This past weekend I attended the Battle of The Brands Tournament hosted by Clyde Jackson at the Den Sports Facility. This was an opportunity to see a majority of the talent in Houston (Texas) in one building, as it was a quality evaluation weekend.

One of the main 2026 (rising senior) prospects in attendance was 4-Star 6-foot-5 guard Jacob Lanier of Gulf Coast Blue Chips via FAB 50 No. 37 DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.).

We did a quick interview with the Maumelle (Ark.) native about his first weekend with his new travel team and also got a recruitment update.

Battle of the Brands Eval

I liked Lanier's poise and control with the ball in his hands. It was a one - two possession contest on Sunday and he kept calm and made the right reads at the end of the game to help his team win it. Lanier found the roll man in the two-man game and located the shooters when he got to the rim. His ability to play off of the ball, make open shots, but also be in the right spots for his teammates to find him, was big-time as well.

Lanier will need to continue to tighten the handle and be able to keep the dribble alive vs. heavy pressure, but I saw how he reads defenses and locates the open man. The upside as a play-maker is high due to his vision and willingness to pass and with a summer of playing heavier on the ball, I think Lanier will impact more games with his passing.

Jabob Lanier: In His Own Words

“The weekend went great… we had two practices before we played and still got two really good wins. First weekend I feel is always the hardest because we all are trying to understand our roles and each other’s games. It’ll just keep getting better from here, so I’m excited.”

Lanier on playing point guard this weekend and being a vocal leader.

“It’s what a PG does. Talking, getting people together, getting guys' energy going. I’ve mainly played the two during the school year, but this season I’ll be playing a lot more on the ball so I’m just trying to do what PG’s do.”

Jacob Lanier Recruitment Talk

Florida State

“Just got an offer from Florida State. They have been recruiting me hard since the staff got the job. I want to visit there at some point. They love my game and think I can contribute offensively in many ways. Ole Miss and Louisville hit me up a lot, too. I let my dad handle the recruiting but those are the top three schools that have been contacting me the most.”

Louisville

“I talked to (assistant) Coach (Ronnie) Hamilton a lot. It was awesome to see Mikel Brown commit. I was there just to see the atmosphere and how Louisville plays. I can see myself fitting in there.”

Ole Miss

“Coach Wes (Flanigan), I’ve been talking to him alot. He talks to me and my dad many times. He’s like family to my family. Also have talked to Coach (Chris) Beard and that went really well.”