CHICAGO — It seems pretty wild to start thinking about rising eighth graders and freshmen and how they’ll fit in as college players in four to five years, but ask any coach, and it’s never too early to start thinking about the future. So while at the Nike EYBL Nationals, I made a point to find some of the top 2027 and 2028 talents in the field.
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And, let me tell you, it wasn’t hard to find them. Coaches agree the average level of play continues to get better across the country, and these seventh and eighth graders are playing beyond their years. Even going against rising seniors who are committed to top programs (or players who hold 30-plus offers), these 14- and 15-year-olds shined.
Here’s the best young talent I saw in Chicago:
Jordyn Palmer | Class of 2027 | 6-1 forward
EYBL: Philly Rise (16U) | HS: Westtown School, West Chester, Pa.
Palmer played her first season of varsity hoops at Westtown this past season as an eighth grader, and though the school with its 50-kids-per-grade enrollment doesn’t necessarily scream basketball powerhouse, those in the business are well acquainted with it. The 76ers’ Mo Bamba, the Lakers’ Cam Reddish and the Mavs’ Dereck Lively II are all alums. It might feel a bit premature, but it also feels like a safe bet to already add Palmer to the list of basketball stars who attended Westtown.
She was named the MVP of the 16U title game after scoring 16 points, but she was one of the standouts — regardless of class — at the tournament. She holds about a dozen offers currently, including from Louisville, Penn State and ASU, but she feels like it’s still really early in her decision process. Palmer hasn’t even really begun to think about the specifics of what she wants in a program or what would make a team shoot to the top of her list. Right now, she said she’s just focused on becoming an even more all-around player and more consistent outside shooter.
Congrats to Jordyn Palmer on being named Player of the Game!👏
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) July 10, 2023
Chloe Johnson | Class of 2028 | 5-10 guard
EYBL: All Iowa Attack (17U) | HS: Marshall, Duluth, Minn.
It’s one thing for a rising eighth grader to be on the floor with players four years older and not look out of place. It’s another thing entirely when that eighth grader doesn’t look out of place even though they’ve only practiced three times with the team. That’s the case with Johnson, a rising eighth grader from Duluth, Minn., who got connected with All Iowa Attack before nationals and slotted right in for with the team that made a run to the title game.
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Johnson has obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety and said playing basketball helps her relax, so she looks forward to three- or four-hour workouts and pouring herself into that time. Though her baseline stats from Nike Nationals won’t blow your socks off (she averaged just over eight points in 17 minutes a game), take notice of her shooting percentages: 54 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc. She holds only two offers so far — Minnesota and Gardner-Webb — but she’s going to be a top-five player in her class if her trajectory continues. Johnson will be the next elite guard out of the state of Minnesota.
Sydney Douglas | 2028 | 6-5 forward
EYBL: Team Taurasi (17U) |HS: Ontario Christian, Ontario, Calif.
Douglas was the only 2028 player called into Team USA’s trials for its U16 AmeriCup team earlier this spring, so I was excited for the chance to see her in person. She has 10 offers — including from UCLA, USC, Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina and Louisville — and it’s not hard to understand why coaches feel comfortable getting on board early with Douglas. Her mom Maylana Martin-Douglas played four years at UCLA and was named a first-team All-Pac-10 selection four times. She was the No. 10 pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft, and then spent seven seasons as an assistant on basketball staffs at Portland, UCLA and Pepperdine. Her dad Rome Douglas played football (and one season of basketball) at USC before being drafted in 1999.
As a stretch four, Douglas has a reliable enough outside shot that forces opponents to stay honest, but she can also take contact inside and finishes well at the rim. She has a good sense for rebounding and timing, which is impressive for a 14-year-old, but even more impressive when she’s doing that against 17U talent.
Haylen Ayers | Class of 2027 | 6-0 guard
EYBL: Tennessee Flight Silver (17U) | HS: University School of Jackson, Jackson, Tenn.
You can tell Ayers is the daughter of a coach and former player. Her calm demeanor, motor on every play and fundamentally grounded game just sort of scream “coach’s kid.” Ayers’ mom, Ashley Ayers, was a four-year player at Vanderbilt and former Team USA player. She is currently the head coach of Haylen’s high school team, but in the early 2000s, she became the first woman to coach a men’s professional basketball team when she led the Nashville Rhythm. “Knowing my mom walked these steps before and talking with her about it, I’m trying to take in everything she tells me,” Ayers said. “She’s been such a big influence in my life and a role model.”
Ayers has more than a dozen offers, including Kentucky, Florida, Ohio State, Louisville and Vanderbilt, and says she has been watching not only how coaching staffs interact with their players, but also how players on the team interact with one another. Most notable in my conversation with Ayers: A lot of players, when asked about what they want to add to their game, usually say something about offense. But Ayers said her main goal was adding muscle mass so she can better guard more positions. It’s a small thing, but that kind of mentality and analyzing her own game in that way definitely will be attractive to many college coaches (especially defensive-minded ones).
— Christian Simmons (@WeWorkHoops) July 4, 2023
Kaleena Smith | 2027 | 5-5 guard
EYBL: Team Taurasi (17U) | HS: Taylion Academy, Victorville, Calif.
I went to my first Team Taurasi game to check out Douglas, but I quickly realized she wasn’t the only 2027 or 2028 prospect on the floor I needed to see. Though Smith doesn’t have an obvious build for a future Division I star (she’s 5-5 with a thin frame), her play screams that loud and clear. Through seven games she averaged 17.6 points, 3.4 assists and (potentially most impressively) 6.6 rebounds per game. She already has offers from a slew of Pac-12 schools (UCLA, USC, Arizona, Cal, ASU) and she picked up an offer from Louisville this spring.
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In conversations with coaches, it’s evident that her size isn’t much of a worry given that — as someone who hasn’t even played varsity basketball yet — she’s putting on these kinds of shows on EYBL courts against future D-I players. They pointed out how, even as a rising freshman, she has a real court manager ability to her game and her ballhandling abilities, and ability to make the right pass, was clear while watching Smith.
2027 Kaleena Smith just dropped 25, 4, & 2 playing up against 2024’s! 🤯🔥 @specialkayyy11
She led Team Taurasi to a 58-57 win over Team Exodus at Nike Nationals! @NikeGirlsEYBL
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) July 10, 2023
Ryan Carter | Class of 2027 | 5-11 guard
EYBL: Exodus (16U) | HS: William Penn Charter, Philadelphia
Even though she wasn’t playing the 17U category, Exodus 16U drew crowds of 15 or more college coaches every game because of Carter. She plays with a smoothness that’s evident immediately. She attacks the rim well, but she has a point guard’s ballhandling skills and vision. Carter holds a handful of offers, including from Maryland, Ohio State and Florida. She’s also a high academic kid (with offers from Harvard and Columbia), so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Notre Dame or Stanford potentially join her list too.
(Photo of Jordyn Palmer: Courtesy of Nike Girls EYBL)
