This years 6th Annual USMC BallN Prep Holiday Invitational December 27-29 will feature a intriguing coach player combination from Pike Road Lady Patriots a first year program. On one hand you have The Teacher, former professional, Florida State standout and Jeff Davis High School state champion Courtney Ward. The Pupil 2021 promising point guard 5-6 Sheria Clement currently averaging 19ppg 5rbg 4apg 3stlpg. Who better to help mentor and teach any point guard than Courtney Ward. Coach Ward has all the tools, ie. leadership, hard work and competitive sprit to provide outstanding tutelage to inspire Clement to be a outstanding point guard but only time will tell.  Be sure to catch Clement December 28-29 at Thompson HS, Alabaster, AL.

The BallN Prep crew decended on Orlando, FL 13-17 July and the Walt Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Our mission: to check out this years crop of 8th grade talent. An event so massive, we had to attack it with a three member team. With that being said, we strapped on our sneakers, grabbed the pens and pads, and focused our eyes on multiple courts at three different arenas. All participants did an excellent job competing and displaying their skills. Listed below are the Watch List names from this years event. 8th Grade Girls AAU Basketball Nationals (Please excuse the two differents formats used, we ran into a little admin snafu). ’22 Kailey Turpening 5’7 G (In The Zone Platinum 2022) ’22 Olivia Smelas 5’11 F (In The Zone Platinum 2022) ’22 Taryn Blankeship 5’11 F (VA-Pulaski County Wolves) ’22 Allyson Fleenor 6’0 F (VA-Pulaski County Wolves) ’22 Jada Dean 5’6 G (VA-Pulaski County Wolves) ’22 Lilah Grubman 5’9 G/F (Long Island Lightning Suffolk) ’22 Jennifer Sullivan 5’7 G (TN Lady Ballerz) ’22 Savannah Henderson 5’11 G/F (Hoops Dreams Elite) ’22 Stefanie Ingram 5’7 G (Hoops Dreams Elite) ’22 Madeline Ahearn 5’6 G (In The Zone Platinum 2022) ’22 Emily Berry 5’7 G (InTNsity 2022) ’22 Shardasia ...

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Basketball on the Bayou is one of our favorite stops on the travel ball circuit and we decided to use the Bayou to help answer one common denominator for all head coaches. The need for size and since on a whole guard play dominates the ball and most blogs and conversations. Our was to give the ball girls some love. The focus is on players six foot tall and above. The following got our attention:   2019 Thaniya Marks 6-1 All-Alabama Roadrunners Elite - College ready body, runs floor, athletic, finishes in the paint, nice low post game and attacks off the bounce. Rebounds both ends. Solid defender. DI prospect. Terri Crawford 6-1 All-Alabama Roadrunners Elite - Runs floor, college body, finishes well, tough defender, beast on the boards. Nice low post presence. DI prospect. Destiny Thomas 6-3 Essence TipHayes Purple - Great size, known commodity, nice post moves, rebounds and defends well. Ashanti Lavergne 6-4 Louisiana's Finest - Long athletic, rebounds, runs floor. Micah Linthacum 6-4 Missouri Phenom 17U EYBL - college body moves well, solid defender, and good passer. Jazmaine Lewis 6-5 Missouri Phenom 17U EYBL - College body, fundamentally sound, rebounds, defends, strong presence in the lane. 2020 Hannah Edwards 6-5 All-Alabama ...

We got a chance to spend a week in Kingsport, TN for AAU's awesome 7th Grade Nationals. We did our best to see every team. Here is our watchlist (class & heights were not provided. Therefore each player is considered a Class of 2023 or younger. Hilary Adams - Always 100 Goodwell 2023 Chloe Anderson - IL Xcitement Monstars 2023 Leah Barnes - Candace Parkers Tampa Aces 2023 Kiara Beal - BWSL Norfolk Express Kaydence Black - Nautilus Express 2024 Madison Booker - Alabama Southern Starz 2023 Asiana Britt - TBLR 2023 Jasmine Brown - IL Xcitement Monstars 2023 Briley Burchett - Tennessee Rush 2023 Madyson Burney - BWSL Norfolk Express Evyn Carrier - The Truth 2023 Ashley Chea - SGV 7 Blue Ellie Chen - SGV 7 Blue Bentleigh Christus - WV Thunder White Nylah Collier - Alabama Southern Starz 2023 Abigail Cooch - Nova 94 Feet 2023 Taylor Curry - IL Xcitement Monstars 2023 Monet Dance - Team Elite Sims 2023 Kynnedi Davis - Memphis Lady War Eagles 2023 Jessica Dornak - Nova 94 Feet 2023 Aliyah Elliott - Team Loaded 2023 Edmonds Kennesse Etienne - IL Xcitement Monstars 2023 Nevaeh Farmer - NC Lady Ballers Taylor Farris - Dayton Lady Hoopstars Black 2023 Haven Ford - Kentucky Swarm Taylor Fordyce - Always 100 Goodwell 2023 Paige Frazier* - Dayton Lady Hoopstars White Madison French - ...

ROCKFORD IL - We always enjoy taking a peek into the future of girls and women's basketball. BallN Prep is honored and privileged to be AAU Girls Basketball Official Ranking Company and would like to thank them for the opportunity. The following is this years Watch List and by all means not all inclusive but in fact a living document with the opportunity for growth. Special thanks to BallN Prep contributor Xaver Walton. FINAL 4 - BEST OF THE BEST Tai Harvey, Essence Extreme, 2024 Audrey Annee, Indiana Flight, 2024 Caya Smith, BTR, 2025 Chantrel Clayton, IL X-Citement, 2024 Chazadi Wright, Essence Xtreme, 2024 Chloe Spreen, Indiana Flight, 2024 Jania Akins, Essence Xtreme, 2024 Lanyra McGill, IL X-Citement, 2024 Lauren Klem, Indiana Flight, 2024 Neenah George, BTR, 2024 Nyla Bush, IL X-Citement, 2024 Sanaa Tripp, Essence Xtreme, 2024 Sania Richardson, BTR, 2025 Scarlett Kimbrell, Indiana Flight, 2024 Taliyah Parker, BTR, 2024 Xamiya Walton, IL X-Citement, 2024 WATCH LIST Alayah Spratling, Heart of Illinois, 2024 Alli Harness, Sky Digg, 2024 Alonna Poole, FBC The Family, 2024 Amiya Ware, Carolina Elite, 2024 Angelina Smith, IL X-Citement, 2024 Aniya Bishop, Lady Region, 2024 Briana Rivera, Central Florida Elite, 2024 Camryn Smith, KC Gold, 2024 Dea Bradley, Southern KY Starz, 2024 Destini Sullivan, KC Gold, 2024 Destiny Jackson, IL X-Citement, 2025 Jada Eads, Central Florida Elite, 2024 Jaiona Jackson, NTX Tarheels, 2024 JaKobi Williams, OLBE. ...

LAS VEGAS, NV - The say goes what happens is Vegas stays in Vegas but this is the exception not the rule. The first half July 2018 evaluation period is in full effect with events all over the nation. We decided to go off the beaten path on the prowl for little known talent. It's easy to sit in gyms where all the coaches and other evaluators on hand scouting Top 25 to 60 prospects that everyone seems to know. We like to shine the light on the prospects that are not but should be coaches radar. The following BallN ballers caught our attention some you may or not know: 2023 Gisella Maul 5-8 PG Nike CyFair Maul - First saw her at the Prentice Beverly Elite 80 in Oklahoma City where she had and outstanding showing. Maul continues to shine bright. Really love her smooth athletic game, she has good command of her dribble. Rebounds well. Excellent court vision good passer. Solid on ball defender. Finishes well in paint with a silky shooting touch. Chance to be special. Jade Clack 5-10 Nike CyFair Maul - Long athletic high energy, sprints the floor attacks at both ends. Needs to add strength. ...

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Jam On It Basketball presented the Pacific Rim Championship which saw over 150 teams on the island of Oahu. We had a chance to look at some up and coming talent. May we suggest you keep eyes on the following future ballers:   2023 Emmy Stout 6-2 Rebels San Diego (CA) - Good size, runs floor, finishes well, good hands. Tremendous upside. Ledjan "Bonez" Pahukoa 5-9 CON3 JACK Makawao,(HI) - Deadly from behind the arc, Good command of her dribble, Solid defender and jumps passing lanes, Great court vision and passer. #Chance2BSpecial Taimane Faleafine-Auwae 6-1 Lahaina Girls Lahaina, (HI) - Long arms, runs floor, fundamentally sound boxes out, Solid defender blocks shots. Decent low post game. Finishes well in paint. Communicates well. High IQ. Huge upside. Continue to watch. Margie Ann Sana 5-5 Lahaina Girls Lahaina, (HI) - Solid point guard feisty tough defender, pushes the rock little floor general. Fun to watch. Watch. Theresa Anakalea 5-5 Lightning Kailua, (HI) - Quick guard good handles sweet 3pt Stroke. Good on ball defender. Laynee Torres 5-6 Lightning Kaneohe, (HI) - Tough PG good handles loves to attach, Pushes the rock exceptional court vision and passer. Communicates and a solid defender. Coach on the floor. 2022 Marlissa Watson 6-2 ...

Desoto, TX - I had a great time watching the young ladies that participated in the Generation Next Grassroots National Championship. There were talented kids at all the sites. Of the players that I saw, here are a few kids that jumped out at me. DFW Hawks Black ‘21 Trystan Clark – I enjoyed watching Trystan Clark ball. Clark is a crafty player with a high basketball IQ. She has wonderful court awareness and does a great job getting herself to open spots on the floor. Not flashy but solid with consistent handles and demonstrated a fearless mentality when attacking the rim. DFW Hawks Blue ’21 Jordyn Newsom – Jordyn Newsom is supremely athletic. I personally don’t think there is a move on the court she can’t make. Newsom is usually always on balance when driving to the rim and has a good vertically that allows her to finish above defenders. She has 3 ball range and has a really high release point on her shot that makes it tough on defenders to block. NTX Lady Wolves ’22 Mary Doyle – Mary is a versatile post player that can put the ball on the floor and maneuver around defenders to get to the rim. ...

I love being in the gym. I especially love being in the gym surrounded by wonderful and talented kids. Kids competing, improving their game, and simply getting better. Had a chance to sit in the cut and evaluate at the We Got Game Tournament and saw some talented kids go hard.   NLMA ‘25 Aaliya Chavez – The young A.I., Aaliya Chavez was superb. The kid did a great job keeping defenders off balance. Chavez got to the rim at will and often times created contact to get herself to the free-throw line. She was lock down on defense and pestered ball handlers all day long. **Must Watch** NTX Elite ’25 Trinity Thomas – Trinity Thomas is a smooth shooter. She did a good job getting to her corner 3 spots. She also did a wonderful job using ball fakes and the threat of the 3 to get inside. North Texas Elite ’24 Nissa Muhammad – Nissa is super quick and explosive to the basket. Her ability to get to the basket is awesome. She did a great job using her quick feet to apply ball pressure and stay in front of defenders. North Texas Elite ’24 Jayla Lawson-Kennedy – Jayla’s upside is huge. Lawson-Kennedy ...

  BallN Across Borders Global Games featured some of the top female athletes from the US and from Canada! The USA BallN Select team was well represented from 12 different States. With this being the first year for the BallN Across Borders Global Games it produced an astonishing over 5K online viewers. BallN Prep and The RISE Centre help assimilate teams that represented the USA and Canada, compiled of seniors and underclassmen teams which featured grades 9-11. Despite it being the first year BallN Across Borders Global Games was a resounding success and the first of many. We are looking forward to continuing to grow the game of women’s basketball. USA 2017 Underclassmen MVP 18’ Brooke Moore (24pts, 8 rebs, 1 stl)- a 5’6 Guard that has committed to Auburn University, put on a phenomenal second half performance for the USA BallN Select team. Moore with only 5 first half points for the US came out with a chip on her shoulder the second half. Moore hits three 3 pointers which included one that she shoot from the ATL. Her ability to create off the dribble and shoot from deep made it difficult for her defenders to guard her. Moore’s second half performance ...