2027 No. 1 prospect Bruce Branch III reclassifying to 2026 cycle

Gilbert (Ariz.) Prolific Prep five-star small forward Bruce Branch III, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle, is reclassifying to 2026, Rivals’ Joe Tipton confirms.

The latest top-ranked prospect to speed up his recruiting process, Branch has held strong as the top-ranked junior, but is now beginning what will be his final year of high school hoops.

The offer list is as extensive as expected. After winning two Arizona state championships for Perry, Branch transferred to Prolific Prep, which is now in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Arizona and Arizona State have both offered, as have the likes of Texas, Virginia, USC, Tennessee, Kansas, Louisville, Houston and Indiana.

The 6-foot-7, 185-pounder has continued to draw heavy praise from Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw:

“Bruce Branch III holds serve as the No. 1 overall player in the 2027 Rivals150 for the second consecutive update. The 6-foot-7 wing at Fort Lauderdale (FL) Prolific Prep has a do-it-all game, and while still putting the pieces together, his skill set is quite apparent,” Shaw wrote last month.

“As we have mentioned previously, this class is wide open at the top. We are still early in this recruiting cycle, with only three updates (four total rankings) in. The last update, in July, when we moved Branch to the No. 1 spot, there was not really much of a discussion with that move.”

Another No. 1 recruit reclassifies

Branch joins the growing trend of top-ranked prospects who opt to reclassify up a cycle. Cooper Flagg sped his process up a year and is already dominating as a rookie for the Dallas Mavericks after a year at Duke.

AJ Dybantsa was originally in the 2025 cycle, went up to the 2026 class but then reclassified back to 2025 before inking with BYU. He’s already making his presence felt in Provo.

“This is my original class, I just wasn’t ready to play with these guys yet, and then once I grew into my body and once I got a strength coach, I was like ‘I’m ready to go back up,’” Dybantsa said.

Earlier this week, 2026 five-star small forward Baba Oladotun committed to Maryland — he too was formerly in the 2027 cycle and now ranks as the No. 7 overall prospect this cycle.