By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Class of 2026 four-star guard Imahri Wooten has been hearing from the likes of Auburn, Colorado, Missouri, Syracuse and Texas A&M since the contact period opened on June 15, he told ZAGSBLOG.
Wooten — the 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard from Putnam Science Academy (CT) and the City Rocks Nike EYBL AAU program — is one of the best shooters in the 2026 class. Playing up an age group at Peach Jam, Wooten shot 10-of-30 from 3-point range and made three plus shots from deep in two out of five games.
“I’m a good shooter and I get my teammates open,” Wooten said of his game. “I’m just really a good teammate and I can play defense. But definitely being able to shoot for my size [makes me unique].”
For the five-game tournament, Wooten finished with averages of 8.8 points and 1.2 rebounds while playing 17.0 minutes per contest. His best game came against Team Strive For Greatness, where Wooten scored 18 points and hit four treys.
“Imahri’s game is easy to play with,” City Rocks point guard Keyshuan Tillery said. “He’s a teammate who takes criticism the right way every time. His attitude on the court is locked in and about business. Off the court, he’s the funniest teammate I’ve ever had. He makes everyone laugh and has a good bond with them all. He’s a player who can score the ball and defend.”
Wooten broke down some of the schools involved below:
Auburn: “I just like Auburn, the program. Hopefully I’ll take a visit there soon, so yeah.” Hearing from assistant coach Ira Bowman.
Colorado: “They reach out to me a lot so I know they’re definitely like interested in me by how they’re reaching out to me a lot. [Tad Boyle], he was telling me like that they put like a couple guys in the NBA this year. It makes me think that I could be one of those players.”
Missouri: “Actually my dad coached in college at Eastern Michigan, and one of his assistant coaches coaches there right now. So I have a close bond with him at Missouri.” The coach is assistant Matt Cline.
Syracuse: “I went on an unofficial to Syracuse but no other schools. It was good. It was short, but it was good. We just like walked around like the gym, and then I watched the practice. And then he [Adrian Autry] just talked to me in his office for a little.”
Thoughts on the program: “It’s close to home. So I know my parents might get to come to my games. I already have a connection with the head coach, so yeah.”
Texas A&M: “They’ve just been reaching out to me a lot. We haven’t really been able to like talk because they just started to be able to speak to me June 15th. So we haven’t talked about that much, but yeah, just reaching out to me a lot.”
Wooten posted an offer from Rutgers after Peach Jam.
When choosing a program, Wooten is looking for coaches who build good relationships with players.
“Not just strictly business,” Wooten said. “Schools that have fun and schools that play together.”
Wooten is ranked the No. 87 overall prospect in the 2026 class by 247Sports. He has a lot of basketball connections in the family. His mother, Michelle Massey-Wooten, played basketball at Syracuse, as well as his aunt Malani Massey. His uncle, Kevin Simmons, spent the last two years of his college career at UNLV.
An interesting fact about Wooten is he’s played the saxophone for about five years now.
“I played in a band at first and I play in church right now,” Wooten said.
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