College-level prospects to put on your radar

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Every season there are more than a few players that deserve recognition and scholarship opportunities that go unnoticed throughout the recruiting process. These players typically do not come from the powerhouse high school programs or play for national circuit AAU teams, but that certainly doesn’t take away from their ability to ball. Here are some of the best diamonds in the rough that college programs should be on the lookout for from New England.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="263944" first="Kaleigh" last="Valle"]/  5’6 point guard/ 2022/ St. Mary Bayview RI./Bria Holmes elite.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kaleigh is a very confident offensive player and not at all shy about letting it fly when she has an advantage. The extremely quick point guard for ST. Mary Bayview high school uses her elusive speed and exceptional ball handling ability to consistently put pressure on the opposing teams defense. Kaleigh has the ability to attack with both hands equally as well and uses her patent step back to get defenders off balance and at her mercy where her range extends to the volleyball lines. Scoring 1,000 points in just her sophomore year Kaleigh’s best attribute is her speed and confidence that she can score at will. Very much under recruited with no official offers she is definitely a scholarship talent, and potential steal for a division 2 or low division 1 program. Kaleigh hopes to gain more exposure this summer playing for Bria Holmes Elite AAU program out of Connecticut.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Trinity</strong> <strong>Cruz</strong>/ 5’3 Point Guard/ 2024/ Northwest Catholic High School/ Vale AAU</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Whatever Trinity may lack in actual height she more than makes up for with the intangibles she brings to the floor. This freshman, is a star in her role and understands how to make winning plays that contribute to her teammates and herself getting better everyday. Trinity takes the challenge of defending the opposing teams best offensive perimeter player, a very scrappy pit bull like defender. If she isn’t guarding baseline to baseline she’s diving on the floor for loose balls taking a charge and unexplainably she’s one of her team leaders in blocked shots. Cruz is the kind of kid her coaches and teammates love to play with. Not only does Cruz cause headaches on defense but she is offensively gifted as well. A very quick first step makes it nearly impossible to stay in front of her in the open court. In half court sets Trinity shots the three ball with confidence and has a lot of crafty finishes and floaters to combat bigger defenders. Trinity uses her speed and all out will to change games, we look forward to see her progress in the coming years.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Kayla Tilus/</strong> 6’ Guard/2022/ Notre Dame high school/ CT Supreme Elite.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kayla is a player that is just scratching the surface of how good she can be. At 6 foot she has the ability to defend multiple positions throughout the game at no disadvantage. With her experience playing with other great players for Notre Dame along with her AAU club Kayla possesses a very rare all around game.</span><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> The best way to describe Kayla’s game is, she is a winner and will do whatever it takes to get the W. Defending, controlling the offense, rebounding from the perimeter and knocking down big shots on the biggest stage are some of the attributes Kayla brings to a program. As, her junior year winds down Tiles holds a handful Of low to mid major offers including the University of Hartford and hopes to gain more exposure this spring on the AAU circuit.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Keilan</strong> <strong>Cedano</strong>/5’8 combo guard/ 2024 / Bradford Christian academy / Mass rivals</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Keilan is a very mature basketball player for her class, she understands her strengths and plays to them. Keilan missed this past high school season with a significant leg injury, through her time out she adapted a weight training program that will definitely enhance her skill set. The silky smooth 5’8 left hander plays the game at her speed, she loves to use her jab steps and right to left crossover to create space for her picture perfect jump shot. While finishing at the rim is an opportunity for improvement, Keilan consistently attacks the paint and uses her feel for the game and court vision to find teammates for open three pointers. Keilan is certainly not afriad to mix it up defending perimeter and post players depending on the line ups her team plays. Under her AAU coach Scott Hazelton former RI high school basketball standout/Uconn mens basketball, her skill set continues to enhance every opportunity we get to see her play.As her body catches up with her skills she should be a top prospect in New England in the not so distant future. </span> &nbsp;