2026 Tip Sheet #NextUp50

Ava Ford-5’9 F (Houston United 2026)

Ford continues to turn it up, I saw her maturity come into play towards the end of the club season and with her being long and athletic, remember that’s the base, with good size on top of that, she’s going to create some problems on both ends. She finishes well off the dribble and off put-backs but she’s also continuing to show she’s working on a variety of moves and shots facing the basket. She plays the passing lane and her ballhandling in the open court looked

Alissa Bryant-5’6 G

Bryant uses her athleticism well, she understands positioning, and at this stage, that’s a big plus, why, because it enables her to rebound against taller opponents yet she’s strong and can finish after contact, either after an offensive rebound or attacking the rim but she elevates nicely on her jumper, she sees the floor and she can handle the ball, that trifecta of skills right there will keep her busy but just as or even more importantly it will keep defenders busier trying to contain her

Endia Stigall-5’3 CG (Stat Elite)

Stigall has long arms and is athletic, that too is the base, and watching her play the passing lane was a treat because she can handle the ball, has good speed and control and that combination there led to baskets going the other way but her acrobatic finishes had me smiling for a number of reasons like with body control like that, right now, that’s pretty big. She also attacks off the dribble in the half-court, she creates that under pressure as well as her pull-up jumper and she defends strongly

Aysia Gholston-5’6 P (San Antonio Lady Hoops)

Gholston came up to me after the event and told me she didn’t get a chance to take her picture prior to it, that right there told me she “pays attention” and after looking at my notes, I get it. She started off going behind her back in transition to finish, she has good size and power as well as athleticism but she handles the ball and sees the floor. She can attack in transition, finish after contact but she’s very active on the floor, constantly moving, especially on defense and as I say, you can’t teach that not her “ups” for rebounds

Jordan Rosenthal-5’4 G (San Antonio Lady Hoops)

Rosenthal does a good job at creating her shot and setting defenders up, she’s heady and crafty with the ball, she makes solid plays and solid decisions and all of that falls into BB-IQ 101so the midrange looked good, so did her attacking the rim and handling the ball in the open court while being defended but I’m just having a flashback to some of her passes as she made them where the player was supposed to be, that’s impressive at this stage but she also dropped some defense

Camden Shields-5’3 PG (San Antonio Lady Hoops)

Shields had everything covered because “you can’t play the game if you haven’t learned the game” and let me tell you something, she’s doing some teaching. I’m partial to PG’s for obvious reasons and I love dropping “the game starts at the 1” some get it or they will eventually and she gives it up nicely while being pressured yet she’s poised, makes crisp passes on the money, and understands something else huge, how to control the tempo. I’m envisioning what’s coming, also her defense was solid

Peyton Cooks-5’2 CG (Texas Phenoms)

Cooks was serving the full course meal starting with an explosive first step which creates some issues trying to defend yet the issues didn’t stop there as she does a good job creating her shot and making it but her ability to get to the rim, whether it was in the open court or in the halfcourt was impressive not to mention her finishes that included after contact. Her athleticism stood out on both ends of the floor, she applies pressure baseline to baseline on defense and understands how to trap and switch

Amayah Garcia-5’7 G/F (Cy Fair Lewis)

Garcia’s nickname is Sunshine and I see why because she definitely brightened things up off the top and let me say one more thing, her game preceded her because I had caught a video of her, had glanced at her club team a couple of times but let me say this, her upside is unreal because she does so many things well right now. Her pull-up, mid to long-range, her attacking the rim and finishing powerfully, after the lick, her ball-handling, seeing the floor, and just court sense is way ahead of the game. She elevates on her jumper, it’s fluid, the release is quick and she rebounds and defends

Heather Juarez-5’11F

Juarez is just under “the magic number’ and that’s 6’0, the number many college coaches love to see. I love her mobility, her agility, and her power, she runs the floor on both ends, she can defend inside the paint but she also showed she could step out of it. Her footwork is good, so are her hands, this enabled her to finish around the basket but she also scored off the short jumper. She’s strong, she battles on the boards and what I really love is her desire as well as her upside

Brittney Anderson-5’5 G (Power Basketball)

Anderson falls into that “blazing” category because she can ignite the break by herself and seeing her maneuver around defensive players to attack the rim and finish was definitely exciting for me not just because of what she did, how she did it because of her confidence in her ability shows, she also can make the pass off the dribble, going full speed and her pull-up jumper in transition is a good tool to have. She defends, plays the passing lane, and just doesn’t let up

Faith Idowu-5’5 G (Lady Panthers)

Idowu had a prior engagement yet she left me engaged on what I see in her game and what’s coming. She’s athletic, has good speed, can handle the ball, and understands the game so when you mix that formula up, the potion will fix many problems. She can get to the basket and score, from either side and finish after contact but I also like how she created her jumper, nice form and release yet she did a good job of passing the ball as well as applying pressure on the defense

Kyndall Graham-5’1 G (Arkansas Mavericks/Cy Fair Hunt)

Graham might be my cousin yet no nepotism needed since I called her a #D1Lock the first time I saw her play and I’m just speechless on what she’s becoming. She thinks the game, she sets defenders up off the dribble, she can drop the mild to very long-range while being defended, forget about holding her in the open court, she has a crossover, a HEZ, a stutter step, and she throws blazing passes on the money from anywhere on the court and by adding the “no-look” you got to be ready so just run the floor with her and she’ll deliver, upside through the roof

Kaitln Lilly-5’4 G

Lilly falls into that “long and athletic” profile and yes, she understands how to play the passing lane but she understands a lot of things, like how to create her shot, how to take defenders off the dribble, and how to apply heat on defense. She has a deceptive first step, her midrange is nice but watching her attack and finish gracefully and with ease, while being defended is a really good sign and when you add her ballhandling, as well as seeing the floor, she’s definitely going to make some noise in the not too distant future

Jasmine Whitaker-5’5 G

Whitaker is athletic and does a very good job of rebounding on both ends of the court but watching her not only anticipate passes, her ability to play the passing lane combined with her speed and ballhandling led to her attacking the rim and finishing multiple ways, including after contact but her body control while finishing is ahead of her years. She also creates her shot, showed the midrange numerous times, and watching her apply heat on the defensive end was definitely something to see

Gabriella Mendoza-4’11 G (Mamba Queens)

Mendoza uses her athleticism nicely and off the top, she played the passing lane over and over and if this wasn’t enough, her ballhandling definitely grabbed my attention as she didn’t feel the pressure being applied, she attacked the basket effortlessly while being defended but another huge thing, she saw the floor and made crisp passes on the money to teammates for easy baskets. She can create her shot, under pressure and showed she could also knock it down

Sophia Rodriguez-5’4 W (Houston United 2026)

Rodriguez grabbed my attention the first time I saw her actually play and she’s kept it with her constant adding and progression but she thinks the game, I love that and she understands how to create her shot and how to set the defender up and her midrange is just popping because she can get it off whenever she wants, it’s fluid and she can release it while being pressure but her accuracy is even more impressive, partly because she takes good shots. Throw in her rebounding and defending and I can’t wait to see what’s coming

Sydney Thomas-5’6 G (Texas Flight)

Thomas caught my eye when I saw her eyes and I knew exactly who she was with the mask on. I caught her a couple of years ago, her sister Taylor was one of the top players in the area, currently starring for Loyola and I knew Sydney was going to be good yet she’s really good, right now. She has a jumper, a real jumper and can knock it down from mid to long range, she attacks the basket powerfully, she’s strong and finishes the same way but her ballhandling and seeing the floor all make her hard to contain