In recent news and almost shocking, Arizona Preps learned about the transfer of Sunnyslope High School's sharp-shooting and skilled 6-foot sophomore guard John Mattingly. Mattingly has decided to withdraw from Sunnyslope High School and now has enrolled at Central High School, where he will now play his junior season. This news definitely came as a huge surprise to our staff and the Arizona basketball community, as Mattingly seemed to be having tremendous success as a player for Head Coach Ray Portela and his staff.
This is a big loss for the Sunnyslope basketball program, although they will still be fine. The program is absolutely loaded with top-notch talent from top to bottom, although it is still very young. Mattingly was the catalyst for the team, as a result of his shooting prowess and simply ability to play the game. When he was aggressive offensively in leading the Slope offense, they were very tough to beat. Now the program's young talent will need to step up their individual play to lead the Vikings, while Mattingly will look to lead the Central offense now, and should put up tremendous numbers in the process.
Mattingly made his stamp on the Sunnyslope team as a mere freshman starter, and is regarded among the elite guards prospects in the state. Mattingly has been regarded as one of the elite overall prospects in Arizona's 2026 Class for some time, after a storied middle school and club career before entering the high school varsity ranks. When he stepped onto the varsity scene as a freshman starter, it was like riding a bike for Mattingly, as he stepped right in and began turning in top performances for Sunnyslope Head Coach Ray Portela. Mattingly averaged impressive numbers during his freshman season, as he helped lead the team to a runner-up finish for the Open Division State Championship. Mattingly averaged 14.3 points, 4.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per/contest as a freshman point guard.
This past season, Mattingly returned to lead a much more talented team than his freshman season, and helped lead the Vikings to an 20-7 overall record on the season, and our #3 overall team ranking in the state. Mattingly averaged 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.7 steals per/game this season as a sophomore.
Joinging Mattingly in the transfer to Central will also be 5-foot-8 sophomore guard Dom Rojas, while Mattingly's younger brother, stud 8th grader (2028) Grant Mattingly will also be joining him.
Mattingly is one of the state's top overall guard prospects and one of my top overall prospects in Arizona's very strong 2026 Class. He is set to still have a terrific high school career, and I look forward to seeing which college programs continue to get involved with him as his college recruitment continues to take shape, but now at Central High School.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Mattingly is an excellent guard prospect for college programs to begin recruiting early in the process, as he has an excellent feel for the game - one of the best I have ever seen. He possesses an excellent shooting stroke with a very quick release and unlimited range. Every shot he takes looks like it is going in. He is also a strong ball handler and can get to where he wants on the floor, although his quickness is deceiving. He plays with a high level of confidence and makes his teammates better, as a result of his playmaking skills. He is an excellent passer that sees the floor, and pushes the basketball up the court. He can be a floor general or a strong scorer of the basketball, when he decides to. Mattingly is as fundamentally sound a prospect as there is in the state of Arizona, and he has a bright future ahead of him.
