By: Faith Harris
Forest Park returned to the Summer League in 2025 after taking the 2024 season off, looking to continue momentum from a record setting winter season. The Bruins finished 20-7 this winter—its most wins in school history—and won their district tournament title.
The return to Summer League action began with a demanding stretch: three games in the first two days. After an 11-point loss on opening day, Forest Park bounced back by splitting a Monday doubleheader against Yorktown and the Cavaliers (CG Woodson).
Their first win was a roster-wide effort—nine players on the 12-man roster scored, with three finishing in double figures. 2026 guard Jaiden Perry led Forest Park with 13 points, eight of them coming in the second half.
“We’re looking to focus on the guards, really—just play help defense and not let them have a three-ball,” Perry said. “If we do that, and as a team we trust each other, we can definitely win.”
That trust paid off. After Yorktown closed the gap with a mid-range jumper from Walton Butler, cutting Forest Park’s lead to just two, The Park responded with an 8–1 run, forcing a Yorktown timeout. They held the lead from there, securing a 60–49 victory to go 1-1 on the day.
With only 75 minutes between games, Forest Park next faced a familiar opponent: the Cavaliers. The teams had previously met in January, with CG Woodson securing a 49–37 win. A powerhouse in recent years, the Cavaliers finished second in the 2024 CHSL regular season and returned much of their talent, including former Summer League All-Star Kaylen Chilton, who scored 11 in the first half.
Fatigue was evident for Forest Park early in game two. The squad shot just 33.3% from the field and converted only 2 of 9 free throws in the first half. Still, 2026 guard Antonio Jones kept them afloat, scoring 12 of the team’s 23 first-half points.
Forest Park surged late, cutting a 13-point deficit to just two with six minutes left. A key and-1 layup by 2028 guard Antonio Vargas brought the team within one. Jones followed with another and-1, and later drilled a clutch three-pointer to tie the game.
The Bruins would lose to the former #2 Cavaliers by just a point, showing the damage the squad can do. Jones finished with 25 points in game two, while Perry and 2027 guard Dreyden Coates also finished in double digits.
“What I’ve seen is [its] a very competitive league,” Forest Park’s head coach said. “We’re a young team, we graduated a lot last year, but we’re just here to gain experience.”
Forest Park now enters a nine-day break before resuming CHSL action against South County.