WBB recruiting: The stars of the 2023 summer circuit
This summer proved platforms and opportunities are more plentiful than ever in the women’s game. The stakes are higher, the competition is steeper, and the talent pool is deeper. With the rise in 3X3 and the establishment of elite camps and opportunities by brands, professional players, and USA Basketball, we seem to be trending in the right direction in terms of value of development and the re-investment in the emphasis on the philosophy of team play and worth of elite role players that bring cohesiveness and value to the floor.
The more spread out and spaced game demands a skill increase in many areas — not just ball in hand.
Who are some players that particularly stood out this summer?
Here are a handful that are showing they will transition well to the next level along with updated recruiting rankings for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
2024
Mikayla Blakes
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 10
6-foot
Combo guard
Rutgers Prep (NJ) | Philly Rise
Blakes had an exceptional summer. She showed an amazing improvement in her shooting, especially in her 3-point field goal percentage — increasing from 18.2% from 3 at Nike Nationals last season to this year at 35.4%. Her footwork, shot prep and consistency in follow through have led to a quicker release. The most outstanding stat may be her assist to turnover ratio this year at Nike Nationals in Chicago — an astonishing 10.5-to-1. She averaged 22.6 points, four rebounds, and three assists while shooting 50% from the floor overall and 94.3% from the free throw line.
She is smooth and fast with the ball, especially in transition. She gets her shoulders square to the rim or the paint and gets downhill on drives using angles and her length to get by defenders. She is effective in actions and reads well in the ball screen attack.
Blakes’ length also helps her on the defensive end. She pressures the ball and is intelligently positioned off the ball to be able to double down on a big or delay a weakside action.
She is down to seven schools: Indiana, Rutgers, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.
Alivia McGill
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 16
5-foot-8
Point guard
Hopkins (MN) | Metro Stars
McGill has established herself as one of the premier point guards in the country. Her eyes are always up from transition to the half court and she makes others better. A couple things really stand out: She rebounds very well for a guard, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game on the Adidas circuit, and at this year’s 3SSB Championships she averaged 10 assists per game — nearly unheard of in the high school ranks. In the highly regarded adidas Eurocamp, she averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 assists, and was 62% from the field including 50% from the 3-point line, which is indicative of what she can do when surrounded by high level players.
She is shifty in small spaces and can create space with ease with her ability to stop and go on a dime. Her footwork on finishes and skill using angles and the glass as well as her body at the rim are a real separator. She does a great job of getting the defense on her hip coming off of ball screens and now that she has improved her shooting, she can really punish the defense against any way they play her. She wastes no space and it makes her an effective downhill driver.
McGill has an indoor/outdoor/pickup game confidence that makes her a rugged defender and competitor. She anticipates well defensively because she reads the floor so well, as evidenced by her passing skills. Those skills tend to be reciprocal: When a player can read the entire floor as a quality passer, they in turn read the opposing offensive schemes well and this aides them in their anticipation and decision making defensively. They recognize the game plan and know what to take away based on the situation and the scouting.
McGill is committed to Florida and head coach Kelly Finley, a Minnesota native. She is the programs highest rated recruit landed since Finley took over the program.
Kennedy Smith
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 6
6-1
Forward/Wing
Etiwanda (CA) | Cal Sparks
Kennedy Smith wins, it is as simple as that. She won a California state championship before leading her summer team to the coveted Nike EYBL championship in July — averaging 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 55.7% from the floor including 43.5% from the 3.
Smith brings a physical intensity and relentlessness to the floor that few can match. She is physical on her drives to the rim — both left and right now, much improved from last year — but has a soft touch out to the 3-point line. She has post up ability and the elevation on her jumper is elite.
She is one of those rare players that can both set or use a ball screen and — based on the matchup — this is a huge versatile advantage for her teams. She can pop, roll hard to the rim, or short roll for an isolation touch based on the defense. Another area she improved over the last year is her overall handle as displayed in her ability to push the ball after rebounds and change direction weaving in and out of congestion.
Defensively, she has been outstanding since her early high school days. Always one to put pressure on the ball, she can defend both inside and out. She rebounds extremely well, even when matched up with bigger forwards.
She is down to five schools: USC, UCLA, Louisville, South Carolina, and Duke.
Sarah Strong
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 1
6-2
Forward
Grace Christian (NC) | Team Lady Strong
Strong has emerged as the No. 1 player in the 2024 class. In today’s atmosphere, she has taken a different path to get there: choosing to stick with her independent club program rather than joining one of the established circuits. They set out to create a competitive schedule during the club season that included her participation in USA Basketball 3X3 as well as elite camps. The schedule has shown what many believed to be a possibility for a few years now: She is the best player in her class.
Strong is a unique combination of brute strength and a feathery touch. She carves out space for rebounds and bangs inside, but on the next possession can create space for a swish from 3 off the dribble. The most amazing part of her game is arguably her passing, however. She rarely misses a cutting or court-sprinting teammate. If a teammate is open — whether it be in the half-court or for a long outlet — she can deliver the ball, and with precision.
She was named MVP of Eurocamp where she averaged 17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. Strong brings more than just her skills to the floor. There is a cerebral approach to the flow of the game that allows her team to find mismatches as well as make adjustments on the fly which, in turn, makes the game easier for everyone around her.
At first glance, it can appear Strong only moves at her pace. If really studied over the course of some time, however, it is evident she is just analyzing the game at hand. She is letting the game find its flow, and then flips the switch to attack vulnerabilities in the opponent game plan. It is no secret that she will be an integral part of her team’s attack early on in a game and while the opponent shows their hand it would almost be counterintuitive for her to be overly aggressive, which some mistake that for a laziness. If you watch over the course of the game, it is anything but that. There are flashes of that competitive fire and then it is clear when she has decided to put a team away.
In fairness, sometimes this would last too long in the past and she has been challenged to make that adjustment, which is where we have seen the growth. Strong will participate on the U18 3X3 World Cup team for a second year in a row. They will compete starting Aug. 30 in Hungary.
Sarah is considering UConn, South Carolina, LSU, North Carolina, Louisville, NC State, and UCLA.
Syla Swords
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 11
6-0
Guard
Long Island Lutheran (NY) | Kia Nurse Elite
What a summer for Syla Swords. She was hugely impactful for her Kia Nurse squad in the April and May NCAA viewing periods and then during July, she took her game to Canada’s U19 national teams and played FIBA basketball all summer. During this time frame, she helped guide Canada to a bronze finish at the U19 Women’s World Cup in Spain where she averaged 15 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 46.2% from the 3.
Swords has lead guard savvy and intangibles as well as scoring guard fearlessness and skill. She moves very well without the ball and understands the subtleties to executing cuts, screens, and actions. She shoots a true jump shot out to the 3-point line, which is rare.
She is one of those players whose effort just never falters. She has spent so much time playing at that physical and mental intensity that the game has slowed down for her and she is able to apply her knowledge to think and process the action quickly.
A couple of interesting but unofficial stats: She may lead this class in shooting percentage from the left side of the floor — it just seems like a rare miss over there. And one could definitely argue she leads the world in positive touches: The opportunities to encourage a teammate or give the enthusiastic high-five or celebrate the success of a teammate. She played with much older teammates and against much older competition on the Canadian Women’s FIBA Americup team in June and it was evident they valued her as she accepted a different role with that particular group.
Swords is committed to Michigan along with Olivia Olson out of Minnesota, one of the best 2024 class backcourt tandems in the class.
2025
Sienna Betts
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 3
6-4
Center
Grandview (CO) | Hardwood Elite
Betts made her presence known this summer. Her game has grown to new levels over the course of the last year and she made a huge leap in June and July. Upon the analytical comparisons after Adidas Eurocamp by Cerebro Sports, she was the No. 1 rated player in the highly competitive setting. She averaged 10.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and was an amazing 57.7% from the field. Not bad for a rising junior in high school. Something clicked for her in Italy and her physicality and effort — particularly evidenced by her rebounding and floor running consistency — went to a new level.
She carried that with her in July and led her team to the Adidas 3SSB championship where she averaged 13.8 points, 14.6 rebounds (including a 23-rebound effort in the quarterfinals), 4.4 assists, and 3 blocks per game.
Over the last year, Betts has improved her ability to finish with her right hand as a left-handed player. No longer can defenders just sit on her right shoulder and wait for her to inevitably return. She is extremely patient in the post, whether she is getting her own shot or reading double and triple teams for the kick out. She is a particularly good passer, especially in a high-low look into a post-up for her teammates.
Betts is comfortable in the post, pinch post, and at the top of the key, making plays off the dribble or initiating actions and reads. This makes her a difficult cover as bringing her away from the paint brings the opposing team’s rim protector out there as well. She does have face up game and has proven to be able to hit a trail 3, so defenses must stay honest. Because she is such a good passer as well, her defender must step out as a means to impact her passing angles and vision because to fail to do so would allow her to pick exactly where she wants to pass the ball to cutting teammates.
Betts is one of the breakout players of the summer and made a claim to be in the discussion for the potential No. 1 player in the class. With her current trajectory of improvements in skill and habits, the conversation is not closed.
She is considering the following schools: South Carolina, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, Southern Cal, UConn, Oregon, Arizona, and Michigan.
Divine Bourrage
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 9
6-0
Point guard
Davenport North (IA) | All Iowa Attack
To watch Bourrage play is to watch an excellent display of the transition attack in basketball. When the ball is outlet to her, whether make or miss, she smoothly and quickly advances the ball up the floor with minimal dribbles. There were numerous examples of her getting to the paint after an opponent made basket before 4-5 seconds had come off the shot clock.
Bourrage is an extremely skilled big guard who rebounds the ball skillfully. She is shifty with her handle and uses her body well at the rim and even in post-up situations. She can score the ball from all three levels and since she added the major improvement from the 3-point line this year (it hovered around 15% last year on the 16U level only to improve to 50% this year on the 17U level), she is very hard to guard as a single defender, especially in transition. This opens things up for her to create for teammates as defenses have to commit a couple of bodies to her to slow down the ball. She helped take her squad to the EYBL championship game by averaging 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. She had a very strong showing in that game going 4-for-4 from the 3 and scoring 21 points.
Defensively, she uses her big frame to disrupt the opposing team’s point guard and rebound to ignite the fast break.
Bourrage is good without the ball in her hands as well as she understands the timing and execution of cuts and execution of sets. Her recruitment is all over the map and includes: Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Iowa State, Iowa, Ohio State, Rutgers, Georgia, Indiana, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Utah, Nebraska, Michigan State, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kansas State, Baylor, Minnesota, and North Carolina State.
Emilee Skinner
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 10
6-0
Point Guard
Ridgeline (UT) | Utah Lady Prospects
Skinner burst on the national scene in April at the Heart of Texas tournament in Dallas. Word had gotten out during the high school season in Utah, but she garnered some serious recruiting attention in the late spring.
She rode that waive into the summer, and as big lead guard got a lot of programs’ attention. Skinner is a smooth operator — gliding up and down the court, especially when the ball is in her hands. She carries herself like a lead guard — eyes up and consistent demeanor — and always on the attack. She has a nice wiggle to her handle and changes speeds very well. Her shoulders and posture help her get downhill in small space and she will punish a defender for giving her too much space. She has rise on her mid-range jumper, can finish at the rim with either hand with some bounce and extreme concentration, and can set her feet quickly from 3. She is never in a hurry, but when it is time to go, she punches the gas.
Over the course of the club season, her willingness to hunt and knock down the 3 really improved. She always had a knack for creating for others, but now has increased her own aggressiveness level in scoring the ball as well. Also a member of the Adidas Eurocamp, she averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists as well as shooting 60.7% from the field. At the Adidas 3SSB Championships, she averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
Skinner has offers from BYU, SMU, Arizona, Texas A&M, Louisville, Southern Cal, Utah, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA, TCU, Baylor, Iowa, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Harvard, Washington State, Mississippi State, Illinois, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Florida.
2026
Saniyah Hall
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 3
6-0
Guard
Laurel School (OH) | Legends U
Hall is arguably the highest stock-rising perimeter player of the summer. The display of skill and poise she demonstrated at the 17U level had college coaches lining up along the baselines all of July. She has received offers from: Oregon, UConn, LSU, Arizona State, UCLA, South Carolina, Arizona, Pitt, Miami, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State, West Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida State, Maryland, and Ohio State.
Not bad for a player yet to play a game of high school basketball as a sophomore. Hall is a big and long guard with advanced footwork and skills. She plays with a physicality that few can play with at her age — and can play the guard, wing, or lead guard spot at times. She sees the game at an elevated level and reads actions and defenses very well already. She is a solid decision maker in transition and has proven to be able to knock down the 3, the pull up jumper with elevation, and also glide and explode to the rim.
Defensively, she gets in passing lanes and excels in a press as her physical tools and anticipation allow her to disrupt opponents. She also rebounds very well on both ends.
From ball screens to post ups to pin-downs to flare screens, Hall is comfortable all over the floor. This advancement is seen in students of the game and judging by her improvements over the last few months, one could deduce that she studies film and also the collegiate and professional game.
As expected, look for her recruitment to be hotly contested for the next few years.
Olivia Vukosa
ESPN HoopGurlz No. 2
6-4
Center
Christ the King (NY) | Philly Rise
This was quite the summer for the rising sophomore Vukosa. She was a large part of the 16U Philly Rise squad that won the 16U Nike EYBL Championships in July in Chicago. She had 11 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
She then went on to play for Croatia at the FIBA Women’s U16 European Championships in Turkey, helping them claim fifth place and qualify for next year’s FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. She was named to the events “All Star Five” after she averaged 22.6 points and 17.1 rebounds (five of those offensive) in the team’s seven games of the tournament. She is a dual citizen of Croatia and missed the U16 USA Trials in May because of an injury. This opened the window for her participation in August for Croatia.
Olivia continues to grow, both physically and in her game. She is one of the new age hybrid post players that is very agile, can shoot the three, is comfortable away from the basket, but also can still get physical inside carving out space for rebounds and deep post ups. She has a feathery touch 15 feet and in, finishing with both her right and left hand well in the paint. She has found a nice stroke out to the 3-point line and is shooting it more. She patrols the paint on one end and sprints the floor with a purpose to the other. She has a very advanced handle and makes good decisions in the break and facilitating for others.
The scary part is as Vukosa is gains more strength and experience, she can be even more efficient. Occasionally relying on longer jump hooks or the occasional unnecessary fadeaway jumper or being bumped off a spot because she playing too high, those will turn into tight, power finishes or counter-attacks for more aggressive scoring opportunities. The skills and the fundamental foundation are all there. As she begins to be more precise and specific in her actions and physicality, there are not many players that can get in her way.
She has every major offer in the country: UConn, South Carolina, LSU, Stanford. It is not exaggerating to say every single Power Five level program wants Vukosa.
2027
Although most have not played a high school game just yet, here are 10 incoming freshmen who have shown particular promise heading into the 2023-2024 high school season.
Haylen Ayers
Guard
University School of Jackson (TN)
Jezelle Banks
Point guard
Ursuline High School (DE)
Ryan Carter
Wing
William Penn Charter (PA)
Micah Fusilier
Forward
Camden Fairfield School (AR)
Lauren Hassell
Forward
Clarksville Christian (TN)
Jordyn Palmer
Wing
Westtown School (PA)
Qandace Samuels
Guard
Bishop McNamara (MD)
Sydney Savoury
Guard
Belleville HS (MI)
Kaleena Smith
Point guard
Ontario Christian High School (CA)
Ivanna Wilson-Manyaka
Guard
Bullis School (MD)
