East Peoria’s Quinton Kitt (23) shoots over Peoria High’s Jacob Duffin Jr. in the first half of their high school basketball game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 at Peoria High School. The Lions defeated the Raiders 65-61. © MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
4-star Illinois commit Quinton Kitt became the next-ranked prospect to announce his transfer to Kansas City Monarch Academy (Mo.). A brand new prep school, the Kansas-based program announced on Thursday its first inaugural season, competing in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
Following the announcement of its formation, the elite prep school will be led by head coach Chriss Neff. Neff initially announced his retirement earlier in the year. During his career, he helped lead Kansas City Staley (Mo.) to an MSHSAA Class 6 title in 2023.
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“Quinton Kitt is leaving East Peoria for prep school. The Illinois commit announced on social media Friday, June 12 that he will play his senior season at Monarch Academy in Kansas City, Missouri.” The Peoria Journal Star revealed. Kitt is departing from East Peoria (Ill.).
During his time with the Raiders, Kitt hit his 1,000 career point milestone as a sophomore. In his junior year, he guided them to their first-ever regional title, putting up 37 points in the 3A regional title against Peoria (Ill.). They would eventually fall in the sectional semi-final to Kankakee (Ill.)
Despite that, Kitt would still have a standout year, averaging 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. He committed to Illinois in 2025, choosing them over offers from Bradley, Northwestern, Toledo, and others early into his recruitment. And he’s not the only potential Illinois commit who will be playing with Monarch Academy next season.
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Jaxson Davis, the 50th-best prospect in the nation according to Rivals Industry Rankings, also announced he’s transferring to Monarch Academy. He currently has offers from Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Kentucky, among others. However, Rivals RPM currently has him projected to land at either Iowa or Illinois.
Alongside the two four-star prospects, four-star forward Cameron Barnes and three-star Avery Huston are also transferring to Monarch Academy ahead of next season. With three four-star prospects, the new Kansas prep school will be looking to establish itself as one of the top schools in the nation with this wave of transfers.
Basketball operations will also be overseen by veteran coach Rodney Perry, who has over thirty years of coaching experience and was most recently on the staff at Kansas State. They will begin their season in the EYBL league in the Fall of 2026. They have not announced any games as of yet.
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