Previewing the MSU Basketball Recruiting Class of 2026: C, Ethan Taylor

On its website, Link states that it is a “premier boarding school for grades 9-12 in Branson, MO,” and that it specializes in “redeeming culture through high-level academics and sports.”  Link Academy is a program under Kanakuk Ministries, one of the largest Christian camp organizations in the United States. Kanakuk provides the primary financial backing for Link, including use of their facilities in Branson.

Link lists an annual high school tuition amount of $65,000.  However, most elite recruits are effectively on full athletic scholarships and are funded by the general operating revenue of Kanakuk Ministries and private donors.

In researching this article, it didn’t become completely clear if Link enrolled non-athletes but the roughly 50-60 students who make up the Academy’s four basketball teams (described below) are believed to represent the vast majority, if not the entire, student body.

Basketball at Link

Although the MaxPreps high school sports site seems to indicate that Link may be adding a girls basketball team, boys basketball is currently the only sport shown on Link’s athletic department page.

The boys basketball program at Link is composed of four teams:

• An elite high school boys team that competes at the top level of high school basketball and plays a national schedule.  This is the team that Medlock Jr. and Taylor were on.
• Two post-grad programs – one that travels nationally and consistently ranks in the top 10 and another that competes regionally.
• The more recent addition of a JV/developmental team.

Link is not bound by a traditional state high school athletic association (like the Michigan’s MHSAA) and operates as hybrid independent when it comes to scheduling%20%2F%2F%20Branson%2C%20MO).  Their schedule consists primarily of national showcase events, games against Mid-Atlantic Prep League opponents, and the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).  Link played 31 games in the 2025-2026 season and finished with a 26-5 record.  Fifteen of those were EYBL games, where Link finished 11-4.

It’s important to note here that the EYBL refers to the scholastic league and not the EYBL summer circuit where players represent regional club teams (like “The Family” or “Indy Heat”) where games are more fast-paced and high-scoring.  Defense is prioritized more in the scholastic league and it might be categorized as a more disciplined style of play.

It’s also important to note that Taylor spent only his senior year at Link.  He is originally from the Kansas City, KS area and began his high school career there.  This article focuses almost entirely on Taylor’s performance in EYBL games while he was at Link Academy, where stats and information proved to be the most readily available. This also hopefully provides a good indication of Taylor’s production against elite competition.

The Link high school team is led by head coach Chad Myers, who is aided by three assistants and a strength and conditioning coach.  Other than one season as an assistant at New Mexico State (2022-2023, when the Aggies’ season ended when the university suspended the program for off-court issues), Myers has coached in prep school and is considered one of the top coaches in the country at this level.

Prior to the ill-fated season at NMSU, Myers coached at Massanutten Military Academy (VA), Elev8 Academy (FL), and IMG Academy (FL), where he posted a 55-4 record.  Myers moved to Link after the brief run as an assistant at New Mexico State.

As the following information will hopefully help reinforce, Myers isn’t running a traditional high school program at Link.  The good news for MSU, Medlock Jr., and Taylor is that a player coming out of Myers’ program probably won’t be shocked by the intensity of a Big Ten practice, even one run by Tom Izzo.

Link’s website boasts 58 current NCAA Division I players and 8 professionals (either in the NBA and overseas).  Notable Link alums include:

• Tre Johnson.  Class of 2024. Texas; SEC Freshman of the Year.
• Labaron Philon.  2024.  Alabama; SEC All-Freshman team.
• Ja’Kobe Walter.  2023.  Baylor; 19th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.
• Elliott Cadeau.  2023.  North Carolina & Michigan.
• Jordan Walsh.  2022.  Boston Celtics.
• Julian Phillips.  2022.  Chicago Bulls.
• Tarris Reed Jr.  2022.  Michigan & UConn.
• Mason Jones.  2017.  LA Lakers.

Reed, who Spartan fans will remember as one of the key pieces on the UConn team that knocked MSU out of the 2026 NCAA tournament, offers this testimonial on his time at Link:

“I’ve got to thank Link Academy for last year (my senior year). I felt that really prepared me for this college lifestyle on and off the court. Coming in here, I was prepared. It was the best of both worlds — academics and basketball wise — trying to manage your time, build better habits and depend on your habits to carry you throughout the day. You have to go to class right after practice when you’re tired, then go to another class, study hall sessions with tutors, then you have to do it all over again the next day. It was challenging at first, but I see myself getting used to it now.”

In addition to Medlock Jr. and Taylor, at least four other class of 2026 Link players have signed with D1 teams:

• Luca Foster, SF, Gonzaga
• Tajh Ariza, SF, Oregon
• Trent Perry, SF, Kansas
• Tristan Reed, C, Mississippi State

It appears that Taylor and Reed split time at the center position this past season so let’s next look at that comparison.

Taylor at Link

On his 247Sports page, Taylor is listed at 7’-0” tall and 244 pounds.  However, in his video where he commits to MSU, Taylor indicated that he was still growing and is approaching 7’-2”.  The 247Sports composite rankings showed Taylor as a 5-star prospect, ranked as the 30th best player nationally, the best player in Missouri, and #3 center nationally with a composite grade of .9885.

Meanwhile Reed is listed at 6’-9” and 230 pounds.  The 247 composites had him as a 4-star prospect, ranked 65th nationally, 5th in Missouri, and the #6 center nationally with a .9756 composite grade.  247Sports provides a highlight video for Reed:

View Link

Taylor played in all 15 of Link’s EYBL games this past season while Reed played in nine, apparently because of a minor lower-body injury with which the Link staff was cautious.  Here is how their stat lines compare:

This table shows Taylor’s stat line for each game in 2025-2026 EYBL play:

• The box score link for Link Academy’s January 17 game against Monteverde was broken so no stats are shown for that game.

Additionally, the Nike EYBL games follow the standard high school game length of 32 minutes, spread over four 8-minute quarters and utilize a 30-second shot clock.

The chart above indicates that Taylor started 10 games (maybe 11 if he started the Monteverde game) for Link this past season and generally saw his playing time increase starting with the January 29 win against La Lumiere.

Then, however, Taylor only saw 10 minutes of action in Link’s March 13 playoff loss to Spire Academy that ended their EYBL season.  Taylor’s role then decreased further when Link concluded their season at the Chipotle Nationals, an invitational tournament held in early April.

Perhaps similar to the College Football Playoff, selection for the Chipotle Nationals is done by a committee which considers national rankings, strength of schedule, and, possibly, “star power”.  Additionally, not all states allow their high schools to play past their state championship tournaments so this “national” title can be restricted to independent schools like Link or high schools in states with more flexible post-season rules.

Link entered the Chipotle Nationals as the 10-seed this year and was knocked in the quarterfinals – their second game of the tournament.  Here are Taylor’s stat lines from the Chipotle tournament that confirm his decreased role compared to much of the EYBL season:

It’s unclear exactly why Taylor’s role decreased but it’s possible that his size was actually a negative factor here.  If, for example, Wasatch and Dynamic played small-ball with a 5-man who could shoot and draw Taylor away from the basket then Link could have opted for a smaller lineup with an additional guard or small forward more adept at guarding the perimeter.

As Taylor saw fewer minutes, Reed did see his role increase in Link’s last three games of the season.  Reed played 20 minutes and scored 8 points with 4 rebounds before fouling out in Link’s loss to Spire Academy in the EYBL playoffs.  Then, at Chipotle, Reed saw 18 minutes of action while scoring 5 points with 6 boards and recording a +14 in Link’s opening round win against Wasatch.  However, in the loss to Dynamic, Reed only played 9 minutes, scoring 6 and adding 3 rebounds with a +9.

Regardless of the reason, if Taylor accepted a reduced role without venting frustration, it could speak to the culture fit that Izzo clearly values.  Further, Taylor was named to the USA Nike Hoop Summit team which perhaps indicates how scouts view him as a long-term prospect.

Taylor’s primary task at Link appeared to have been controlling the paint on both ends of the floor, as indicated in this feature from Sports Stars of Tomorrow:

On the offensive end, Taylor doesn’t necessarily have to score to have a positive effect. His presence alone could draw a lot of defensive attention and free up opportunities for his teammates.

Link head coach Chad Myers says of Taylor:

“Ethan Taylor’s size is enormous and I think one of his great skills is protecting the rim and also his passing ability.”

Taylor adds this perspective:

“My strengths as a player, I try to get my entire team involved whenever I have the ball.  I play as hard as I can.  I try and play as aggressive as I can. I definitely want to improve my tenacity, improve my offensive skillset, and improve my motor and just be a dog on the court.”

As far as playing for Izzo, Taylor says:

“Pretty excited.  Tom Izzo is a great coach.  He’s a legend, Hall of Fame coach.  So I feel like I can learn a lot from him.  I feel like he can push me to be the best I want to be. He can get me places that I want to get to.”

Izzo and staff will hopefully look to develop Taylor’s scoring game in a similar fashion to that of Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, and certainly his free throw shooting is going to need a tremendous amount of work.

We’ll wrap this all up with a couple of video clips of Taylor at Link, which hopefully hint at the impact he might have at MSU this year and beyond.  Both of these clips were taken from CBS Sports when Taylor committed to MSU.

Early in this first video, we see some quickness in the offensive post and a bit of an edge from Taylor in talking back to his defender. Later, also on the offensive end, Taylor doesn’t shy away from contact as he works to score inside.

View Link

In the second video, we see a bit more of Taylor’s passing ability in addition to more offensive work on the block and rim protection on the defensive end:

View Link

Steve concluded his article about Julius Avent by asking how big of a role he would have in year one. This seems like an equally good question for Taylor. Where does he fit in with Anton Bonke and Jesse McCulloch? How much of an impact will he have this season? Will we see him early in the year against lesser-known opponents and then less so in conference games? Or will Taylor meet the moment and carve out a steady role for himself throughout the season?

Sources

• Link Academy website
• Sports Illustrated 2023 article on Link Academy%20and%20a%20third%20in,from%20high%20school%20to%20college)
• On3 high school profile for Link Academy
• NEPSB profile for Link Academy
• Kanakuk Ministries
• Link Academy Athletic Department
• Link Academy Basketball hybrid schedule%20%2F%2F%20Branson%2C%20MO)
• 2022-2023 New Mexico State Men’s Basketball team Wikipedia page
• Chad Myers NMSU bio page
• Chad Myers Championship Productions bio page
• Ethan Taylor MSU commitment video
• Tristan Reed highlight video
• Nike EYBL 2025-2026 team stats – Link Academy
• ESPN 2026 Chipotle Nationals Release
• Hamilton County Sports Authority Chipotle Nationals Release
• Sports Illustrated 2026 Chipotle Nationals Bracket Release
• On3 2026 Chipotle Nationals Tournament Schedule
• Chipotle Nationals Tournament Information and Results
• Ethan Taylor USA Basketball page
• Sports Stars of Tomorrow featuring Ethan Taylor
• Ethan Taylor commits to MSU – CBS Sports video