four-star power forward, holds offer, wants to visit
Renaissance Hoops (12-3)
Anderson Diaz, 2027 four-star point guard, holds offer
By the way, later this week and into the weekend is another NCAA-allowed live period, so I'll keep tabs on which prospects are being watched by Syracuse basketball coaches.