They Chose Jamaica.

There are twenty-three boys on our roster this weekend.

Six are coming directly from Jamaica. Seventeen are from the diaspora.

They will line up under the same flag for the first time in their lives.

Kingston meets Toronto. Mandeville meets Montreal. Montego Bay meets Harlem. May Pen meets Queens. Trelawny meets East Falmouth, Massachusetts.

This weekend, on the floor of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, twenty-three young men of Jamaican descent will represent their country at the inaugural MADE Hoops × FIBA Middle School Global Games — the first-ever middle school basketball world championship.

The story being told this weekend is not about whether we win or lose.

The story is that we are all here.

Six Years to Get to This Sentence

I started P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy in Jamaica six years ago because my mother asked me a question I couldn't answer.

I had been coaching youth basketball for three decades by then — in Canada, then in Phoenix, Arizona. The work was going well. Kids were going to college. Some were going pro. We had a model that worked.

"What about home?" she asked.

I didn't have an answer. So I packed up and went.

For six years we have built the infrastructure that didn't exist on the island. Youth leagues. Camps. AAU teams that travel and compete. Coaching education. Pathways for Jamaican kids — at home and across the diaspora — that did not previously exist.

It has not been glamorous work. Most of it has been invisible.

Springfield is the first time the world will see what we've been building.

"I'll be honest with you — I didn't know if this day would come the way it's coming. I knew we'd get somewhere. I didn't know it would look like six boys from Jamaica standing next to seventeen from the diaspora, all wearing the same jersey, at the Basketball Hall of Fame. That part is bigger than I planned for. And it's exactly what we needed."

— Wayne Dawkins, Global Director, P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy

The Roster Tells the Story

When you read our roster, don't read for heights or rankings. Read for hometowns.

U14 Team: Maliki Payne (Toronto) · Tyler Feanny (Kingston) · Devin Reid (Montreal) · Aedan Clarke (East Falmouth, MA) · Richard Brock (Trelawny) · Malik Boyd (Toronto) · Elijah Henderson (Mandeville) · Maverick Foreman (Harlem) · Jarvis Taylor (Montego Bay) · Jaylen Hall (Montego Bay) · Reishaun Peddy (May Pen) · Aisaiah Burton (Toronto)

U13 Team: Legacy Johnson (Toronto) · Chandler Reid (Oshawa) · Evan Goodridge (Montreal) · Adam Lawrence (Harlem) · Kayden Henderson (Queens) · Kevyon Mitchell (Montreal) · Jonoah Walker (Brampton) · Josiah Moxey (Orlando) · Nevin Campbell (Chicago) · Erial Morrison (Toronto) · Nicholas Lopez (Toronto)

Fourteen cities. One flag.

Six of these boys grew up on the island — playing on outdoor courts in Mandeville, in school gyms in Kingston, on tournament floors in Montego Bay. They didn't have to be convinced to wear Jamaica. They wear it because it's home.

The other seventeen had a conversation with their families. "Should we?" And the answer was always the same. "How could we not?"

Devin Reid is a top-ranked guard out of Montreal. He could have played for Canada. He chose Jamaica.

Aedan Clarke is a 6'4" power forward in East Falmouth, Massachusetts. He could stay in the American system. He chose Jamaica.

Maverick Foreman in Harlem, Adam Lawrence in Harlem, and Kayden Henderson in Queens — three kids from New York — could stay in the New York grassroots circuit straight into the US pipeline. They chose Jamaica.

The diaspora chose to come home.

"What I keep telling these boys — and what I want their parents to hear — is that they didn't have to choose us. They had options. Every one of them. Devin in Montreal, Aedan in Massachusetts, the New York kids — they all had other paths. They picked this one. That tells you something about what their families believe is possible for Jamaica. We owe them everything for that trust."

— Wayne Dawkins

The Players Speak

Tyler Feanny is fourteen years old. He plays shooting guard. He's 6'3" and growing. He has lived his whole life in Kingston, St. Andrew. His mother, Keisha Holness-Feanny, told us when she submitted his application that Tyler is "a talented player with great potential. Being a part of Phase 1 will help develop his skills and give him the exposure so he can represent his country Jamaica at the highest level."

That was the wish. This weekend, that is the reality.

"For Tyler to walk into the Basketball Hall of Fame wearing Jamaica on his chest — I don't have all the words for what that means to our family. He has worked for this since he was eight years old. He has dreamed of representing this country on a big stage. We thought maybe one day. We didn't know it would be this soon."

— Keisha Holness-Feanny, Tyler Feanny's mother

Devin Reid is thirteen years old. He plays point guard. He is one of the top-ranked guards out of Montreal — and at just 5'4", he is one of the youngest players we are bringing to the U14 floor. He could be playing under the Canadian maple leaf this summer. He's wearing the green and gold.

His father, Denburk Reid, told us before the trip: "It is not every day you get an opportunity to represent your country. This is a meaningful opportunity and experience that will last a lifetime."

A father who has watched his son develop in Montreal, knowing that Jamaica is the country that will give him his first international moment — that is what we have built. That is what this academy is for.

"My grandparents are from Manchester. My dad grew up there. When my dad asked me if I wanted to play for Jamaica, I said yes before he finished the question. I want to make my family proud. I want to make my parish proud. I want to show every Jamaican kid in Montreal that we can do this."

— Devin Reid, P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy point guard

Aisaiah Burton is fourteen. He's from Toronto. His grandparents were born in Jamaica. His mother, Chantele Morris, wrote on his application that "Aisaiah would be honoured and takes great pride in representing his heritage. Jamaica has always been known to be a force in sports, and being a part of bridging the gap between the diaspora internationally in basketball would only further stamp that. Representation matters — and he would love to be a part of that."

Representation matters. That is the whole point.

What This Weekend Actually Is

I want to be clear about something before tip-off.

We are going to play three pool games. We will face Mega out of Serbia. We will face Team Ohio. We will face Harper U. Our U13 team will face BABC, Canada Elite, and New Heights. We hope to win. We might. We might not.

Wins and losses are not what this weekend is about.

What this weekend is about: a U13 team representing Jamaica for the first time in our country's history at the middle school level. A U14 team mixing island and diaspora talent on the floor of the Basketball Hall of Fame. The first time a Jamaican flag will be on a basketball jersey in an event where the Naismith name is literally on the building.

What this weekend is about: every Jamaican grandmother in Brooklyn watching her grandson on a livestream and crying. Every father in Kingston watching the cousin he never met play for the team his son plays for. Every diaspora family in Atlanta or London or Birmingham who didn't know this was possible until they saw it.

What this weekend is about: showing the next generation of Jamaican kids — at home and abroad — that representing this country at the highest level of youth basketball is not a maybe. It is a reality. It is happening on June 12-14, 2026, and they could be next.

The wins and losses are a side effect.

"I want every parent reading this to understand: we are not measuring success by the scoreboard this weekend. We are measuring it by who watches and decides their kid could be next. The roster going to Springfield is not the final roster. It's the first roster. The next one starts the moment we land back home."

— Wayne Dawkins

What Comes Next

Inquiries are already coming in. Parents in cities we hadn't reached. Coaches in programs we hadn't connected with. The form on our website is open. Every submission gets read. Every player goes into our talent pool.

If you have a son or daughter of Jamaican descent — anywhere in the world — who plays ball, the door is open. The roster for the next event starts being built tomorrow.

For sponsors, supporters, and community members who want to be part of this: the community sponsorship program is still open. Five accessible levels from $250 to $2,000. Every dollar funds athlete travel support, team apparel, player meals, cultural experiences, and the media documentation that lets this story spread.

For everyone else — share this. Send it to the cousin in Brampton. Send it to the auntie in Atlanta. Send it to the friend in Birmingham who plays. Send it to anyone who needs to know that Jamaica's children are coming home.

We have spent six years building something on this island worth coming home to.

This weekend, we walk through the door.

Walk good.

— Wayne Dawkins Global Director & Head Coach, P.H.A.S.E.1 Academy Jamaica

📅 June 12–14, 2026 📍 MassMutual Center · Springfield, MA 🏆 Inaugural MADE Hoops × FIBA Global Games · Basketball Hall of Fame

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