2021 High Academic Guards in Arizona

In any given year, less than 3-5 percent of high school athletes end up playing at a <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/division-1-colleges-schools.htm">NCAA Division I school</a> or a <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/division-1-colleges-schools.htm">Division II school</a>. That leaves 95-97 percent of athletes to either give up on their dream of continuing their athletic career or to compete at an <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/division-3-colleges-schools.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NCAA Division III college</a>, <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/2012/04/04/junior-college-could-be-a-great-option-for-high-school-seniors.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">junior college</a>, or an <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/naiainformation.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NAIA school</a>. An increasing number of high academic athletes see the academically elite Division III colleges, which cannot offer athletic scholarships, as a desirable alternative to Division I and some Division 2 opportunities. Prospective students can get academic money with the remainder coming from grants and family contribution. In some cases the athletes can get most if not all of their college tuition covered with academic and grant money. Also, the higher the GPA typically translates to higher academic money. Each school has a different entrance criteria but they are looking for the very best students. An added bonus is that Division III schools have a surprisingly high graduation rate for it’s athletes even though the academics are extremely challenging. We would like to take a moment to recognize some of the top high academic guards that we have evaluated in recent workouts. We know there are many more out there which we will cover during the upcoming High Academic Camp in late June. Typically a player with an unweighted 3.5 overall GPA combined with good SAT scores is considered High Academic to most schools. [caption id="attachment_174555" align="alignright" width="150"] [player_tooltip player_id="136266" first="Ava" last="Ferraro"] is the a perfect prospect for any high academic D3[/caption]<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136266" first="Ava" last="Ferraro"]</strong> (5’4’’, Valley Vista) <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 4.73 Unweighted</li> <li>Club program: Arizona Select</li> <li>Strengths: High IQ on the court and very good court awareness.  Solid jumper to the 3 point line but can hit the mid-range as well. Deceptively good.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14023224/5e7ae1a8a6783d0d10a1f89b">Ava. Ferraro.  video</a> [caption id="attachment_174647" align="alignright" width="150"] Mya Johnson was so impressive in her workout. Dynamic player[/caption] <strong>Mya Johnson (5’4″, Westwood) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 3.7 Unweighted</li> <li>Club program: Arizona Premier</li> <li>Strengths: Can score at all 3 levels.  Crafty inside the paint as she makes good decisions in traffic.  Plays with a lot of confidence and intent.  A upper level shooter in the 2021 class.</li> </ul> <a href="https://youtu.be/C-d1tXBaMHc">Mya Johnson video</a> [caption id="attachment_172005" align="alignright" width="150"] Roybal will find a way to leave an imprint on the game[/caption] <strong>Graciela Roybal (5’3″, Hamilton) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 4.73 Weighted</li> <li>Club program: Arizona Elite</li> <li>Strengths: One of the better shooters in the class. Crafty ball handler and the most underrated East Valley player.</li> </ul> <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F746HIaIm5I">Graciela Roybal Video</a> [caption id="attachment_174582" align="alignright" width="150"] Diggs stocked has improved after a very successful 2019-2020 season[/caption] <strong>Faith Diggs (5’5″, Hamilton) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 3.9 Unweighted</li> <li>Club program: Arizona Select</li> <li>Strengths: Tenacious defender.  Nice game manager and facilitator. Tough performer.</li> </ul> [caption id="attachment_174575" align="alignright" width="150"] Meerchaum was a surprise performer in the Yuma evaluation. Will follow her this summer[/caption] <strong>Kylie Meerchaum (5’5″, Yuma Catholic) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 4.52 Weighted</li> <li>Club program: Rise Yuma</li> <li>Strengths: Note: evaluated a workout only.  Good quickness, moves well and graded out well in the ball handling drills.  Will have more updates after the evaluation period.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10392293/Kylie-Meerchaum/videos">Kylie Meerchaum profile</a> [caption id="attachment_174176" align="alignright" width="150"] Tuason is gonna make some team GO during the evaluation period.[/caption] <strong>April Tuason (5’5″, Tempe) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 4.25 Weighted</li> <li>Club program: MVP</li> <li>Strengths: Note: evaluated a workout only.  Moved from the Bay Area (after her soph season) where she was a All Conference Performer as a Freshman and Soph.  Extremely skilled and plays with a lot of confidence. One of the best guards during the evals.  Had to invite her back for a 2nd round.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.ncsasports.org/womens-basketball-recruiting/arizona/tempe/tempe-high-school/april-tuason">April Tuason Profile</a> [caption id="attachment_171872" align="alignright" width="150"] Ruiz performed very well is recent workouts.[/caption] <strong>Yvette Ruiz (5’5″, Moon Valley) </strong> <ul style="list-style-type: circle"> <li>GPA: 4.3 Weighted</li> <li>Club program: MVP</li> <li>Strengths: Ruiz is a defensive standout and she is excellent playing the passing lane.  She recovers quickly and Ruiz is one of the better on the ball defender.  On the offensive end, she is a game manager, a pass first lead guard and she will take care of the ball.</li> </ul> <a href="https://d1vv3r1s83df1b.cloudfront.net/bfa6ed50-75ef-0138-6bd6-0242ac11000f/4446831-+RuizYvette.webm">Yvette Ruiz Video</a>