Why multiple high-level hoops recruits are committing to this new KC prep program
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- Monarch Academy said its inaugural season will begin this fall in Kansas City, Kansas.
- Monarch will play on the Nike EYBL Scholastic circuit against top national prep programs.
- Monarch roster includes four 2027 prospects ranked in the top 150, including Jaxson Davis.
A new high school basketball academy is coming to the greater Kansas City Area, and it’s bringing high-level talent along for the ride.
On Thursday morning, KC-based Monarch Academy announced via social media that its inaugural season will be held this fall in Kansas City, Kansas.
The program is collaborating with TPH Academy and HomeField Kansas City to provide its student-athletes with a combination of pro-level strength and conditioning training, exposure to colleges across the country and “NCAA-certified coursework.”
The team will compete on the Nike EYBL Scholastic circuit, a league that pits a collection of the country’s premier prep schools — including Branson’s Link Academy — against each other to crown a champion.
In their pursuit of that goal, the Monarchs have already recruited four players who are ranked in the top 150 among the class of 2027.
The group is headlined by two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year Jaxson Davis, who is a consensus four-star recruit and is now the highest-ranked player in Kansas, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot guard holds offers from Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa and Indiana.
Joining him is another Illinois native and University of Illinois commit, Quinton Kitt, who led the East Peoria Raiders to the Class 3A State Sectional Finals in the spring.
Davis and Kitt are flanked by former Link Academy wing Cameron Barnes, who has offers from Kansas State, Missouri and Oklahoma State, and three-star guard Avery Huston, who has offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Illinois Chicago.
The Monarch program is led by coaches and administrators with deep roots in the area.
Chris Neff is the academy’s inaugural head coach. He brings more than two decades of head-coaching experience and 400-plus career victories to the program.
Most recently, Neff led Staley High School to a Missouri Class 6 State Championship in 2023 following three state final four appearances with Lafayette.
Neff is also well-known on the grassroots hoops circuit. He led MOKAN Elite to Nike EYBL Peach Jam championships in 2016, 2019 and 2022. During that time, he coached and helped develop several future NBA players, including Trae Young, Michael Porter Jr., Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun.
Overseeing basketball operations is veteran coach Rodney Perry, who brings more than 30 years of coaching experience across the high school, collegiate, professional and AAU levels.
Perry has served as a head coach at six different stops, including Avila University, Link Academy and MOKAN Elite, while also spending time on the staffs at Oral Roberts, UMKC and, most recently, Kansas State (2022-26).
The coaching staff also includes assistant coaches Marquis Addison, Grant Hurst and Justin Whatley. Addison starred at Olathe South before playing collegiately at Missouri Southern State and spending a decade playing professionally overseas. Hurst and Whatley each played five years of college basketball at the mid-major and high-major levels.
With a roster already featuring multiple nationally ranked prospects and a coaching staff loaded with championship experience, Monarch Academy enters its first season aiming to establish itself as not only one of the premier prep basketball programs in the Midwest, but the entire country.