Proving Ground: 2025 Notables
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The featured image is of Isabelle Shepherd Isabelle Shepherd 5'5" | CG Carmel | 2025 State IN (2025) of Carmel High School and Indiana Elite Thunder 3SSB. Just a few days ago, Select Events brought the Proving Ground showcase to…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Isabelle Shepherd Isabelle Shepherd 5'5" | CG Carmel | 2025 State IN (2025) of Carmel High School and Indiana Elite Thunder 3SSB.
Just a few days ago, Select Events brought the Proving Ground showcase to Westfield and Lebanon, Indiana, and it drew several of the state’s and region’s top grassroots programs. There were a number of outstanding games at all levels, and there were some big-time individual performances. Below, I wanted to take the time to highlight nine ladies from the 2025 class who I felt were notable. They may or may not have been the most talented prospects or had the top performances from the weekend, but I felt like each deserved a mention because of things I saw out of their play at the event. Prospects are arranged alphabetically by last name.
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Kayla Brinley
Kayla Brinley
This was my first time seeing Kayla play, and she made quite an impression on several onlookers. Kayla is on an extremely talented HSE roster, so her opportunities to this point have been limited. However, she is crafty with the ball, tough-nosed, and she has nice all-around floor awareness. She did a great job in the games I saw of handling pressure, getting the ball where it needed to go, and giving effort at both ends of the floor. If throughout the Spring & Summer she can prove to be a capable and consistent perimeter shooter, she could draw some nice small college interest.
The first thing you will notice when you see Sophie play is that she has length, a wiry strength to her, but she runs and jumps well, and she can quickly switch ends of the floor. She has a lot of the “measurables” in terms of physical talent, so this Spring & Summer will be huge for her to showcase her skill at all levels. I think she is still most comfortable in the mid-post, but she is attacking from the perimeter a lot more, and she’s becoming a more consistent perimeter shooter. I really like a lot of what she can offer a small college program, so this grassroots season will be big for her.
Highlights
Maya has always been a nice talent, a skillful wing, and she has been on a lot of radars for some time…hence the reason she is already committed to Indiana University. But over the past 9-12 months, she has really committed herself to getting stronger and being more aggressive and more versatile offensively. She is a high-level perimeter shooter, and she has a quick release and can shoot over most defenders. But now she is using the drive and the free throw line as weapons also. As she continues gaining strength, and playing lower & more explosive, she will only get better.
Kassie is an absolute bulldog on the floor. She is extremely aggressive, physical, and she plays with an outstanding energy. The biggest thing for her moving forward will be controlling that energy and changing speeds from time to time. She has a really nice North/South athleticism, and she handles contact well attacking the basket downhill. She can also play against bigger guards, wings, and even some undersized forwards without limitation. She is great in the mid-post, good around the perimeter, and I think she “fits” a few of the elite small colleges in the Midwest.
Highlights
Morgan is another prospect who I feel like a number of Midwestern small colleges would really enjoy recruiting. She has a strong, athletic frame, nice length, and she runs the floor well. She has a little bounce to her, and she has some lateral ability as well. When she plays with urgency, she is a double-double machine, but that urgency must remain consistent from one game to the next. She can score it off of putbacks, cuts, and drives, but she also has a nice mid-range face-up game. I also feel like she has the physical ability to defend forwards, wings, and even some guards.
First things first, it’s good to see Izzy back out there healthy and playing at a high level. Saturday, against one of the top programs in the event, she was on target, knocking down 3-pointers from all areas of the floor. She is a nice athlete with speed and quickness, but it has always been her ability to knock down shots that has drawn in college coaches. She has point guard skill, but the big thing for her this Spring will be to showcase her ability to run a team. If she can prove she has traditional point guard abilities but can also shoot it at a high level, she should have a lot of interest.
Jamaya is a big, strong, physical post presence who plays with a nice motor. She will rim-run, she likes to establish herself early around the block at both ends of the floor, and she does a nice job of using her frame to seal her position. She has good hands, she can create space with her frame, and she is a solid finisher inside. If she can showcase a consistent face-up game in the mid-post and short corners, it should help make her tougher to guard. Defensively, I do like her physicality and ability to rebound, even outside of her area, plus she’ll sit in a stance and move well laterally.
As the level of competition rises, so does Meredith’s competitive fire. She always plays with a great motor, but her urgency and toughness somehow go to another level in big games. She is a really nice athlete with length, wiry strength, speed, and even some bounce to her. She has adapted to contact over the years, and now she just drives through contact to get to the basket, plus she has learned how to finish in a variety of ways inside. Her jump-shot has also become more consistent, and she is scoring it from all areas of the floor at a higher rate. Meredith is also a top defender.
When Ava was younger, I felt like she was more of a mid-post to interior player, but ever since I saw her at a showcase event last Fall, she has played much more consistently around the perimeter and looked like a wing. She has nice touch, and she’s starting to be more dynamic off the bounce. She will still occasionally go to the mid-post when she absolutely needs a basket, and she still looks more comfortable defending forwards than wings, but I like the transition she has made to the perimeter, and I think she can be a skilled, versatile, multi-positional small college player.