“We Are So Back” – A Full-Time Hoops 2029 Class Primer
- Aaron Burgin
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
After a season that saw San Diego have its least impactful freshman class in at least three years, there’s one thing that can be said about the Class of 2029.
Yeah, they’re back.
This year’s crop of freshmen could have an immediate impact on the San Diego hoops landscape, from small schools to Open Division contenders.
Who are the names to know now? Who are the names to know later? What schools have the deepest freshmen groups?
Let’s introduce you to San Diego’s Class of 2029.
Who is at the top of the class?
One of the reasons why this class has a lot of anticipation is because it has a number of players who dominated at the middle school ranks both regionally and beyond San Diego.
No player exemplifies this more than St. Augustine G Kiefer Johnson, who enters his freshman year as one of the very best eighth grade guards on the West Coast. Johnson might have the most name cachet of any of the freshmen, and figures to get an opportunity to crack the Saints rotation early.
His travel ball teammate on the San Diego Soldiers, 6-6 F Will Spurgiesz (left), also enters his freshman year at St. Augustine with name recognition after a strong eighth grade year anchoring a Soldiers team that was ranked nationally for most of the past two years. Spurgiesz, however, will likely have to wait a little longer to be a contributor with the Saints, but he’s an undeniable talent, as evidenced by his co-MVP performance at the 3P Creme of the County in September.
Another product of the San Diego Soldiers tree, 6-2 San Marcos G CJ Johnson has size, savvy and court vision to pair with his midrange scoring instincts and a creative finishing package.
Mission Bay, which is no stranger to top prospects, has an excellent prospect in 6-4 SG Romeo Flores, who is a dynamic scorer and one of the top jump shooters on the West Coast in his class.
The class also has a pair of guards who have established themselves during the fall as impressive players and prospects in their own right in Cathedral Catholic’s Anthony Ali Nayab and Francis Parker’s Kamran Shirazi.
Nayab, a 5-8 playmaker, had stellar performances at the prestigious Border League in Las Vegas and at the Lamont Smith Fall Showcase in San Diego in September, and was also a top performer playing up a grade on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit with Gamepoint. Shirazi made an immediate impact with the Lancers in June during the SDSU Team Camp, and is as deadly a deep shooter as we’ve seen in San Diego, earning MVP honors at the COTC.
6-2 La Jolla Country Day W Egypt Dean (right) enters his freshman year with a lot of promise. The son of R&B Icon Alicia Keys and super producer Swizz Beatz, Dean put on a potent scoring display at the Creme of the County, and will play a significant role for the Torreys.
A pair of dual-sport athletes round out the conversation in 6-1 Mount Miguel G T’Marrion Williams (center) and 6-5 Cathedral Catholic W Blake Baker. Both have tremendous athleticism and physical upside. Williams, who is as decorated a freshman football prospect as we've had in San Diego in some time, is a wiry and cat quick scoring guard, while Baker blends length, above-the-rim athleticism and shooting from the midrange and three in a way we rarely see from wings coming out of SD.
