’23 All Eyez On Me 2025 Standouts

I love seeing new faces and quite a few of these players made their debut in front of me while others I probably saw briefly yet the few I have been watching for years really had me smiling because of where they were and where they are now. With so much nonsense being absorbed by people who speed read on social media, two things will remain constant, “talent is everywhere” and I love PROGRESSION on the court

Ally Ihler (Salado)

Ihler is long and athletic, but she’s also 6’2 and one thing I love is big guards that can drop the long ball but importantly, college coaches love it too and they offer next-level opportunities. She can drop it off the dribble, she can drop it coming off of the screen yet her “catch and shoot” from deep has gone to another level. She’s also more aggressive when attacking the basket and watching her finish strongly after contact was “over the top” for me but her timing to block shots has SHOT UP, so has her rebounding and seeing her go coast to coast to drop the stop and pop or see the floor for assists had me smiling widely

Brynlee Young (Rouse)

Young showed quick hands in the 1 on 1 drill, along with setting the defender up to attack the basket but her timing was also nice and seeing her block shots during the drills was nice. That timing also worked in the games as she played the passing lane very well but her body control on her finishes after contact needs to be mentioned, and so does her pull-up jumper which was knocked down while being defended

Evie Bruce (Liberty Hill)

Bruce has made a transformation and she’s stronger and more athletic and when you factor in she’s over “the magic number” which is 6’0, college coaches will take a hard look at her. She can be overpowering inside the paint and score with players literally hanging on her around the rim as well as off the dribble. Her body control was equally impressive and she showed a nice “change of pace” in the open court. She saw the floor and faced the basket to score and her timing enabled her to get some blocks

Haylee Rivers (Manor)

Rivers showed the spin move in the 1 on 1 drill and that proved to be one of her “go-to” moves. She uses her athleticism on both ends and does a good job attacking the basket from multiple angles, contact was irrelevant. Her spin also worked in the games as she got out of traps to show the pull-up but on the flip, her “on the ball” defense was tough and created turnovers as she forced players into the trap, used her hands for steals, and played the passing lane

Natalie Maldonado (Lake Belton)

Maldonado was one of the players in attendance that showed a very nice step back to drop the jumper and she gave me a preview in the 1 on 1. She showed everything in the games and watching her drop it from a variety of ways, straight up in the set, off the pick, stop and pop in transition, and one of my favorites “the catch and shoot” all from mid to long-range. To keep the defender honest, she also attacked the basket off the dribble to score

Reese Hoadley (Georgetown)

Hoadley is another player that has taken her game to a different level and her maturity as well as confidence and not deferring to anyone all play a part in what she’s becoming. She too has implemented the “step back” into her game and gone from a player that scored in the flow to one that can score in droves if needed. Her pull-up jumper was consistent, I have WOW next to her off-the-dribble finishes yet her “on the ball” defense has taken off

Sayler Bourland (Vista Ridge)

Bourland showed the crossover in a variety of ways to get herself open and I just shook my head. Keep in mind, she did that under pressure. Her first step sets everything up and her body control helped give her nice finishes but she also did a good job of creating her shot and dropping the jumper while being defended. She rebounded and went coast to coast to score with the jumper, attacking the rim or hitting teammates for assist opportunities

Sophia Alvarez (San Antonio Lee)

Alvarez is “a long and athletic” guard and one more time, that too is the base. I love evaluating that profile yet more importantly so do college coaches and as I stated in the opening eval, they give next-level opportunities. Her intangibles are she loves to defend and her ball pressure alone creates problems yet she handles the ball and sees the floor under pressure. She attacked off the dribble with either hand, with nice body control after contact on her finishes plus she played the passing lane

Zainab Amin (Eastview)

Amin also brought the heat on the defensive end, I’m talking on the ball, baseline to baseline yet she also played within herself and made good decisions and watching her attack and score both in the 1 on 1 drill as well as the game was nice, and then she pulled the jumper out and her dropping it from midrange with a hand in her face was solid. On top of that, her quick release was nice as she showed the “catch and shoot”

Raeleigh Villanueva (Round Rock Stony Point)

Villanueva showed something that is somewhat of a lost art and that was the midrange jumper. She did it in the set, she did it in transition, and she showed during the 1 on 1 drill but watching her handle the ball and zig-zag by defenders was nice, her crossover left some cemented to the court. She mixed it up nicely because she attacked the basket from multiple angles and finished using very nice body control