Johnas Maurice II earns Seminole County Player of the Year honor

Johnas Maurice II turned Lake Howell’s 2025-26 season into a countywide warning shot, steering the Silverhawks to a 25-6 record, a state Final Four appearance and Seminole County Player of the Year honors while still listed as a Class of 2028 guard.

The Lake Howell sophomore, who plays in Winter Park for a Seminole County Public Schools program, finished with season averages of 17.4 points, 4.9 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.4 blocks across 29 games, according to MaxPreps. Those numbers placed Maurice among the top players in Florida and among the most productive players in FHSAA Class 6A District 4.

Maurice’s production was not limited to scoring. He set a career high with 20 assists in Lake Howell’s Feb. 14 win over Nease, a night that showed how much the Silverhawks depended on his playmaking. He also posted 18 points and six assists at Rockledge on Nov. 29, then followed with 21 points, six assists and three blocks in a late-season game as MaxPreps noted that it was his third straight outing with at least 18 points.

That blend of scoring, passing and disruption made Maurice one of the central reasons Lake Howell reached one of its strongest seasons in nearly two decades. The Silverhawks won their first district title in 18 years and carried that momentum into the state tournament, where they later fell to Evans, 63-51, in the 2026 FHSAA Class 6A bracket.

The attention has extended beyond Seminole County. Prep Hoops has described Maurice as one of Florida’s top guards in the 2028 class, while a Made Hoops Sun Bash Orlando report called him a two-way guard with excellent speed, a tight handle and the ability to break the paint and create for teammates. Lake Howell’s roster lists him at 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, and other recruiting profiles place him between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2.

For Seminole County basketball, Maurice’s rise matters because it comes from a program that just turned a long district drought into a title and a Final Four run. Lake Howell’s breakthrough, paired with Maurice’s production and growing recruiting profile, suggests the county’s next wave of elite guard play may already be here.