Mikel Brown Jr. Has Efficient Showing in McDonald's All-American Game

For the first time in several years, fans of the Louisville men's basketball program had a reason to be invested in the McDonald's All-American Game. During the game on Tuesday night, they were treated with a glimpse of what to expect from their top incoming freshman.

Class of 2025 point guard and five-star Cardinals signee Mikel Brown Jr. earned the start for West team, becoming Louisville's first McDonald's All-American since Samuell Williamson in the Class of 2022. By the end of the night, he put together an efficient showing during his on-court time.

Playing 19 minutes, he finished with a game-high five assists, as well as five points on 2-of-4 shooting - including a three-point play after getting fouled. He also logged two rebounds and a steal, helping the West win 105-92 over the East.

The Daytona Beach (Fla.) DME Academy also shined the night before, when he participated in the Sprite JamFest Three-Point Shootout as part of pre-game festivities for the McDonald's All-American Game. Not only did he win the shootout, sinking 24 of his 30 attempts including 5-for5 on money balls, his 28 points set a new record for the event.

Brown is a consensus top-three point guard in the 2025 cycle, and ranks as high as the No. 1 point guard in the nation according to Rivals and the No. 6 prospect overall by 247Sports. He's regarded as the No. 9 prospect in the class per the 247Sports Composite.

With a composite rating of 0.9969, Brown is the second-highest rated prospect to ever commit to Louisville in the modern recruiting era. Samardo Samuels' 0.9985 rating in the Class of 2008 holds the top spot.

Playing for the Cold Hearts in the Overtime Elite during the 2023-24 season, Brown put together a solid campaign, putting up 13.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game during the regular season. During the playoffs, he averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds over six games.

Brown carried that momentum from the Overtime Elite playoffs straight into the summer. Playing for Team Loaded (N.C.) on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, he averaged 23.5 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 11 games. He also helped the USA Basketball's Men's U18 National Team win gold at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, starting all six games and averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

In his lone year for DME Academy, Brown absolutely exploded. Over seven games tracked by MaxPreps, he's averaging 29.6 points, 2.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 62.7 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent on three-point attempts.

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