ESPN Final 2019 Recruiting Rankings

[SimpleDawg]

Thoughts? Conjectures? I obviously love our class, and feel really excited about our future.

ESPN	WOMEN'S​		CLASS​	OF​	2019​		RANKINGS​
RANK​	NAME	GRADE	COLLEGE	POS	HT	WT	SCHOOL
1​	Haley Jones	98​	Stanford	W	6-1		Archbishop Mitty H.S. (CA)
2​	Jordan Horston	98​	Tennessee	G	6-1		Columbus Africentric H.S. (OH)
3​	Aliyah Boston	98​	South Carolina	P	6-4		Worcester Academy (MA)
4​	Zia Cooke	98​	South Carolina	PG	5-9		Rogers H.S. (OH)
5​	Rickea Jackson	98​	Mississippi State	W	6-2		Detroit Edison Public Academy (MI)
6​	Samantha Brunelle	98​	Notre Dame	F	6-2		William Monroe H.S.
7​	Ashley Owusu	98​	Maryland	PG	5-9		Paul VI H.S. (VA)
8​	Kierstan Bell	98​	Ohio State	G	6-1		McKinley H.S. (OH)
9​	Aijha Blackwell	98​	Missouri	G	6-0		Whitfield School (MO)
10​	Laeticia Amihere	98​	South Carolina	F	6-3		King's Way Christian (CAN)
11​	Breanna Beal	98​	South Carolina	W	6-0		Rock Island H.S. (IL)
12​	Jordyn Oliver	98​	Baylor	G	5-10		Prosper H.S. (TX)
13​	Jaden Owens	98​	UCLA	PG	5-6		Plano West H.S. (TX)
14​	Maori Davenport	98​	Rutgers	P	6-4		Charles Henderson H.S. (AL)
15​	Ashten Prechtel	98​	Stanford	P	6-5		Discovery Canyon (CO)
16​	Jakia Brown-Turner	98​	NC State	W	6-0		Bishop McNamara H.S. (MD)
17​	Diamond Miller	98​	Maryland	G	6-1		Franklin H.S. (NJ)
18​	Anaya Peoples	98​	Notre Dame	PG	5-10		Schlarman H.S. (IL)
19​	Francesca Belibi	98​	Stanford	F	6-1		Regis Jesuit H.S. (CO)
20​	Kennedy Brown	98​	Oregon State	P	6-6		Derby Senior H.S. (KS)
21​	Aubrey Griffin	98​	UConn	W	6-1		Ossining Senior H.S. (NY)
22​	Charisma Osborne	98​	UCLA	PG	5-9		Windward School (CA)
23​	Nyah Green	98​	Louisville	G	6-1		Allen H.S. (TX)
24​	Rikki Harris	97​	Ohio State	PG	5-9		North Central H.S. (IN)
25​	Tiara Young	97​	LSU	G	5-10		Walker H.S. (LA)
26​	Hayley Frank	97​	Missouri	W	6-1		Strafford H.S. (MO)
27​	Malu Tshitenge-Mutombo	97​	North Carolina	P	6-3		St. John's College H.S. (DC)
28​	Aliyah Matharu	97​	Mississippi State	PG	5-7		Bishop McNamara H.S. (MD)
29​	Rickie Woltman	97​	Purdue	F	6-2		Incarnate Word Academy (MO)
30​	River Baldwin	97​	Florida State	P	6-5		Pleasant Home H.S. (AL)
31​	Chloe Chapman	97​	Georgia	PG	5-7		Our Lady of Good Counsel H.S. (MD)
32​	Zoe Young	97​	Maryland	G	5-10		Valley H.S. (IA)
33​	Elizabeth Kitley	97​	Virginia Tech	P	6-4		Northwest Guilford H.S. (NC)
34​	Jada Boyd	97​	NC State	F	6-2		Appomattox County H.S. (VA)
35​	Alisha Lewis	97​	Georgia Tech	PG	5-6		Strath Haven H.S. (PA)
36​	Endyia Rogers	97​	USC	PG	5-6		Bishop Lynch H.S. (TX)
37​	Angel Jackson	97​	USC	P	6-5		Salesian H.S. (CA)
38​	Sammie Puisis	97​	Florida State	W	6-1		William Mason H.S. (OH)
39​	Javyn Nicholson	97​	Georgia	F	6-1		Collins Hill H.S. (GA)
40​	Celeste Taylor	97​	Texas	G	5-11		Long Island Lutheran H.S. (NY)
41​	Alissa Pili	97​	USC	F	6-0		Dimond H.S. (AK)
42​	Jacy Sheldon	97​	Ohio State	G	5-10		Dublin Coffman H.S. (OH)
43​	Taylor Jones	97​	Oregon State	P	6-3		Dallas Christian High (TX)
44​	Eboni Walker	96​	Arizona State	W	6-0		Centennial H.S. (NV)
45​	Kemery Martin	96​	Utah	G	5-10		Alta H.S. (UT)
46​	Maggie McGraw	96​	Iowa State	G	5-10		Southeast Polk H.S. (IA)
47​	Tamari Key	96​	Tennessee	P	6-5		Cary H.S. (NC)
48​	Danae McNeal	96​	Clemson	G	6-0		Swansea H.S. (SC)
49​	Lavender Briggs	96​	Florida	G	5-11		Provo H.S. (UT)
50​	Hannah Jump	96​	Stanford	PG	5-11		Pinewood School (CA)
51​	Kirsten Deans	96​	West Virginia	PG	5-8		Westridge Academy (NC)
52​	Jorie Allen	96​	Indiana	W	6-0		Bedford North Lawrence H.S. (IN)
53​	MacKenzie Holmes	96​	Indiana	P	6-3		Gorham H.S. (ME)
54​	Tai-Yanna Jackson	95​	Ole Miss	P	6-5		East Chicago Central H.S. (IN)
55​	Shemera Williams	95​	Marquette	PG	5-7		University School of Milwaukee (WI)
56​	Moira Joiner	95​	Michigan State	PG	5-9		Heritage H.S. (MI)
57​	Jaida Patrick	95​	Duke	G	6-0		Saddle River Day School (NJ)
58​	Makenna Marisa	95​	Penn State	G	5-10		Peters Township H.S. (PA)
59​	Madison Greene	95​	Penn State	PG	5-7		Pickerington Central H.S. (OH)
60​	Sydnee Roby	95​	Miami	P	6-3		Rufus King H.S. (WI)
61​	Azana Baines	95​	Duke	G	6-1		Gloucester Catholic H.S. (NJ)
62​	Deasia Merrill	95​	Kentucky	F	6-2		Villa Rica H.S. (GA)
63​	Koi Love	95​	Vanderbilt	G	5-10		Miami Country Day School (FL)
64​	Corina Carter	95​	New Mexico	PG	5-6		Judson H.S. (TX)
65​	Jennifer Ezeh	95​	Duke	F	6-2		New Hope Academy (MD)
66​	Alexis Tucker	95​	Texas Tech	W	5-11		Junipero Serra H.S. (CA)
67​	Michelle Sidor	95​	Michigan	PG	5-7		Saddle River Day School (NJ)
68​	Alyza Winston	95​	Michigan State	PG	5-7		Muskegon H.S. (MI)
69​	Domonique Davis	95​	LSU	PG	5-7		DeRidder H.S. (LA)
70​	Silke Milliman	95​	Pennsylvania	W	6-2		Northfield-Mt. Hermon School (MA)
71​	Lauren Hansen	95​	Auburn	PG	5-7		Ward Melville H.S. (NY)
72​	Kayla Williams	95​	UC-Irvine	PG	5-7		Bishop Montgomery H.S. (CA)
73​	Julia Ayrault	95​	Michigan State	W	6-2		Grosse Pointe North H.S. (MI)
74​	Elizabeth Scott	95​	Oklahoma	W	6-0		Klein Oak H.S. (TX)
75​	Unique Drake	94​	St. John's	PG	5-7		Westwood H.S. (SC)
76​	Jasmine Powell	94​	Minnesota	PG	5-6		Detroit Country Day School (MI)
77​	Zakiyah Franklin	94​	Kansas	PG	5-7		Winter Haven H.S. (FL)
78​	Destiny Rice	94​	Alabama	G	5-8		North Caddo H.S. (LA)
79​	Lanetta Williams	94​	Memphis	F	6-3		Arlington H.S. (TN)
80​	McKinzie Green	94​	Texas A&M	PG	5-6		Manvel H.S. (TX)
81​	Cydni Dodd	94​	Michigan State	P	6-5		Warren Central H.S. (IN)
82​	Cavina Rickards	94​	Florida	G	5-8		Christ the King H.S. (NY)
83​	Leilani Correa	94​	West Virginia	G	5-10		Manchester Township H.S. (NJ)
84​	McKenna Warnock	94​	Iowa	W	6-1		Monona Grove H.S. (WI)
85​	Gabby Gregory	94​	Oklahoma	G	5-0		Holland Hall H.S. (OK)
86​	Faith Masonius	94​	Maryland	W	6-0		Manasquan H.S. (NJ)
87​	Maria Alvarez	94​	South Florida	G	5-7		Miami Country Day School (FL)
88​	Kaelynn Satterfield	94​	Ohio State	W	6-0		Christ the King H.S. (NY)
89​	Jayla Hemingway	94​	Mississippi State	G	5-9		Houston H.S. (TN)
90​	Azaria Robinson	94​	New Mexico	P	6-2		East Anchorage H.S. (AK)
91​	Jamie Pickens	94​	Montana	P	6-1		Helena H.S. (MT)
92​	Brianna Jackson	93​	Miami	P	6-3		Princess Anne H.S. (VA)
93​	Eleanor Mitchell	93​	Princeton	W	6-0		Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School (DC)
94​	Taiyier Parks	93​	Michigan State	F	6-2		North Royalton H.S. (OH)
95​	Alexandria Scruggs	93​	Wake Forest	G	5-9		E. E. Smith H.S. (NC)
96​	Demi Washington	93​	Vanderbilt	G	5-9		New Hope Academy (MD)
97​	JaMya Young	93​	Mississippi State	PG	5-7		Loranger H.S. (LA)
98​	Teisha Hyman	92​	Syracuse	PG	5-8		Woodlands H.S. (NY)
99​	Camille Hobby	91​	NC State	P	6-1		Nease H.S. (FL)
100​	Elaina Chapman	91​	Richmond	F	6-2		Trinity Episcopal School (VA)

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Aubrey Griffin moves up 12 spots to 21st.

 

[Reypl21]

I'm surprised People's didn't move up more. She brings intangibles that you can teach, and she impressed many of the *Twitter people*.

I would assume this takes into account the signers entire senior season... Which I'm sure every top 100 player should have probably looked good.

I'm still not sold on Cooke. She definitely earned her rank in the class, but she doesn't play like a PG. It'll be interesting to be coach Staley from here on how. There will be one year with Harris as the obvious leader and point, but what about next season? Henderson and Cooke? Cooke isn't exactly pass first?

 

[SCGamecock]

I'm surprised People's didn't move up more. She brings intangibles that you can teach, and she impressed many of the *Twitter people*.

I would assume this takes into account the signers entire senior season... Which I'm sure every top 100 player should have probably looked good.

I'm still not sold on Cooke. She definitely earned her rank in the class, but she doesn't play like a PG. It'll be interesting to be coach Staley from here on how. There will be one year with Harris as the obvious leader and point, but what about next season? Henderson and Cooke? Cooke isn't exactly pass first?

I don’t think she’s a true pg either.. heck of a passer and playmaker, but that doesn’t mean you’re a point. Too many playmaker guards get labeled that way. I’m almost positive Cooke will play off the ball at South Carolina, think Asia Durr. We’ll play through her a lot once Staley thinks she’s ready. Cooke can absolutely dominate a game. Questionable shot selection, no different than most star players out of HS. She’ll improve, the kid works hard and is basketball first. You’ll never need to convince her to practice.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Aubrey Griffin moves up 12 spots to 21st.

That's well deserved. Though I'm surprised Belibi didn't move farther than 19th from 23rd. In every game I've seen her play in, she's been a game changer. Yes, she's still very raw, but come on! At a minimum, I would very comfortably put her above our 2nd ranked recruit, Prechtel, who moved up to #15.

And yeah, I think Peoples should have moved up to.

 

[Ozzie1986]

would be good if they added all those outside of North America.

 

[DaBball]

For 2020, Aliyah Edwards is now #14. Angel Reese #2.

 

[oldude]

I don’t think she’s a true pg either.. heck of a passer and playmaker, but that doesn’t mean you’re a point. Too many playmaker guards get labeled that way. I’m almost positive Cooke will play off the ball at South Carolina, think Asia Durr. We’ll play through her a lot once Staley thinks she’s ready. Cooke can absolutely dominate a game. Questionable shot selection, no different than most star players out of HS. She’ll improve, the kid works hard and is basketball first. You’ll never need to convince her to practice.

There is also the question of where exactly does Dawn play TX transfer Destiny Littleton, yet another G who’ll be looking for PT once she’s eligible.

 

[DaBball]

In addition to dropping Hailey Van Lith to #8, he also switched her position from PG to G, strange.

No international players like Jelena Mitrovic or Ania are even counted as recruits.

 

[CocoHusky]

If Fran Belibi is Stanford's 3rd best recruit then Stanford just got a class for the ages and could win multiple championships especially with Tara coaching.

 

[oldude]

If Fran Belibi is Stanford's 3rd best recruit then Stanford just got a class for the ages and could win multiple championships especially with Tara coaching.

In the present world of WBB, I would normally say, “let’s see how many of these recruits are still there in 4 years.” But the prestige of a Stanford education has made Tara’s team almost immune from the transfer bug that has infected CBB.

SC, on the other hand, is a completely different situation. It is almost a given that Dawn will lose one or more of her heralded freshmen class, particularly when you add TX transfer Destiny Littleton to the mix.

 

[Argonaut]

In the present world of WBB, I would normally say, “let’s see how many of these recruits are still there in 4 years.” But the prestige of a Stanford education has made Tara’s team almost immune from the transfer bug that has infected CBB.

SC, on the other hand, is a completely different situation. It is almost a given that Dawn will lose one or more of her heralded freshmen class, particularly when you add TX transfer Destiny Littleton to the mix.

And maybe one will get a little homesick...

 

[oldude]

And maybe one will get a little homesick...

I don’t think there’s a D1 program in St Thomas....

 

[SCspur]

In the present world of WBB, I would normally say, “let’s see how many of these recruits are still there in 4 years.” But the prestige of a Stanford education has made Tara’s team almost immune from the transfer bug that has infected CBB.

SC, on the other hand, is a completely different situation. It is almost a given that Dawn will lose one or more of her heralded freshmen class, particularly when you add Destiny Littleton to the mix.

How so? Littleton doesn’t even play the same position as any of the incoming recruits..... I find it hard to believe any of them leave especially when they will have lots of playing time and a better chance to win a championship than just about anywhere else.

Stanford is far more full on scholarships with less playing time than SC. Dawn only has 10 scholarship players for the coming season if Littleton isn’t eligible. That’s the perfect roster situation for everyone to get playing time and building better chemistry. If Destiny receives a waiver this year I still don’t see a situation where anyone would be upset. She’ll get plenty of time in the backcourt with Harris, Henderson, Cooke and Beal.

 

[oldude]

How so? Littleton doesn’t even play the same position as any of the incoming recruits..... I find it hard to believe any of them leave especially when they will have lots of playing time and a better chance to win a championship than just about anywhere else.

Stanford is far more full on scholarships with less playing time than SC. Dawn only has 10 scholarship players for the coming season if Littleton isn’t eligible. That’s the perfect roster situation for everyone to get playing time and building better chemistry. If Destiny receives a waiver this year I still don’t see a situation where anyone would be upset. She’ll get plenty of time in the backcourt with Harris, Henderson, Cooke and Beal.

So you’re confident that Dawn will be able to manage a 5 player rotation in the backcourt, including 2 recruits, and keep everyone happy? If that’s the case, more power to her, but I would point out that it didn’t work out this past season.

 

[Argonaut]

I don’t think there’s a D1 program in St Thomas....

 

[SCspur]

So you’re confident that Dawn will be able to manage a 5 player rotation in the backcourt, including 2 recruits, and keep everyone happy? If that’s the case, more power to her, but I would point out that it didn’t work out this past season.

Yes....why wouldn’t she? Having 7 guards is far different than just 5. If we’re being technical Beal is more of a wing than a guard anyway so it’s really just 4. I’m pretty sure Dawn would much rather have 5 guards than just 3 she had in 17-18 or the overload of 7 this past year. You also have to factor in injuries so having an extra guard or so is never a bad thing.

While we are on this topic, How do you think UConn will fare with all of its guards in 2020-2021? Especially if Westbrook commits, how will Geno keep all those players happy?

 

[Magy Cannon]

Yes...

While we are on this topic, How do you think UConn will fare with all of its guards in 2020-2021? Especially if Westbrook commits, how will Geno keep all those players happy?

Probably, Geno won't care if they're all happy. Long as the starters are playing well, the bench will have to take the starters' spots, or be unhappy....

 

[CocoHusky]

While we are on this topic, How do you think UConn will fare with all of its guards in 2020-2021? Especially if Westbrook commits, how will Geno keep all those players happy?

Geno has never been in the keep the players happy business and he's not about to start now. The players performance is what will keep them happy. What makes the UCONN situation significantly different than the SC situation is the versatility of the UCONN players. UCONN will have 5 guards on the roster and among them only Dangerfield is locked into playing a single position. The other 4 guards have the ability to play at least two positions. Westbrook, Williams and Makurat can play 3 different positions.
By contrast the SC rosters has 3 defined PGs (Henderson, Cook, Harris) that need the ball to be effective.

 

[SCspur]

Geno has never been in the keep the players happy business and he's not about to start now. The players performance is what will keep them happy. What makes the UCONN situation significantly different than the SC situation is the versatility of the UCONN players. UCONN will have 5 guards on the roster and among them only Dangerfield is locked into playing a single position. The other 4 guards have the ability to play at least two positions. Westbrook, Williams and Makurat can play 3 different positions.
By contrast the SC rosters has 3 defined PGs (Henderson, Cook, Harris) that need the ball to be effective.

I beg to differ. Henderson played very little PG last year and showed the ability to score without the ball. Same with Zia, she only played PG when her coach needed her too. She even played off the ball in the u17 championships last summer. Harris is a pure PG, hence why she has the ball a lot. I definitely wouldn’t pigeon hole either Cooke or Henderson as PG as both will definitely play off the ball over their careers. Beal and Littleton are also players who can play different spots so SC has versatility and flexibility as well.

I feel as if some fans, not all, want SC’s freshman class to fall apart. Not sure why but it just seems that way since this isn’t the first time this topic has been brought up. I never seen the same said about Baylor’s “fab five”.... wonder what Dawn and SC has done to deserve such hate?

 

[Dillon77]

I'm surprised People's didn't move up more. She brings intangibles that you can teach, and she impressed many of the *Twitter people*.

I would assume this takes into account the signers entire senior season... Which I'm sure every top 100 player should have probably looked good.

I'm still not sold on Cooke. She definitely earned her rank in the class, but she doesn't play like a PG. It'll be interesting to be coach Staley from here on how. There will be one year with Harris as the obvious leader and point, but what about next season? Henderson and Cooke? Cooke isn't exactly pass first?

Glad to see someone else mention first that Anaya People's didn't move up more from her previous ranking (21?). Fully cop to having a slight bias (), but the former coach in me knows talent when I see it and Anaya keeps getting better.

I think the score (98) is the same as the top 23, but relative to her peers, I think she had a pretty damn good season:
- led her high school team to a second consecutive state title;
- played often and well in her national team duty; and,
- distinguished herself with excellent fundamentals and heady play in the all-star games that she appeared in.

Once again, this is one person's take and who knows how much Dan did/didn't see Anaya. It's another reason why I tend to mesh together a lot of the rankings and pay most attention to what the recruiting coach sees in the prospect.

Looking macro, 2019 looked pretty static compared to 2020, which could be subtitled "Chutes and Ladders."

 

[oldude]

Yes....why wouldn’t she? Having 7 guards is far different than just 5. If we’re being technical Beal is more of a wing than a guard anyway so it’s really just 4. I’m pretty sure Dawn would much rather have 5 guards than just 3 she had in 17-18 or the overload of 7 this past year. You also have to factor in injuries so having an extra guard or so is never a bad thing.

While we are on this topic, How do you think UConn will fare with all of its guards in 2020-2021? Especially if Westbrook commits, how will Geno keep all those players happy?

In WBB today, I think every coach, with the exception of Tara, for the reasons I outlined, struggles to keep players from transferring, because players want to play. That includes Geno, Dawn Jeff, Kim, MM and so on. The last time Geno was able to graduate a 4 yr class of 4 or more really good basketball players was 17 years ago, when Sue, Swin, Asa & Tamika all started as part of a National Championship team, earned AA status and were all drafted in the top 6 spots by the W. The key was that they all played.

I’m not knocking Dawn. She’s one of the best coaches in the country, but like just about every other coach in the country, she’s got to manage transfers, both in and out. If she stops recruiting for a year or so, and stops accepting transfers for a similar period, maybe she’ll keep everyone happy...maybe. More likely is that she will continue to recruit additional players and take transfers next year and beyond. In the end, some will leave and some will stay.

 

[SCGamecock]

I beg to differ. Henderson played very little PG last year and showed the ability to score without the ball. Same with Zia, she only played PG when her coach needed her too. She even played off the ball in the u17 championships last summer. Harris is a pure PG, hence why she has the ball a lot. I definitely wouldn’t pigeon hole either Cooke or Henderson as PG as both will definitely play off the ball over their careers. Beal and Littleton are also players who can play different spots so SC has versatility and flexibility as well.

I feel as if some fans, not all, want SC’s freshman class to fall apart. Not sure why but it just seems that way since this isn’t the first time this topic has been brought up. I never seen the same said about Baylor’s “fab five”.... wonder what Dawn and SC has done to deserve such hate?

Of course some do. They want our players. Probably from the same people that scoffed at the idea of UConn losing players or receiving transfers years ago. The game has definitely changed. I can't blame them though, it's a good class. I didn't openly root for Baylor's class to fall apart, but internally I still want Nalyssa Smith. I don't take offense to it, but usually once a topic has devolved into transfer talk and wishful thinking I just stop responding to that person. There's nothing we can talk about at that point.

 

[CocoHusky]

I beg to differ. Henderson played very little PG last year and showed the ability to score without the ball. Same with Zia, she only played PG when her coach needed her too. She even played off the ball in the u17 championships last summer. Harris is a pure PG, hence why she has the ball a lot. I definitely wouldn’t pigeon hole either Cooke or Henderson as PG as both will definitely play off the ball over their careers. Beal and Littleton are also players who can play different spots so SC has versatility and flexibility as well.

I feel as if some fans, not all, want SC’s freshman class to fall apart. Not sure why but it just seems that way since this isn’t the first time this topic has been brought up. I never seen the same said about Baylor’s “fab five”.... wonder what Dawn and SC has done to deserve such hate?

Please don't count me among "them". Dawn is from Philly so I'm always have her back. Henderson might have played very little point guard last year but that was because you had a very good PG in Harris. Henderson and Cooke in both HS and USA basketball were PGs. Cooke especially needs the ball to be effective because her best skill is getting to the rim. Neither player is a good enough shooter to play off the ball IMO.

 

[CocoHusky]

Of course some do. They want our players. Probably from the same people that scoffed at the idea of UConn losing players or receiving transfers years ago. The game has definitely changed. I can't blame them though, it's a good class. I didn't openly root for Baylor's class to fall apart, but internally I still want Nalyssa Smith. I don't take offense to it, but usually once a topic has devolved into transfer talk and wishful thinking I just stop responding to that person. There's nothing we can talk about at that point.

Not all of them. If Tyasha Harris or Aaliyah Boston were to go looking for a new home I'd be interested. The rest you can keep.