PGH Freshman Showcase: Mount Rushmore

Let's look at my 4 favorite players from the PGH Freshman Showcase. My "favorite" players do not always equate to being the "best" or "most talented" players at an event. It speaks more to who got and kept my attention the most? Who were the players who impacted the game in ways that separated themselves from the pack? You do not have to be the best player to impact a basketball game. Who competed/worked the hardest, and who was the toughest? That, more so than the raw talent, makes a prospect stand out the most in my eyes. Below is my PGH Freshman Showcase Mount Rushmore.    Warren has always been tough to deal with down low because of her brute strength, and she proved to be a matchup problem again last Saturday. This was the most active I have seen Warren, specifically around the basket. Her rebounding was superb. She made a living on the offensive glass and got second-chance points. Warren finishing through contact, getting to the free-throw line, and converting consistently resulted in her dominating the competition. Adding in the fact that Warren has range extending to the three-point line, she is easily in the "best player in '26" discussion.     Who is the best athlete in the '26 class? It's [player_tooltip player_id='486359' first='Sarah' last='Muir'], and I don't know how anyone can debate that after watching her toast every prospect up and down the court last weekend. Her speed and control with the ball are unbelievable, and Muir is a blur going coast to coast. She showed good instincts on defense and had several impressive steals that led to easy points in transition. My favorite part of Muir's game is her rebounding. She isn't afraid to battle down low and use her athleticism to impact the game on the glass. After pulling down defensive rebounds, Muir starts the break herself and has the court vision to set up teammates.     One of the most electric players at the event was Benigni who stole the show with her diverse offensive repertoire. She gets downhill with ease, can shoot off the catch and dribble from all areas on the court, and is a crafty finisher. She competed as hard as any prospect at the showcase. Watching Benigni defensively was fun because she dug in hard, sat down in her stance, and frustrated her opponent with her quick choppy slides. Benigni had the whole gym buzzing with her show-stopping play and is a player everyone needs to keep an eye on going forward.     I've always known McClendon as a dangerous three-point shooting threat, but she showed other dimensions of her game throughout the event. Defensively, McClendon made a statement by protecting the rim, and her loud rejections sparked her team's fast break opportunities. McClendon used her superior upper body strength to be a force inside and when slashing to the basket. She made an impact at all three levels and on both sides of the ball throughout the day. The more games McClendon played, the more her confidence increased, and by the end of the event, she was completely dominating, most noticeably with her playmaking in transition.

Let's look at my 4 favorite players from the PGH Freshman Showcase. My "favorite" players do not always equate to being the "best" or "most talented" players at an event. It speaks more to who got and kept my attention the most? Who were the players who impacted the game in ways that separated themselves from the pack? You do not have to be the best player to impact a basketball game. Who competed/worked the hardest, and who was the toughest? That, more so than the raw talent, makes a prospect stand out the most in my eyes. Below is my PGH Freshman Showcase Mount Rushmore.