The Rest of the Best: Hoops Mafia's Best of Kentucky 2023

<p>There were a ton of talented players in the gym at the Best of Kentucky event hosted by Hoops Mafia, Trevor Goodson, and Jarrad Parmley. I struggled with which players to include in these articles because I truly mean it when I say that each and every player showed why they deserved to be at an event named Best of Kentucky. Ultimately, I decided to at least list every single player's name in this article, so while I won't be writing about everyone, I do want to state that every player below is a player to watch for. Every single player has potential to play at the next level. Every single player below came to work and compete on Saturday. (<em>Side note:</em> I said this in my <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2023/05/hoops-mafias-best-of-kentucky-2023-10-standouts/">article from yesterday</a>, but I feel it's important to put it here too: I want to commend Mr. Parmley and Mr. Goodson on putting together an event that really showcased skills before ever getting into live game action. They gave the players things that they can work on at home and really took them through a solid workout before letting them loose to play.)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class of 2028-2030</h2>   <p>Before I get into anything else, I want to first give major props to the five players from the 2028, 2029, and 2030 classes. Despite being middle schoolers, these players all showed why they will be top players in their respective class. They absolutely held their own against some of the top players in the classes above them and when I saw how young they were, I was absolutely shocked. Here are those 5 players:</p>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='963035' first='Addison' last='Campbell'] (Class of 2028 | Harlan Independent)</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1279327' first='Jaylee' last='Vernon'] (Class of 2029 | Taylor County)</li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/HoopsMafia/status/1653023479153803266 </div></figure>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1203721' first='Callie' last='Jones'] (Class of 2029 | South Laurel)</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>Bailee Morris (Class of 2030 | Eastside Middle)</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>Edie Forrest (Class of 2030 | Foley Middle)</li> </ul>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class of 2025</h2>   <p>The 2025 class is one of the most talented classes I've ever seen in Kentucky and there were some very talented 2025 players in attendance on Saturday.</p>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='403471' first='Addison' last='Soutar']</strong> (North Bullitt) - Soutar continues to make huge improvements to her overall game. Every time I see her play, I can tell she's been putting in work. While she's always had the length and height to grab rebounds and block shots, she is truly developing an impressive offensive game. There was one move she made that caused everyone in the gym to take notice during one of the games. I'm very excited to see where Soutar is by the end of the Summer because she really impressed me on Saturday.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='364233' first='Kayleigh' last='Huffines'] </strong>(Breckinridge County) - Huffines wasn't trying to do too much on Saturday, but she was doing everything well. In the video below, you can see her posting up strong in the paint and then quickly making the pass back out after recognizing that the player who passed her the ball was open from 3. Huffines has great height and length and was crashing the boards strong. </li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/alyxwhite_/status/1652346255475867650 </div></figure>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='470573' first='Morgan' last='Frey']</strong> (Sacred Heart) - Solid as always, Frey was showing an improved offensive game on Saturday. She's been a very active defender and rebounder every time I've watched her play in the past, but she was catching the ball ready to pull, knocking down shots inside and outside of the perimeter, and moving well without the ball. Loved to see her scoring in a variety of ways.</li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/HoopsMafia/status/1652345849744064514 </div></figure>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='986683' first='Jada' last='Cummins']</strong> (Grant County) - Solid outside shooter, but can score in a variety of ways. I could really see why she had multiple 20+ point games last season. Led Grant County in scoring last season, but expect her to really breakout next season.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502109' first='Baylee' last='Fortner']</strong> (Taylor County) - Fortner has great size and consistently works hard. I was very impressed by her ball handling skills in that portion of the workout. Very solid player that just keeps making improvements to her game.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502290' first='Zoee' last='Meyers']</strong> (Bishop Brossart) - Meyers showed an ability to contribute in every way from defending to passing to scoring. She's got a good shot and can finish through contact at the rim.</li> </ul>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Two of Notre Dame's Class of 2026 Players</h2>   <p>The two 2026's I'm going to list here actually both play for Notre Dame. They both got some time this past season and while I have to admit that I don't know how their roster is made up, I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them have an increased role with their Varsity squad next season. Both were very solid and fearless. During the skills sessions, their skillsets looked good overall. During games, they were very much so team players.</p>   <ul> <li><strong>Addison Lawrie</strong> - Lawrie was finishing some tough shots around the rim in a way very similar to her older sister.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>Emma Holtzapfel </strong>- Holtzapfel's length really stood out. You could see her ability to score inside or out, while also grabbing boards on both ends of the floor.</li> </ul>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class of 2027</h2>   <p>The class of 2027 came to play!! I was very impressed by these players who will soon be in high school. </p>   <ul> <li><strong>Loren Macy</strong> (Mercy) - Macy was running the floor, finishing at the rim, and knocking down 3's on Saturday. She's got good size and strength. She was finishing through contact and making it hard on the defense with her inside and out scoring. She also crashed the boards strong and put herself in great rebounding positions. </li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/loren_macy/status/1652376703040143361 </div></figure>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1038323' first='Becca' last='Carson']</strong> (Sacred Heart) - Carson was extremely unselfish, but her skills were very impressive. In the skills session, she had great handles and excellent shooting form. During the games, she was pushing the ball in transition and making the right passes. Handled the ball well and drew help to get teammates open.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='747676' first='Sydney' last='Blanton']</strong> (South Laurel) - 110% effort. Blanton was crashing the boards strong and working to get rebounds. She consistently ran the floor and was moving well without the ball. You could see her ball handling and scoring abilities in the skills session.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>Claudia Munsey</strong> (Owensboro Catholic) - Munsey has a great shot and she catches ready to pull. You could see her shooting ability in the skills session and she carried it over perfectly to the game situations.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>Emma Riney</strong> (Owensboro Catholic) - Put herself in good help defense positions and constantly went after rebounds. Solid player.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>Chloe Fortner</strong> (Taylor County) - Pushed herself in every drill and game. High upside with the ability to make stuff happen on both ends of the floor.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li><strong>Layla Martin</strong> (Owensboro Catholic) - Excellent defender. Very active hands and was doing all of the little things like consistently boxing out. Made great passes and moved without the ball as well.</li> </ul>

There were a ton of talented players in the gym at the Best of Kentucky event hosted by Hoops Mafia, Trevor Goodson, and Jarrad Parmley. I struggled with which players to include in these articles because I truly mean it when I say that each and every player showed why they deserved to be at an event named Best of Kentucky. Ultimately, I decided to at least list every single player's name in this article, so while I won't be writing about everyone, I do want to state that every player below is a player to watch for. Every single player has potential to play at the next level. Every single player below came to work and compete on Saturday. (Side note: I said this in my article from yesterday, but I feel it's important to put it here too: I want to commend Mr. Parmley and Mr. Goodson on putting together an event that really showcased skills before ever getting into live game action. They gave the players things that they can work on at home and really took them through a solid workout before letting them loose to play.)