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Ashton Pierce, the No. 145 recruit in the Class of 2026 (according to On3's Industry Rankings), led North Mecklenburg High School to the State Championship Game of the 2025 NCHSAA Men's Basketball Championships after helping his team defeat Chambers 64-56 on Wednesday.
In the highlights uploaded by the famous basketball page, Ballislife, on Instagram, Pierce was seen doing it all on the offensive end, converting 3-pointers and getting work done in the paint.
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Except for the Regional game, Pierce's North Mecklenburg won all their previous games in the tournament by a blowout margin. In Round 1 on Feb. 25, the Vikings faced Mallard and won the game 68-51 to enter the second round.
They secured a 90-50 win against Davie in the second round on Feb. 28 and defeated Washington 94-57 in the third round on Mar. 4. The fourth round saw them seal an 84-48 victory over Watauga, after which they defeated Chambers.
The Vikings will now go up against New Hanover for the State Championship game on Saturday.
Pierce has led his school to an impressive 29-3 overall and an unbeaten 14-0 record in the North Carolina Section 3A/4A Queen City Basketball League, where they sit above Chambers, Hopewell and Mallard Creeks.
According to ESPN, Pierce is a four-star recruit who ranks at the 24th spot in the shooting guard position, 45th in his region and ninth in his state. He has also been given an 82 Scout Grade. However, On3's Industry rankings put him at the ninth spot in his position and tenth in North Carolina.
Which program leads the race to sign Ashton Pierce?
According to On3, Ashton Pierce has received interest from seven programs so far. These include Old Dominion, Hampton, University of North Carolina Wilmington, VCU, North Carolina A&T, Wake Forest and High Point.
While the Class of 2026 recruit still has another year to decide on his collegiate basketball career, the publisher's recruitment prediction machine states that High Point leads the race to sign the guard. They have a 19.5% prediction of landing Pierce, followed by Wake Forest with a 17.1% chance and North Carolina A&T with a 14.6% probability.
VCU, Hampton, North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion have a 12.2% chance of signing Pierce each.
Which program would Ashton Pierce choose?
