Team Preview: Doral Academy

Throughout this month, I will be highlighting selected teams across South Florida. Today, my focus is on Doral Academy. The Firebirds went 14-10 last season under head coach <strong>Courtney McDaniel</strong>. <strong>Anaira Ayala</strong> (16.1 ppg) and <strong>Johanna Bell</strong> (9.6 ppg) are key departures. The pair accounted for over half of the Firebirds' point total (50.0 ppg). Replacing both players will not be easy and they were team leaders. Roster: 2023 Sophia Ojeda 2022 Yasmin Mercado 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="244132" first="Izabella" last="Molina"] 2025 [player_tooltip player_id="221639" first="Gianna" last="Robles"] 2025 [player_tooltip player_id="221648" first="Esabella" last="Martinez"] 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="221837" first="Izabella" last="Sanchez"] 2024 Valeria Cifuentes 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="221704" first="Emrie" last="Pedraza"] via <strong>Palmer Trinity</strong> 2022 Jessica Williams 2023 Alexia Sanchez 2026 Sofia Molina I will start with [player_tooltip player_id="221639" first="Gianna" last="Robles"] as we have her 20th overall in our 2025 rankings. Robles finished 3rd in scoring (7.6 ppg) for the Firebirds as an eight grader. The 5-foot-1 guard is a potent outside shooter at a high volume. I like Robles’ awareness on the court and ability to limit mistakes. Maybe more consistency overall from the field is where she could improve. She has a lot of talent regardless and could have a big season. Doral Academy has a 6-foot-3 center in [player_tooltip player_id="244132" first="Izabella" last="Molina"]. The sophomore prospect averaged 6.8 points and 9.7 rebounds and one block per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor. I think those are pretty solid numbers for a freshman and certainly something you can build on. Look for Molina to be a bit more efficient from the floor this season. Remember, she has three more years to make improvements. You can't teach Molina's size as she already offers solid rim protection with her frame. Let her develop! 2023 Sophia Ojeda averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds (two offensive) per game. Moreover, she went 12-of-31 (31 percent) from deep. Ojeda appears to have some string on her shot with more volume. She can play multiple positions with her length around the backcourt. Ojeda brings a lot of value and could be a team leader. 2023 Alexia Sanchez is a physical guard with a solid wingspan. The 5-foot-6 prospect is a solid on-ball defender with active hands. Look for her to create turnovers with her awareness and activity. She is definitely a player I could see developing as she plays hard. If you look at its roster as a whole, Doral Academy is fairly young. The Firebirds have four sophomores and two freshman. I think a season key would be for that core to improve and perform at a higher volume. The plus side is many of those players (Robles/Molina) already have experience. Therefore, you can build around them under additional game play. For any South Florida Prep Girls Hoops news or information...please contact Michael Costeines @Steins_23 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.