Branson star NJ Gray transfers to Salesian

Another high-profile Bay Area high school basketball player is on the move.

Branson point guard and the reigning Marin County Athletic League player of the year NJ Gray is transferring to Salesian, he announced in an Instagram post on Friday. Gray will be a senior in the fall.

Gray, a Pinole native, averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals per game last season. He led Branson to the North Coast Section Division III title game and helped the North Bay school get to the NorCal Division III quarterfinals.

Gray holds 14 Division I offers, most notably from Cal, Stanford, San Jose State, San Francisco Virginia Tech and Grand Canyon.

“Forever grateful for the support of my coaches, teammates, friends, and community over the past three years. Excited for Year 4,” Gray wrote in an X post.

Gray is yet another NorCal basketball star to transfer schools this summer. In the past week, The King’s Academy’s Boss Mhoon transferred to Archbishop Riordan, Folsom star Parks Weaver moved to De La Salle and Livermore High standout Amare Chandler left the East Bay school to go to Arizona Compass Prep School.

Salesian graduated a significant portion of its state Open Division runner-up team, including Stanford commit Elias Obenyah, all-league forward Carlton Perrilliat Jr., starting point guard Isaiah Davis, sharpshooter Leon Powe III and 6-foot-6 center Jahlil Lindsey.

However, the Pride will have multiple contributors from last season such as Asante Johnson, Juelz Richo and Tayshaun Bozeman. The addition of Gray puts Salesian back into the mix for a Norcal Open Division title.

Since 2004, the Pride have never had a losing record under coach Bill Mellis, who will be entering his 29th year coaching the Richmond school next season.