6 Guards Heading into 2026 with Momentum

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A brand new year brings lots of promise for these six guards around the state. They began their 2025-2026 campaign with a bang and carry over major momentum into January, ready to ball out in conference play:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1260413' first='Charlie' last='Berger'] | Millburn</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charlie's varsity debut is off to a really nice start. The very first game of the season saw contributions across the board, knocking down a triple, grabbing 4 boards, dishing out 4 assists and swiping 2 steals. She turned up the heat a notch in the very next game vs Bloomfield, tallying 6 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Through six games, she's averaging 3.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 APG &amp; 2.5 SPG, chipping in and showing off a nice all-court game. She can hit the 3, rebound well out-of-position and imposes her will on the defensive side of things. The more she gets acclimated with high school basketball and gets more reps in, the higher those averages will grow. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='635514' first='Imani' last='Mullings'] | Plainfield</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A sensational start to her senior year has seen three consecutive games with at least 20 points and a season low of 14! Imani is scoring the ball furiously and not letting high pressure D discourage her on-court efforts. Her 3-ball has been hot, sinking twelve triples in five games en-route to 2.4 3PG. She's scoring at a clip of nearly 20.0 PPG and is fresh off notching her 1,000th career point. As her game soars to new heights, she'll look to lead Plainfield to a successful showing in the UCC.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='982719' first='Ava' last='Catanho'] | East Brunswick</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With one of the hottest starts to the season out of any guard in NJ, Ava has come out guns blazing. She's averaging 21.0 PPG through six games, including a career-high 30 points vs Mount St. Mary. She's just not playing fair, knocking down threes at a high clip, blitzing in transition and showing off multi-level scoring. She's also been stellar defensively, recording a career-high 5 blocks [vs South Brunswick] and averaging just under 2.0 SPG. Inside-out offense, inside-out defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='667326' first='Aliyah' last='Manley'] | J.P. Stevens</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A career year was in the cards from the very first game where she notched a career-high 24 points. She set a new career-high the very next game against South Plainfield (27 points) and then smashed that total vs Ferris two games later (36 points)! The 5'5" guard from North Jersey is lighting it up and showing everyone what she's made of, scoring in a variety of ways, including blazing buckets from 3-point land. She's sinking the triple at a clip of nearly four per contest. Her energetic two-way game is seeing averages of 25.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.3 APG &amp; 4.0 SPG.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='835225' first='Cameron' last='Roche'] | Westwood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cameron began the season with a bang, recording three consecutive double-doubles and averaging 23.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.8 APG &amp; 4.3 SPG through four games. The 5'11" guard is doing it all for the Cardinals who hope to replicate last season's success in the Big North and beyond. She's quickly emerging as one of the most well-rounded guards in the 2027 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1566768' first='Callie' last='Fox'] | Holy Cross Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lancers played a loaded December schedule playing seven games in eighteen days. The dynamo freshman guard wasted no time getting after it, with a 24-point high school hoops debut vs Lawrenceville and a season-high 28 points a few games later vs Pemberton. She's shooting the 3 ball exceptionally well, sinking eighteen triples, including two games with five! As BCSL play kicks off, she'll look to keep up this fiery pace of 16.4 PPG.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->