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Joyce Edwards leads the way in 2024 hoops recruiting rankings

Joyce Edwards debuts as the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2024 after an impressive summer with AAU powerhouse FBC United. (Mina Park/Just Women’s Sports)

Prospects in the Class of 2024 are set to embark on a new chapter of high school basketball as they enter their junior seasons.

Coaches from the nation’s top programs have had an eye on these recruits for quite some time. Just Women’s Sports presents the first round of recruiting rankings for the 2024 girls basketball prospects, a mere two seasons away from joining the college ranks.

Click here to see the latest top-25 rankings from the Class of 2023.

1 | Joyce Edwards, Camden (S.C.)
6-foot-2 forward

Edwards is the reigning USA TODAY HSSA Girls Rising Star of the Year and is a fixture on the court for both Camden and AAU powerhouse FBC United. Edwards can navigate her way around the rim better than any member of her class. During this summer’s Under Armour Association Finals, she ensured that FBC United advanced to the championship by standing out in a crowd of many of the most elite players in the high school ranks.

2 | Olivia Olson, Benilde Saint Margaret (Minn.)
6-foot point guard

Olson is the only player on this list with a verbal commitment. Sold on Kim Barnes-Arico’s vision after a Labor Day visit, Olson is one of the highest-ranking commits in Michigan women’s basketball history. She chose the Wolverines over UConn, Duke, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

3 | Jaloni Cambridge, The Ensworth School (Tenn.)
5-6 point guard

Another FBC United standout, Cambridge was named National Sophomore of the Year by MaxPreps after averaging 17.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Cambridge started every game this summer for the U17 national team, leading the squad with 16 points and nine assists in the gold-medal game.

4 | Kendall Dudley, Sidwell Friends School (District of Columbia)
6-1 wing

Kiki Rice, Jadyn Donovan and now Dudley. A member of this summer’s inaugural Team Durant Girls 17U roster, Dudley is among the star upperclassmen for Sidwell’s powerhouse program. Those who followed the Quakers’ undefeated run will remember her 18-point, eight-rebound performance at the inaugural State Champions Invitational in April. She also served on this past year’s Jr. NBA Court of Leaders.

5 | Taliyah Parker, South Grand Prairie (Texas)
6-1 guard

Parker is a new addition to South Grand Prairie this year after transferring from Putnam City West (Okla.). One of the most versatile guards in her class, she has offers from 30 schools around the country, including from each of the Power 5 conferences.

6 | Kiyomi McMiller, Life Center Academy (N.J.)
5-7 point guard

Originally from the talent-packed DMV area, McMiller has an unmatched handle as a rising junior. During her sophomore season, she backed it up with 27.1 points per game. Her speed and ball awareness are already advanced, and wherever she lands at the next level will be able to use her unique skill set right away. McMiller’s creativity as a guard separates her from competitors and high-level recruits alike.

7 | Sarah Strong, Grace Academy (N.C.)
6-2 forward

What a year it’s been for Strong, who won a Class 1A state title with Grace Academy in the 2021-22 season. During that campaign, she averaged a double-double with 25.5 points and 17.6 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from the 3-point line. The daughter of Danny Strong, the former NC State star and international player, and Allison Feaster — who played in the WNBA for the Charlotte Sting, Los Angeles Sparks and Indiana Fever — is having a tremendous 2022, having also won a gold medal with the Team USA U18 3×3 squad in August.

8 | Adhel Tac, South Grand Prairie (Texas)
6-5 post

Another formidable member on the South Grand Prairie roster, Tac is the total package — her height is only a fraction of what makes her an intriguing prospect. On both ends of the court, the paint belongs to her. In Tac’s sophomore season, she averaged 14.1 points per game on 63.4 percent shooting.

9 | Blanca Thomas, Charlotte Catholic (N.C.)
6-5 post

Thomas possesses both size and skill. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds per game. Her hustle and dominance beneath the rim have earned her plenty of attention, but in late August, she narrowed her list of schools to 10: Duke, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

10 | Britt Prince, Elkhorn North (Neb.)
5-11 point guard

Prince also runs on the cross country and track and field teams, excelling in both sports. Countless athletes benefit from playing multiple sports, but endurance goes a long way on the basketball court. In 2021-22, Prince helped lead Elkhorn North to its second straight state title, averaging 24.1 points, seven rebounds, 4.3 assists and 4.4 steals per game and shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc and 83.7 percent from the charity stripe. Oh, and she also picked up a state title in the 800m with a time of 2 minutes, 17.43 seconds.

11 | Allie Ziebell, Neenah (Wis.)
5-10 guard

This summer, AAU team Wisconsin Flight Elite took home the 17U Nike Girls EYBL Louisville title after Ziebell dropped a 30-piece on 10-of-12 shooting. Ziebell is a pure shooter, unafraid of tough defenders. During her sophomore season, no girls’ basketball player in the entire state of Wisconsin averaged as many points as she did (30.2 points per game).

12 | Jordan Lee, Saint Mary’s (Calif.)
6-3 forward

Lee is often first in line to celebrate with her teammates, but there’s a lot to appreciate about her game. She’s one of the best players California has to offer, and last season she averaged 18.1 points and seven rebounds per game. A multi-sport athlete, Lee also holds her school’s track and field records in the 800m (2:17.03) and the 1600m (5:02.75).

13 | Kennedy Smith, Etiwanda (Calif.)
6-2 wing

Etiwanda consistently develops top talent with its emphasis on work ethic and embracing tough competition, and Smith exemplifies that. When she was younger, Smith operated in the post. However, as she’s expanded her skill set over the first half of her high school career, she’s adjusted. She can succeed anywhere her team needs her. Smith demonstrated that last year when she averaged 18.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks per game as Etiwanda went 29-1.

14 | Mikayla Blakes, Rutgers Prep (N.J.)
5-9 guard

Named to the Skyland Conference’s 2021 All-Division First Team in cross country, Blakes will give any player on the East Coast a run for their money, and she’ll most likely outrun them, too. On the court for Rutgers Prep, Blakes averaged more than 18 points and four rebounds over 32 games in her sophomore season. Guard skills run in the family, as she’s the younger sister of Duke guard Jaylen Blakes.

15 | Maddy McDaniel, Bishop McNamara (Md.)
5-8 point guard

An honorable mention to The Washington Post’s 2021-22 Winter All-Met Team, the deft McDaniel impacts games with her ability to facilitate against even the stiffest of competition in the DMV region. After she received an invitation to participate in Steph Curry’s summer camp and the UA Next Elite 24 game, it’s obvious that McDaniel is on the rise.

16 | Liv McGill, Hopkins (Minn.)
5-7 point guard

McGill is the next elite point guard to step up for Hopkins, and she’s equipped with all the necessary skills. A vocal leader with a relentless defensive motor, McGill runs the game with a level of enthusiasm that goes above and beyond most.

17 | Toby Lee Fournier, Crestwood Secondary (Ontario, Canada)
6-2 forward

In Team Canada’s U17 World Cup game against Korea, Fournier turned in a double-double of 32 points and 17 rebounds. She also had five assists, three steals and two blocks, not to mention a now-viral dunk after one of those steals. Fournier was a consistent contributor to the eventual fourth-place team.

18 | Katie Fiso, Garfield (Wash.)
5-10 point guard

Fiso handles business on defense and leads the charge at the point. She always seems to be one step ahead of her competition. As a sophomore, Fiso led Garfield to a Class 3A state championship.

19 | Mackenly Randolph, Sierra Canyon (Calif.)
6-1 forward

During her time with this summer’s Team USA U17 gold-medal team, Randolph finished with a team-high 60 percent three-point shooting percentage. She averaged 9.3 points and 5.6 rebounds across seven games for the national team. Randolph is also the daughter of two-time NBA All-Star Zach Randolph, who spent 18 years in the league. A true student of the Southern California basketball scene, Randolph played for Team Mamba, which was coached by the late Kobe Bryant.

20 | Justice Carlton, Seven Lakes (Texas)
6-2 forward

Carlton is truly a well-rounded forward. In her sophomore season for Seven Lakes, Carlton averaged 25.5 points and 2.9 blocks per game. She’s an effective scorer from all over the court, whether she’s behind the arc or driving into traffic beneath the rim.

21 | Kennedy Ume, McDonogh School (Md.)
6-4 forward

Ume was named a finalist for the U16 Team in 2021 but didn’t ultimately make a national team roster until this summer, when she won gold in Hungary after averaging 6.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game with the U17 team. She also totaled 10 steals across seven games.

22 | Kate Koval, Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.)
6-5 post

Born in Kyiv, Koval helped Ukraine’s U18 3×3 team to the quarterfinals this summer. Koval is a strong, physical big with a high ceiling. Last season, she averaged a double-double with 18.7 points and 12 rebounds for Long Island Lutheran.

23 | Morgan Cheli, Archbishop Mitty (Calif.)
6-2 guard

Cheli is a disruptive guard who’s managed to make a name for herself both in Northern California at the storied Archbishop Mitty High School and on the global stage. In July, she joined her high school coach, Sue Phillips, and led the gold-medal U17 national team in steals, averaging 3 per game.

24 | Zamareya Jones, North Pitt (N.C.)
5-7 point guard

The third FBC United star in this round of recruiting rankings, Jones is a bold shooter who happens to score on most of her attempts. During her sophomore season at North Pitt, she averaged 24.3 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the field. Her social media bios all read “Heart over Height,” and those who have seen her play can attest to that fact.

25 | Tajianna Roberts, La Jolla Country Day (Calif.)
5-10 guard

A standout guard for hoops powerhouse La Jolla Country Day, Roberts is used to playing against high-level players. She averaged 14 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while sharing the spotlight with 2023 standouts Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams. Roberts is a focused defender with a smooth shot and a high basketball IQ. She’s also the only player on this list to have delivered a TED Talk.

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also writes about college basketball for Blue Ribbon Sports and covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

NFL to Launch Women’s Professional Flag Football League Ahead of 2028 LA Olympics

Team USA wide receiver Isabella Geraci runs around a Team China defender during a preliminary round flag football game at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China.
The 2028 LA Olympics will feature women's flag football for the first time in history. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

The NFL is putting women on the gridiron, with commissioner Roger Goodell announcing plans to launch both a men's and women's professional flag football league at Thursday's Leaders in Sport conference in London.

Looking to have both new ventures up and running in "the next couple of years," the NFL's goal is to introduce the leagues prior to the 2028 Summer Games in LA, where flag football will make its Olympic debut.

"The demand is there. We're seeing colleges in the States and universities internationally also that want to make it a part of their program," Goodell said. "If you set that structure up where there's youth leagues, going into high school, into college, and then professional, I think you can develop a system of scale. That's an important infrastructure that we need to create."

Building that infrastructure also feeds the ongoing NFL goal of growing flag football in order to construct a young fanbase for the gridiron sport at-large, with the league investing in a fan pipeline to support the NFL's future.

In part due to past NFL investments, women's flag football has seen significant growth across the US over the last 25 years, with over 30 states now offering competitive opportunities for high school girls — and at least half of those states fielding it as a full-fledged varsity championship sport.

Even the NCAA is getting in on the action, taking initial steps earlier this year to introduce flag football across all three of the governing body's divisions in the near future.

Though the LA Olympics are three years away, flag football is already charging ahead on the international stage, featuring in the 2022 and 2025 World Games — where the same US talent that the NFL is eyeing for its new league snagged a pair of silver medals.

Lauren Betts, UCLA Tops Big Ten Basketball Polls Ahead of 2025/26 NCAA Season

UCLA basketball center Lauren Betts yells in triumph after a play during a 2025 Elite Eight game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts topped two Big Ten preseason player of the year lists this week. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season is just around the corner, and the Big Ten is celebrating by shouting out the conference's top predicted performers in both the coaches and media preseason polls on Thursday.

The UCLA Bruins — the Big Ten's singular 2025 Final Four participant — took the top team spot in both surveys, with the Maryland Terrapins trailing just behind as the conference's No. 2 ranked squad.

Rounding out the Top 5 in both polls were the USC Trojans, Michigan Wolverines, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

As for individual athletes, UCLA senior and the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts clocked in as the polls' unanimous favorite for Big Ten Player of the Year, with the standout center unsurprisingly capturing the top spot in the absence of injured USC star and 2025 Naismith Player of the Year JuJu Watkins.

Also picking up preseason All-Big Ten Team honors in both surveys were fellow UCLA standout Kiki Rice plus four other seniors: Iowa's Hannah Stuelke, Maryland's Yarden Garzon and Kaylene Smikle, and Michigan State's Grace VanSlooten.

A trio of underclassmen also made the cut in both 2025/26 preseason polls, with Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge — last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year — joined by a pair of fellow sophomores from archrival Michigan, Olivia Olson and Syla Swords.

The final spot on the All-Big Ten Team lists went to one of the Washington Huskies, with the 18 conference head coaches tapping junior Sayvia Sellers while the media honored senior Elle Ladine.

The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season tips off on November 3rd.

Unrivaled 3×3 to Bring Pro Women’s Basketball Back to Philadelphia with 2026 Tour Stop

A graphic reads "Philly is Unrivaled" on top of the 3x3 basketball league's logo crest.
Unrivaled will take the court in Philadelphia this winter in the city's first women's professional basketball game since 1998. (Unrivaled)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is hitting the road, with the offseason league announcing on Thursday that it will make its first-ever tour stop during the upcoming expanded 2026 season when it takes over Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on January 30th.

"The energy and dedication of everyone who helped bring this tour stop to life, combined with the passion of Philadelphia's sports fans, made the city the perfect stage for Unrivaled," league president Alex Bazzell said in Thursday's press release.

Featuring four as-yet-unannounced Unrivaled teams in a regular-season doubleheader, the Miami-based league will also pack additional activations and events supporting the competition into its inaugural tour stop.

"Philadelphia is the city of firsts, so it makes perfect sense that the Unrivaled League picked our historical city, with unmatched sports enthusiasts, as its first tour stop," said Philadelphia mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

The upstart league's first foray outside of Miami will also mark Philadelphia's first professional women's basketball games since 1998.

"Advancing women's pro sports in Philly has been a goal we've passionately pursued for years," said comedian Wanda Sykes, an Unrivaled investor and a founding member of the Philadelphia Sisters, a women's sports advocacy group. "Unrivaled, this groundbreaking league, is set to elevate the women's basketball ecosystem as a whole, and we are honored that Philly has been chosen as its first-ever tour stop."

How to purchase tickets to Unrivaled in Philadelphia

Unrivaled isn't revealing the four participating teams until sometime next month, but fans can secure their own spots at the Philadelphia tour stop today.

Tickets for the January 30th doubleheader are currently available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.

NWSL Decision Day Looms Large for 2025 Playoff Hopeful Houston Dash

Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie huddles with her team during a 2025 NWSL match.
The Houston Dash currently sit three points below the postseason cutoff line in the 2025 NWSL standings. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

With just four regular-season matchdays remaining in the 2025 NWSL season, the clock is quickly ticking down for teams making a late push to rise above the postseason cutoff line on the league table — including the No. 10 Houston Dash.

Currently sitting three points outside of playoff contention, a motivated Houston side will look to make a leap against No. 5 Orlando on Friday night, as the defending champion Pride continues reeling from their recently snapped nine-game NWSL winless streak.

"For us, the next couple of matches are finals," Dash head coach Fabrice Gautrat said after last weekend's 4-0 loss to the No. 2 Washington Spirit. "We have to keep approaching it one game at a time like we've been doing, but we definitely have to have a response against the Orlando Pride."

Notably, Houston enters Friday's matchup with new firepower in the midfield, as teen phenom Chloe Ricketts joins the Dash as a short-term signing from the Spirit before she moves to incoming expansion side Boston Legacy FC in 2026.

"[Ricketts] is very lively, has great energy, great attitude, is eager and ambitious," said Gautrat of Houston's Wednesday signee. "She could play anywhere on our front line, to be honest."

How to watch the Houston Dash vs. Orlando Pride

The No. 10 Houston Dash will host the No. 5 Orlando Pride at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on Prime.

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