6A Juniors to Watch

This one’s a no-brainer that you will want to watch considering that Davidson is currently ranked as the number 2 prospect in the entire country for the class of 2025, and with good reason. She shows little weakness in any aspect of her game. She has already dominated in just her two years of high school, marked by a sophomore year in which she earned virtually every accolade possible: co-player of the year in the Mt. Hood Conference, co-player of the year in the state, OBCA state player of the year, first team all-tournament in the state tournament, Oregon’s Gatorade Player of the Year, and state champion with her Clackamas teammates. That resume speaks for itself, and as a result, she is one of the most heavily pursued prospects in the nation, with offers from all of the best programs around the country. Undoubtedly, Davidson will continue to have one of the most prolific high school careers this state has ever seen, and 2023-2024 will be a big year to watch as her highly anticipated college decision approaches.

Brynn Smith is making waves of her own in the class of 2025. She proved in her sophomore season to be one of the best underclassmen in the state of Oregon, and after a fourth place finish in the state tournament in their first year at the 6A level, her Willamette squad will be hungry for more this season. As a 6’0 tall point guard who scores the rock, Smith possesses a long, athletic build and a versatile skillset that will transition incredibly well to the collegiate level, as she demonstrated by being amongst the leaders in blocks in the state tournament a year ago. In her freshman season, Smith was named first team all-state at the 5A level, and continued this success in 6A as she went on to make first team all-conference in the Southwest as well as honorable mention all-state, OBCA honorable mention all-state, and second team all-tournament in the post season. Smith’s junior season will be one to watch out for all those who appreciate good basketball.

In Portland’s Jefferson High School, we find a roster that will be returning everyone this coming season with Lawrence being at the very heart of it. In fact, Lawrence and three other of her classmates have been starting since their freshman year, with constant success each season, but this will be a breakout year for them. Lawrence has great hands and awareness defensively and on offense, she is an elite shooter — and not just catch and release — she has already mastered a advanced arsenal of threes off the dribble, step-back threes, and using screens away from the ball to get open and create. As the head coach’s daughter, she looks like an extension of him on the floor as Jefferson’s point guard and she has an incredible ability to find her teammates all over the floor. Lawrence is coming off a season in which she earned honorable mention all-state, OBCA honorable mention all-state, and first team all-league in the PIL, and simply put, she is extremely fun to watch and will continue to be in 2023-24.

Another dynamo from the class of 2025, Gray had a sophomore campaign that saw her earning honorable mention all-state honors from the OBCA in addition to being on the first team in the Pacific Conference. Her coaches love her ability to do it all, putting up impressive averages in practically every column of the stat sheet, and has been asked to play both on the inside and the outside for the Tigers. Gray is a strong player who is not afraid of contact, allowing her to be a strong finisher in the paint, as was on full display in their league contest against Sherwood last season in which she scored 19 of her team’s 48 points entirely from the paint and from getting to the foul line. She made huge strides going into her sophomore season, and this will likely be another year of massive growth during which Gray’s incredible talent will be on full display.

Wright is one of the top juniors to watch in the Eugene area this upcoming season. Wright left us wanting more at the end of last season after putting up a 29 point, 7 rebound performance in the first round of the state tournament against Cleveland that included a half-court buzzer beater right before halftime. Her athleticism is on a whole other level, and combine that with her size, Wright is not someone who opposing players want to handle the ball against, and when they do lose it to her, she pushes the ball at lightning speed to the other end. In midseason form a year ago, she was averaging 14 points and 4 rebounds in the stacked Southwest Conference, earning her honorable mention all-state from the OBCA and first team all-conference. The Irish are poised to make a run in one of the best conferences in the state this coming year with Diamond Wright ready to have must-watch junior season.

Chauncey Andersen, who has been starting for Jefferson since her freshman year alongside Lawrence, has had an impressive first half to her high school career with much more to come in the future. In her sophomore season, she was named to the all-league first team in the PIL in addition to making the list for honorable mention all-state from the OBCA. Specifically looking at her game, Andersen has an elite first step that she uses well in tandem with shot fakes and hesitations to blow by her opponents. In addition to this, she has incredible touch and finishes very well around the rim, and also is always on balance. Andersen also appears to play with great energy and brings a spark to her team. This Jefferson team will only continue to get better each year with their core of 2025s, and Andersen will be putting on a show along the way.

Harms is another member of the extremely talented Willamette class of 2025. She finished the season on a high note during the state tournament and gave us a taste of what’s to come in the future: she averaged 16.0 points per game — the third best average behind two seniors now playing at Oregon and Oregon State — however, she had a higher percentage than both of these players, shooting 64% overall. Behind the arc, she was tied for the highest number of 3-pointers made during the tournament and had the highest 3-point shooting percentage by far with 63.6%. In the regular season, she earned nods for both honorable mention all-state from the OBCA and honorable mention all-conference in the Southwest. As a 6’0 wing who demonstrates insane athleticism combined with great ball-handling skill, Harms gets to the rim constantly and finishes well or draws fouls for points from the stripe. Simply put, Harms looks like someone who will be playing at the next level in a few years following two more years of excelling in high school.

Jordyn Smith may be one of the best power forwards in the state. She is a true force to be reckoned with down low and exhibits amazing natural abilities in the post. She has great hands, her anticipation with getting position or going up for rebounds in impeccable, she has smooth footwork, and she is not afraid of physicality. In watching her, she is often an obvious mismatch for those trying to guard her in the paint. Another key skill she has is that she does not feel the need to unnecessarily dribble, a common plague of younger players, but instead either turns and finishes while keeping the ball high, or on the other end of the floor, she grabs the board and outlets immediately. Smith easily averaged double-doubles last season, including crazy statlines like 21 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks against Lakeridge or 26 points and 10 rebounds against Franklin. She was the youngest player to make first team all-league in the Three Rivers League, and this season as a junior, she will be on the radar for state accolades.