Although the 2020 travel basketball season was greatly compromised by COVID-19, Coach Drew Mitchell’s 2026 Edmund Sumner Select (ESS) squad forced the nation to take notice, with their outstanding play in big time tournaments. Although Mitchell’s team won only a single tournament, they were consistently still playing late on Sundays. More specifically, they finished in the Final 4 at the MIT; were runner-ups to Houston Hoops at the Maine Stage event; lost in the finals in the Midwest Circuit, and won the Gatorade Invitational. For their effort, ESS was ranked #5 (Coast2Coast) nationally. According to Coach Mitchell, on the season, ESS played close to 120-130 games and lost only about 30 games.
Clearly, ESS is bloated with talent, as at least 5 players are among the top 20 in our most recent rankings. Some of the roster includes: #2 TJ Crumble (6’5”/W/PF/2026/Morland Hills); #3 Braydon Fogle (6’3”/WF/2026/Lexington); James Turner (6’6”/C/2026/Cincinnati); Adam Williams Jr. (5’10”/W/PF/Dayton); Jacariuos Reeves (5’6”/CG/2026/Dayton); Jaylen Mercer (6’2”/PF/2026/Cincinnati); Cash Harvey (5’5”/PG/2026/Northern Ky); Tayllen Kinney (5’6”/CG/2026/Cincinnati); and Scoop Smith (5’4”/PG/2026/Pittsburg, PA). As far as Mitchell is concerned, “…at least 7-8 of his current players will play D-I ball, while everybody on the team will play some level of college ball.” We look forward to catching ESS in action at the 2021 Buckeye Prep Invitational Tournament.
