Player Profile: 2026 G Diego Brito

Diego Brito is a rising prospect at Montverde Academy.

Starting with the program in the 7th grade, he’s not only grown in stature since then but also with his maturity on and off the court.

Brito, a 5’11” guard is coming off of a freshman season in which he was one of two 2026 prospects on the top JV team at Montverde, CBD Gold. The team lost in the semifinals of the SIAA tournament.

He averaged 14.0 PPG and 7.0 APG while he shot 40 percent from deep this past season.

In 2021, Brito won the Eagle Award at the school, an award that embodies all-around leadership.

Overall, he said it was a pretty good freshman year. Brito pointed to his defensive leadership as something that truly improved overall in his game.

“I had a good span of that season where I became a starter. I was the starting point guard and we went 9-1 in the last 10 games,” Brito said. “Having limited turnovers, having good assist numbers, and me scoring the ball was good, but the practices with the CBD and academy teams challenged me. It makes playing so much easier because when I practice, I’m playing with two other varsity teams.”

Brito had a chance to assist with the varsity practices leading up to the Geico Nationals tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. He learned a lot being that it is an uncommon situation at Montverde for a freshman to take that on.

In terms of a mentor specifically within the Montverde program, current Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard is a player that Brito models his game after.

“Ryan Nembhard was here my first two years. [Nembhard] was at Creighton this year, and he just transferred to Gonzaga. A smaller point guard and the same type of build that I am,” Brito said. “[Nembhard] told me to be a point guard that sets the pace for the team, to make sure that I am able to handle the ball and protect it by not turning it over. Just stuff like that.”

Brito said arriving at Montverde wasn’t as intimidating as you would think. He turned his focus on making new friends since he was constantly moving with his dad in the military.

“When I came to my Montverde, I was just like, I have to get going. Like, I have to make a name for myself here, because it’s it’s a big school,” he said. “Everybody wants to be here, so I got to try to do the best that I can and get people to notice me. At the time, I wasn’t that tall. I’m smaller than everybody else, so I told myself I have to do extra and make myself known in this school.”

In terms of Brito’s strengths in his game right now, he pointed to his jumper, court awareness and overall leadership.

“I would say I’m a good on-ball and off-ball defender. I have a high IQ. I know how to throw passes to get people open. I know where to put the ball. When I have somebody posting up, I know where to put it so the defense can’t get it. It’s only where my player can be,” he said. “I make good decisions coming off of ball screens. I can make good reads, offense and defense while I play ball screens. Most importantly, I can make open shots on and off the dribble. That’s what I take pride in the most.”

Right now, this summer Brito is working on his expanding his game which includes his left-handed dribble.

“I practice a lot of shots, like, tough shots that I can make. So just doing that in the game, not passing up on as many shots. The only time I’ll pass up a shot is for a better one, which is always good,” he said. “Situational awareness is something I need to work on and I’m trying to improve on my defense. My defense is good right now, but it doesn’t hurt to make it better.”

Start of Hoops

Basketball started at the age of 5 for Brito but he said he didn’t truly take it seriously until he turned 8. He says when he got to the 3rd grade that’s when he knew he wanted to make something out of hoops.

“I played soccer a little bit, and before I mainly focused on basketball, I played a little bit of baseball and football, “Brito said. I was really good at baseball, actually. I enjoyed playing baseball. I played shortstop, but the game was too slow, too boring. It was just times where I was just sitting there, nothing to do, and football was fun. I was good at it, too. It’s just that basketball, I just felt like basketball was way better.”

Brito has played for Florida Bayhawks and Director Byron Lane-Batchelor since the 7th grade. The Bayhawks didn’t have a middle school team at the time so he played up and got a lot of good training and experiences through that. He suits up for the 15U squad and runs the point.

He says he watches a lot of hoops and two pros he looks up to are NBA stars Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks.

“They’re elite. My dad is 6-foot. I’m probably going to be a little bit taller. But if I’m just saying, if that’s what I’m going to be, then I have to learn how to be the best point guard at that size that I can be,” Brito said. “How those two can just take over a game and lead a team is how I want to be able to play when I get older. So I try to take away as much as I can as possible from Garland and Brunson.”

Love of the Game

Brito is truly obsessed with the game of basketball. He said he can’t get enough of it and wants to carry that to the next level when the time comes.

“Once you get a small taste of success and how it feels like, you just want more. I’m trying to be the best that I can be is really what drives me,” he said, “Being a small point guard that’s actually good at the game, that people can look up to me and sort of admire me and admire what I’m doing. A lot of people like shorter guys who are tough and have a chip on their shoulders. That’s the people who I have to look up to. So it’ll be nice if I can be like that for the next generation.”

The ultimate goal for most basketball players is to get to the NBA and that is what Brito is aiming for but he simply just wants to be around the game either way.

“Outside of basketball, when it comes to a profession, once I’m done, I still want to be involved. I want to be a coach, general manager, or scout, it doesn’t matter,” Brito said. “Most importantly, I want to own my own business at the end of the day, when I’m done. So just having something that I can continue to make generational wealth, as my dad tells me all the time. Also having a big impact on people being somebody as I mentioned, that people could look up to, and also being somebody that my country.”

Brito is going to play for the U15 Dominican Republic national team this June in Mexico. He said it is important to represent his country and be somebody that the kids there can look up to.

He’s played in Spain and Portugal over the last few summers and gained a ton of experience in doing so.

Off the court, Brito’s favorite hobby is collecting sports cards. He says he has a big collection of football and basketball cards in his closet.

On the court, he has a clear focus on what he wants to strengthen and improve in his game.

Future Ahead

Brito can do plenty offensively when you watch him play. His outside jumper is smooth, his mid-range floater is seasoned and he’s always looking ahead for the next best move for his offense. Brito’s handles are impressive and pop out on film throughout.

Defensively, he doesn’t shy away from pressure and as he grows into his body and adds more strength, he will be just fine in terms of covering some of the bigger guards out there.

Brito’s mindset has him moving in the right direction. Add in the fact that he takes pride in his two-way game, I fully expect him to expand his skillset and build his equity at an always impressive Montverde program.

Jake Perper has been a sports writer since 2010 and a basketball scout since 2015. He was the Southeast Scouting Director for the Prep Hoops Circuit and the lead scout for Prep Hoops’ Florida site for seven years. You can follow him on Twitter @thehoopvibe.