With numerous unsigned prospects in Arizona's 2026 Class now looking to make decisions on college programs for next season, and with the looming NCAA Transfer Portal making it difficult for high school prospects to get any opportunity for recruitment, Dream City Christian Prep's promising 6-foot-11 senior Atuka Bakhtadze has found a Division-I college home. Bakhtadze announced this week that he has decided to give a verbal commitment to University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) and new Head Coach Mark Turgeon and his staff.
Bakhtadze was among the elite prospects available this spring in Arizona's 2026 Class, making his commitment a significant pickup for the UMKC program. His decision adds to a growing list of talented players in the state's 2026 Class who have committed or signed with Division-I programs this year, as the state of Arizona has become a recruiting hotbed for basketball talent.
Standing at 6-11, Bakhtadze is a long and athletic frontcourt prospect with tremendous upside. He runs the floor extremely well for his size, shows fluid movement, and possesses a very good overall skill level that continues to develop. His combination of size, mobility, and skill makes him an intriguing long-term prospect with the tools to impact the game on both ends of the floor.
This past season, Bakhtadze was a key contributor for Dream City Christian Prep, one of the top prep school programs in the country and a member of the highly competitive Nike EYBL Scholastic League. Competing at that level has provided him with valuable experience against elite national competition, helping accelerate his development and prepare him for the Division-I level.
Head coach Kyle Weaver and his staff at Dream City Christian have done an outstanding job building the program into a national powerhouse, consistently producing college-level talent and providing players like Bakhtadze with the exposure and development needed to succeed. That environment has played a major role in shaping Bakhtadze into the prospect he is today.
For UMKC, this is a big-time addition. Landing a player with Bakhtadze’s size, potential, and background is a strong move for the program as it continues to build within the Summit League. His international background, combined with high-level prep experience in the United States, gives him a unique foundation that could allow him to develop into a very impactful player over time.
Bakhtadze still has plenty of room to grow, but that’s exactly what makes him so intriguing. With extreme upside as a player, continued physical development, and more experience at the college level, he has the potential to become a major force in the future.
