Southwest Florida high school boys basketball teams haven’t had much luck winning state championships. Only one squad from Lee and Collier counties, Fort Myers in 2010, has ever claimed the ultimate prize.
But it hasn’t been for lack of talent.
That’s what made selecting the top 25 boys basketball players of the past 25 seasons such a challenge. To be eligible for this list, a player had to be on a Southwest Florida high school team for at least one season between 2001-02 and 2025-26 and have graduated from an area high school. Consideration was given not only to how they performed at the high school level but also to their college and, in some cases, professional basketball resumes.
Here are our selections, presented in alphabetical order.
Reed Baker, Bishop Verot
A two-time The News-Press Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006, Baker averaged 20.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals with the Vikings. He became the first Bishop Verot player to score 1,500 career points and left as the program’s all-time leader in points and assists. Baker played one season at Michigan before transferring to FGCU. He also played basketball professionally in Turkey, Thailand, and Canada.
Trent Buttrick, Community School of Naples
The 6-foot-8 forward was the Naples Daily News Player of the Year as a senior in 2017 when he averaged 18.1 points and 10.8 rebounds. He had 17 double-doubles and owns the team’s single-game rebounding (23) and career rebounding record. Buttrick, who averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds as a junior, played at Penn State for four years and finished up at UMass-Amherst, where he averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.4 rpg. He has played in Europe since 2022.
Caleb Catto, SFCA
The 6-foot-5 junior guard was the catalyst for a King’s team that reached its first state semifinal in 2017. He averaged 21 points, 4.5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, winning Player of the Year honors. As a senior, Catto capped his high school career by averaging 27.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2 steals per game. He played a record 148 games and 4,183 minutes over five seasons at FGCU, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
Deion Clark, Barron Collier
Clark won back-to-back Naples Daily News Player of the Year awards in 2011 and 2012 while playing for his father, former NBA player Carlos Clark. The 6-4 guard averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game as a senior when he won the SFABC Mr. Basketball Award and signed with Old Dominion.
Ricky Doyle, Bishop Verot
The 6-foot-9 Doyle won the 2014 News-Press Player of the Year after leading all Lee County players in scoring – 24.8 points per game – while shooting 70 percent from the floor. He went on to play at Michigan and FGCU.
Bernard Edwards Jr., Lehigh
Edwards, who finished his college career at Nova Southeastern University, made a couple of News-Press All-Area First Team appearances, including in 2014 when he was a Player of the Year finalist, after scoring 1,827 career points. During his senior season, he averaged 22 points, five assists, and nearly four steals a game.
Robert Ferguson, Mariner
As a senior in 2003, the 6-foot-8 forward was The News-Press Player of the Year, the state’s Class 5A player of the year, and finished fourth in Florida’s Mr. Basketball voting after leading the Tritons to a 28-2 record and the regional finals. Ferguson averaged 21.4 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 69% from the field. He played four seasons at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and was named to the All-Big 5 second team as a senior after averaging 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds. He finished his collegiate career with 1,258 career points. Ferguson played professionally in Europe for 13 seasons, mostly in Germany.
Kendrec Ferrara, Mariner
The 6-foot-9 forward was The News-Press Player of the Year as a senior in 2012, leading the Tritons to a 24-7 record and their first district championship in nine seasons. Ferrara averaged a team-high 16.9 points and 10.9 rebounds and set single-season team records for field goal percentage (62%) and blocked shots (158). He played four seasons at Furman, averaging 6.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and a blocked shot per game.
Evin Graham, Fort Myers
The two-time News-Press Player of the Year led the Greenies to Lee County’s only state championship in 2010 when he averaged 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. The 6-foot-3 point guard followed that up with a senior season where he put up 20 points, nearly nine rebounds, close to 5 assists, and 3 steals a night. Graham started his college career at Jacksonville University before finishing at Palm Beach Atlantic.
Tony Green, Naples
The 6-foot-6 forward was named the Naples Daily News Player of the Year as a junior in 2020 after averaging 20.2 points, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot per game as the Golden Eagles reached the state semifinals for the first time in 29 years. As a senior, Green averaged 23 points and 8 rebounds a game. He played at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and Connors (Okla.) State College where as a redshirt sophomore in 2023-24, Green averaged 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Garrett Hull, Naples
The 6-foot-4 guard was named the Naples Daily News Player of the Year as a senior in 2004 after averaging 28.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game. He earned a scholarship to Florida Southern and played all four years at the Division II college.
Rodney Hunter, Mariner
The guard was a mainstay on the All-Area First Team squad, culminating with a 2015 Player of the Year finalist selection his senior season where he became the fifth player from Lee County to eclipse the 2,000-point mark. He put up 20 points and nearly seven rebounds a night in his final varsity season. Hunter played in 65 games over four seasons at Columbia University, averaging 1.7 points per game.
Dwayne Jackson, Mariner
The 6-foot-4 guard was named first-team all-state as a senior in 2002 after averaging 30 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds per game for the Tritons. Jackson played at Hillsborough Community College before transferring to Charleston Southern, where he played two seasons, averaging 11.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Pat Johnson, Gateway Charter
The 6-foot-8 forward was named the Southwest Florida Player of the Year in 2024 as a junior after posting 22 double-doubles and averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Griffins advanced to their first-ever regional final. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds a game this season as a freshman at NAIA Georgia Gwinnett.
Berrick Jean-Louis, Lehigh/Canterbury
The high-flying 2018 News-Press Player of the Year produced a senior season where he put up 17.6 points, 7 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game as Canterbury finished 24-8 and reached the state championship for the first time in school history. Jean-Louis played collegiately at New Mexico State, Florida SouthWestern, and Iona, where he was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and a steal per game. He played professionally in Greece.
Lance Kearse, Fort Myers
The 6-foot-6 forward was named The News-Press Player of the Year in 2007 after averaging an area-best 23.5 points per game along with 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2.2 blocks. Kearse played at Virginia Commonwealth and Division II Eckerd College where he was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 16.2 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Robinson Louisme, Fort Myers
The 6-foot-8 forward was named The News-Press Player of the Year as a senior in 2004 after averaging 15.9 points and an area-best 11.3 rebounds per game as the Green Wave went 21-6 and reached the regional finals. Louisme played four years at Tulane University, averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game
Mark Matthews, Fort Myers
Matthews was the 2015 News-Press Player of the Year after averaging 25 points and 9 rebounds during his senior season. He joined Mariner’s Rodney Hunter in the 2,000-career point club in the same season. Matthews was a Division II All-American at Nova Southeastern in 2020, averaging 22 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 62% from the field. He played professionally in Portugal.
Larry McClinton, Cypress Lake
The 6-foot-3 guard was named The News-Press Player of the Year as a junior in 2001 after averaging 17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. He finished his prep career as Cypress Lake’s all-time leading scorer with 1,736 points.
Javian McCollum, Fort Myers
A two-time Southwest Florida Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, McCollum went on to play collegiately at Siena, Oklahoma, and Georgia Tech. He finished his college career with 1,227 points. McCollum is now playing professionally overseas.
Jeff Merton, Seacrest/Community School of Naples
The 6-6 forward started his varsity career at Seacrest before transferring to Community School for his final two seasons, winning Naples Daily News Player of the Year awards in 2013 and 2104 at CSN. As a junior, Merton led the Seahawks to a 28-3 record and to the state semifinals. He averaged 21.4 points as a sophomore, 16.8 as a junior, and 18.6 as a senior. He finished with 2,635 points in five seasons and played at Rollins College.
Anthony Paez, Lehigh
The 6-foot-7 forward was The News-Press Player of the Year in 2002 after leading the Lightning to a 20-8 record and a district championship. He averaged 22.6 points and 11.2 rebounds, finishing as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,708 points. Paez played two seasons at Central Florida Community College where he scored 1,030 points, third on the program’s all-time scoring list, and was an All-American. In two years at Stephen F. Austin, he started 56 games, averaging 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Paez played professionally in Europe.
Mason Taylor, Bishop Verot
The 2013 News-Press Player of the Year played most of his senior season without star center Ricky Doyle, scoring 23.4 points per game. He left Verot as the all-time leader in rebounds with 639 and second on the all-time scoring list with 1,449 points.
Jacob Tracey, SFCA/Mariner/Riverdale
The 6-foot-4 guard was named The News-Press Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2016 after averaging 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists per game and leading the Raiders to their first district championship since 1988. He played at Indian River Community College and Lindenwood University.
Joey Woods, Naples/Golden Gate
The 6-foot-3 point guard was named the Naples Daily News Player of the Year as a junior in 2006 after averaging 15.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals and leading the Titans to a district championship. He finished his varsity career with more than 1,000 points. Woods played collegiately at Bethune-Cookman and Upper Iowa University and professionally overseas.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Southwest Florida’s top 25 boys basketball players of past 25 years