Roman’s Tyler Sutton signs with development league, stars in All-City Classic

Hours after announcing that he had signed with an Overtime Elite team, Tyler Sutton ran into the Imhotep Charter gym just in time for the Class of 2027 game at the 2025 Rasual Butler All-City Classic on Friday.

Sutton, a four-star guard from Roman Catholic, committed to play for the Atlanta-based development league’s Cold Hearts franchise. On Friday, he represented his former Catholic League team in the second game of the night. The classic started with a class of 2028 game at 6 p.m., featured Sutton in the 7 p.m. game, and finished with a class of 2026 game. Players in each game were divided into Catholic League and Public League/Non-Public League teams, and the Public/Non-Public teams won all three games.

Sutton started at point guard for Roman Catholic this year after transferring from the George School in Newtown. With Sutton as the floor general, the Cahillites marched all the way to the 2025 Catholic League title game, which they lost to Father Judge. Now, he’s heading south.

Sutton said his decision to transfer away from Philadelphia was based on the resources he’d have with Overtime Elite.

“The resources that they have, the coaching, being able to train every day,” Sutton said. “Just things like that, so I can take my game to a whole other level. And I don’t think Philly was going to do that for me.”

The class of 2027 game drew the most attention of the event. Sutton was not on the floor for warmups and was not assigned a number on the roster sheets given to spectators. As the public address announcer introduced the last of the Catholic League team’s starters, Sutton kicked off his black Nike slides and shed his blue OTE zip-up hoodie to put on an event-issued T-shirt with No. 10 on the back.

“And I guess he is playing,” the event’s PA announcer said before launching into Sutton’s introduction.

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Sutton started the game cold after missing warmups but finished with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Though the Public/Non-Public team won, 100-96, Sutton was named the defensive player of the game.

The award winners from each game, including the winning team’s most valuable player, the losing team’s most valuable player, and the defensive player of the game were awarded a trophy.

Sutton said the classic won’t be his final basketball event as a high school player in Philadelphia, as he intends on playing in the Chosen League in August.

Charles Monroe, the founder and director of the All-City Classic, said he found out about Sutton’s move away from Philadelphia on Instagram hours before the start of the event.

“This is the wave we’re in,” Monroe said. “They’re leaving high schools, and they’re going to prep schools and things like that. It’s the generation we’re in.”

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Sutton still plans to make a college commitment while playing with OTE. Syracuse, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and St. Joseph’s have eyes on him, he says, though it currently is a dead period for recruiting.

Sutton visited the OTE facilities last month and was convinced that it was the right place to grow into the player he wishes to be.

“They have all the resources,” he said. “Their lifting room, their courts. … You can be in the gym 24/7, and that’s really what I need. Some nights, I want to stay up and go and get shots at the gym, but I can’t because there’s no gyms open.”

The team Sutton will play for, the Cold Hearts, finished 3-17 last season, worst in OTE.

The public/non-public team won the class of 2028 game, 101-94. Penn Charter’s Carter Smith, a 6-foot-3 guard, was named the Public/non-public team’s most valuable player. Rowan Phillips, a 6-foot-4 guard from Archbishop Wood, was the standout for the Catholic team, and Malvern Prep forward Logan Chwastyk earned defensive player of the game recognition.

Along with Sutton earning defensive honors, Bonner-Prendergast guard Korey Francis was the Catholic team’s standout in the class of 2027 game. Malvern Prep guard Marvin Reed was named the MVP of the public/non-public team in the 100-96 win.

To complete its sweep of the classic, the public/non-public team won the class of 2026 game, 83-73. Imhotep guard Latief Lorenzano-White earned MVP honors on his home floor, while George School guard Kasey Fleming was named as the standout from the Catholic team. Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Michael Pereira, a 6-10 center, received the game’s defensive honors.