Top prospect Thomas set to leave Lincoln Park

Meleek Thomas, one of the highest-rated basketball players ever in the WPIAL, will not finish his career in the WPIAL.

Thomas has decided to skip his senior year at Lincoln Park, a charter school in Beaver County, and join Overtime Elite, a league based in Atlanta for top players ages 16 to 20 who have the desire to play professionally in the future.

Players train heavily at Overtime’s headquarters, play on a team in the league and there is a school component to those who still have to graduate from high school. Thomas has not graduated.

Players in the league can receive a minimum salary of $100,000 or they can make money off NIL deals (name, image and likeness) and still keep their college eligibility.

Thomas’ brother, Jayden, and mother, Iesha, confirmed Meleek has decided to join Overtime Elite. He will have an NIL deal that will allow him to keep his college eligibility. Although no financial terms of Thomas’ NIL deal have been revealed, sources have told the Post-Gazette it’s well into six figures.

Thomas, a 6-foot-4 guard who plays point guard and is extremely versatile, is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 7 player in the class of 2025. No WPIAL player has been ranked that high since national rankings started decades ago.

Thomas played three years at Lincoln Park and helped the team win the past two Class 4A state championships. Thomas has been offered scholarships by colleges across the country. Among his final list are Pitt, Connecticut, Arkansas, Indiana and Auburn, among others. He already has made official visits to Pitt, Auburn and Kentucky and has visits planned to Connecticut and Arkansas later this month.

There have been rumors for weeks about Thomas joining Overtime Elite. Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski was informed recently by Thomas’ family of his departure for Overtime Elite.

“I suspected this,” Bariski said. “I’ve heard rumblings about this for a while. I’m proud of him. I’m happy for him. This is probably the best move for him. He wants to get bigger and better.

“I’m proud of what he did here and what our team did. No matter if you think of this is for the better or worse, this is the way some of the great ones go nowadays.”

Since it launched in 2021, Overtime Elite has attracted some top high school-aged players. Last year, twins Amen and Ausar Thompson were the No. 4 and 5 picks in the NBA draft and both played in Overtime Elite. This year, Alex Sarr and Rob Dillingham are projected top 10 picks in the NBA draft and both are products of Overtime Elite. Dillingham played this past season at the University of Kentucky.

Amari Evans, who played his freshman year at Bishop Canevin in 2021-22, also plays in Overtime Elite. Evans and Thomas are friends.

“I understand why he would go,” Bariski said. “The money, the training, the allure, the attraction of it all. That’s a lot for a kid. High school basketball is not what it once was to some people and players. Some kids want to take advantage of these new situations.”

Jayden Thomas, who played at North Hills High School, said he might move to Atlanta with his brother.

The move to Overtime Elite is another in Thomas’ career during the past six years. He attended North Hills Middle School and played there as a seventh- and eighth-grader. He then repeated eighth grade at Manchester Charter School, but did not play. He then attended Lincoln Park as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

Thomas scored 1,750 career points in three years at Lincoln Park and was a two-time Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 selection. Thomas and Brandin Cummings were the Post-Gazette co-Players of the Year in 2023 and 2024. This past season, Thomas averaged 22.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.2 steals and shot 57% from the field.

Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and @mwhiteburgh on X