El Paso Jamboree Showcase Day 1 Standouts

As the 2024-25 high school basketball season creeps closer, one of the biggest preseason events in the Borderland kicked off in East El Paso known as The Jamboree Showcase. In its second year, the showcase is a burgeoning event hosting some of the top high school girl's programs in the Borderland region. The who's who of players and teams from El Paso, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and Hobbs were all in attendance. Here are the top performers from Day 1 of The Jamboree Showcase.    Arguably the best player in the greater El Paso area was in attendance for Day 1 of the Jamboree showcase and she did not disappoint. [player_tooltip player_id='948978' first='Kylie' last='Marquez'] per usual was all over the court, playmaking, rebounding, scoring, and defending. She had some of the best assists in the open slate of games during the morning session and showed why she is an elite prospect in the class of 2026. More importantly, she got Americas off to an unofficial winning start as they get set to make their run at a 2-5A district title for the 2024-25 season.     The state of New Mexico was well represented on Day 1, with [player_tooltip player_id='642714' first='Teeya' last='Gordon'] among the top prospects from the area. She showed why she is one of the region's elite centers and brought her trademark physicality. Her touch was on point in Alamogordo's opening game against Montwood and continued into the afternoon session against West Texas Prep. Her ability to duck in and seal opponents and gain prime low post position made her a mismatch all day. Moreover, the mismatch resulted in double teams which in turn opened up scoring opportunities for her teammates.     If hustle and leadership were statistics, Itzel Caro would be the league leader in both categories. Eastwood came away from Day 1 with two wins, and Caro's leadership and late-game shot-making seemingly willed the Troopers to a win in their second game. Eastwood trailed Chapin for the better part of three quarters in a tough defensive-oriented game with equal physicality on both ends. The Troopers eventually turned things in their favor with stout on-ball defense and timely shot-making. Caro was at the center of that, hustling defensively, leading her teammates in timeouts, while making some game-breaking buckets from the perimeter.     Another elite prospect was in attendance for The Jamboree Showcase and she showed why her elite ranking in the state of New Mexico exists. [player_tooltip player_id='467055' first='Nakia' last='Mojica'] represented West Texas Prep, a makeshift team of elite prospects in the Borderland area, and stood out as their top player. She was clinical from the 3-point line, defended at a high level, and showcased her elite playmaking and vision in transition sequences. If Mojica represented a Borderland high school, you could easily make the argument she would be the top prospect. Saturday at the Jamboree was further proof of that.     It might be the preseason but Victoria Duran is in midseason form, at least from a conditioning perspective. Rarely subbed out, Duran was in all-out hustle mode in both of Eastwood's wins. But the elite 2026 prospect did more than hustle, she scored from the perimeter, made plays out in transition, and defended at a high level. Furthermore, she showed her toughness in a physically draining battle against Chapin in the afternoon. Duran is a do-it-all prospect who boasts an equally impressive winning attitude and effort.     A player who was not necessarily on my radar coming into Day 1 was Kyla Winfield and she made a big impression. Franklin started their day off against Centennial, a program that boasts one of the better post players--[player_tooltip player_id='642722' first='Joy' last='Hunt']--in all of Las Cruces, NM. Winfield was swatting shots all game long, as the primary post defender, or as the help defender sliding over to cover for potential finishers at the rim. Franklin is a team with a lot of talent at the guard position, but their prospects as 6A title challengers seem all the more legitimate with a rim-protecting force like Winfield.

As the 2024-25 high school basketball season creeps closer, one of the biggest preseason events in the Borderland kicked off in East El Paso known as The Jamboree Showcase. In its second year, the showcase is a burgeoning event hosting some of the top high school girl's programs in the Borderland region. The who's who of players and teams from El Paso, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, and Hobbs were all in attendance. Here are the top performers from Day 1 of The Jamboree Showcase.