SAN DIEGO – It’s no secret that we’re in an era of unbelievable athleticism in hoops, from the prep level all the way to the pros. That couldn’t have been any more apparent than it was during the dunk contest at the 2026 Ballislife Seaworld All-American Game on Friday, where six of the nation’s highest flyers put on an unforgettable exhibition in front of an entertained crowd at SeaWorld.
In fact, it was the most entertaining high school dunk contest in recent memory with at least four contestants that could have won the event in other years.
The highest flyer of them all was Ole Miss commit Jaron Saulsberry of Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), who entered this weekend an unranked prospect and will leave it a viral star after his performance on Friday. Saulsberry put together a collection of dunks that stacks up to the best you’ll see at any level, earning a perfect 50 on all four of his attempts to finish with 200 of 200 total points.
These kids are NOT human ! Jaron Saulsberry shut down the 2026 Ballislife All-American Dunk Contest at SeaWorld San Diego with an insane dunk! @SaulsberryJaron pic.twitter.com/J20AptGGGI
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 25, 2026
Saulsberry’s first dunk of the afternoon was an insane reverse windmill that set the tone for his performance and put the rest of the Nautilus Amphitheater on notice. He only got better with his second dunk, going over top of an assisting Kaiden Bailey with a skyscraping reverse after retrieving the ball. However, it were his third and fourth dunks of the afternoon that really stole the show and set him home as Ballislife’s undisputed 2026 Dunk Champion.
The third dunk resembled something like Vince Carter on steroids, as Saulsberry this time went over top of 6 ‘6 UConn commit and Wheeler teammate Colben Landrew before sticking the length of his forearm in the rim just like Carter did in the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest. The fourth dunk was the most impressive of them all, as he once again used a human as a prop before jumping entirely over said human while converting one of the most unreal Eastbay’s you’ll ever see.
Perfect Timing
It’s a dunk that’s been a bit of a white whale for Saulsberry. He’s tried it at past contests before and didn’t have enough in the tank to pull it off, but the crowd at SeaWorld gave him the energy he needed to make it happen in front of a crowd of stunned parkgoers.
“The Eastbay, I tried it at City of Palms but I couldn’t make it,” Saulsberry said. “So I said, I’m just gonna try it again here. But I just get up high so, that was the dunk at the front of my mind (to win the contest). I love the energy, I love the fans who came out and were cheering me on even when I was missing it. I guess that just brought me a win, a championship.”
Saulsberry edged out BYU commit Dean Rueckert and Arkansas commit Abdou Toure in the final tiebreaker after Rueckert and Toure each put on a show with their first two dunks. Rueckert executed an effortless 360 on his first attempt and took an assist from Bailey off the side of the backboard before executing another 360 on his second attempt. Toure’s second attempt was among the most impressive of the day, as he converted an explosive, full rotation windmill slam that looked literally effortless.
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