More than 450 college coaches attended the Select Super Showcase in Hamilton, Ohio, and the Under Armour Circuit in Westfield, Indiana, last week to evaluate girls' basketball prospects from the upcoming recruiting classes during the first NCAA evaluation period for non-scholastic events of July.
The second July period will be quickly upon us over the weekend. I will focus my efforts in Chicago at the Nike EYBL Championships but keep an eye on how the brackets are shaping up for the Adidas 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and also the Select Events Power 24 in Louisville, Kentucky.
While many players will garner more recruiting attention and offers from their play thus far, here are the five that were particularly outstanding last week as recruiting starts to heat up. These players were productive and consistent, and they played within the team concept with winning attitudes while also showing development in their games overall.
Kate Harpring
ESPNW No. 18 (2026)
Marist School (Georgia) | Southeast All Stars
Harpring has developed into an elite point guard in the past calendar year. Her competitiveness has always been a noticeable marker when she steps on the floor, but she has added consistent skill and game management precision to her résumé. She is going to be one of the most coveted players in the class, which will lead to an extremely competitive recruiting battle.
The daughter of NBA veteran Matt Harpring, she brings a savviness and grittiness to the floor that not many players have. She has bounce in her base along with speed and quickness all over the court. She defends ferociously and will guard the opponent's best player regardless of position. She has added wiggle right to left and left to right and is coupling that with elusiveness in small spaces, which makes her very hard stay in front of defensively. Her pull-up jumper is consistent, and her 3-point shooting is taking shape. Sometimes it takes a while for a jump shooter to find their rhythm from the 3-point line. In the meantime, her takes to the rim are effective, and she lives at the free throw line.
Most importantly, as a point guard, she maps the floor well, leads by example with her voice and makes her teammates better.
Caroline Bradley
ESPNW No. 22 (2027)
Oak Grove HS (Louisiana) | Mavs Elite UA
It's hard to remember a post player as young as Bradley so technically sound in her fundamentals on both ends of the floor. Standing tall among her peers with a strong frame, particularly in her base and shoulders, Bradley could get away with just taking up space and lean on her stature for an advantage, but she does not. She works like she's the underdog of any matchup.
She knows how to side-front and front a post to deny entry and how to leverage for early position defensively. She is also active in helpside defense and patrolling the paint, and she can get out and move in covering ball screens. Offensively, she is much the same -- working hard for early post position and knowing when to spin and pin when the ball moves so she can seal for advantageous post entries. She crashes the glass on every possession like it's the last shot of the game and has intentionality on every possession. Her touch is well beyond the 3-point line -- mostly in the slot and the corners.
With the footwork, patience, good hands, strength and competitiveness she displays, expect her phone to be ringing off the hook during recruiting. She will rise dramatically in the rankings as the season nears.
Saniyah Hall
ESPNW No. 4 (2026)
Laurel School (Ohio) | Legends U P24
Hall is calm on the basketball court. Her confident skill set and overall feel for the game make her a tough cover, as she can flat out score. She uses her skills for post-ups and isolation opportunities and is a tough matchup in transition because she has a creative shake to her handle and the footwork to match. Hall finishes very well around the basket because of her size and ability to take contact, and she seems to be able to fit through space that's not there in the paint.
The top-tier matchups seem to get her attention a little bit more, and her fire shows in big moments. If there was one thing to tweak, it would be consistently playing with that same fire from the jump every time out to close out competition from the opening tip. It is most evident defensively, and those habits and iterations of experience are important for elite prospects.
Lena Girardi
ESPNW No. 79 (2025)
Grandview Prep (Florida) | Empire State Blue Flames P24
Girardi is a competitor. She is a hard-nosed player who will matchup with anybody as long as it is what the team needs. She wears her intentions on her sleeve, and it is clear that she wants her opponents to know she is on the floor to win at all cost. With a stocky frame and a flair for backdoor passes, Girardi can facilitate or attack the paint. Her shooting has been inconsistent, but when it's crunch time, she knocks down shots. With the ball already coming out of her hand cleanly, an adjustment to her footwork and a slight change to the pocket placement with the ball will help correct her shot.
The daughter of former Major League Baseball player and manager Joe Girardi, Lena is the type of player who can use her versatility to fit in many systems and game plans. She will make practices better every day and raise the level of maturity around her. She is all business in between the lines, and it will pay dividends wherever she goes.
Natalie Kussow
ESPNW No. 15 (2026)
Arrowhead HS (Wisconsin) | Wisconsin Lakers UA
Here is a simple observation: Over this four-day recruiting period, Kussow scored at will. She was in constant attack mode and did it efficiently. The lefty guard decides quickly on the catch whether she is going to attack off the bounce or get off the ball, swinging it then effectively cutting to the basket. She has an effective jab step on the catch and a right-to-left cross-jab off the bounce that have proven to be staples of her game and are tough to cover.
When she hit the circuit as a younger player, she shot more spot-up 3s, but she has now added a dynamic game off the bounce to compliment her outside shot. Balancing that out will be key, and she showed at the Under Armour event that she can still hunt 3s. Kussow has a great feel for the game on both ends and positions herself well defensively while being acutely aware of the actions over the rest of the floor.
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