P2W Headliners Invitational Showcase: MS Team Wings

Ray Kimball and I joined forces to offer the first-ever Headliners Invitational Showcase back in November of 2023. After taking a sabbatical in 2024, our conviction became undeniably strong that the Headliners needed to return and become a staple event in the community. The inspiration for the Headliners Invitational Showcase came after observing elite camps and prospect camps across the state. There were pieces of traditional showcase formats (games/scrimmaging), college elite camps, and prospect camps that I liked, but something was missing from the equation. The ideal format became apparent as I reflected upon my goal for joining Prep Girls Hoops in the first place: to identify and help girls basketball prospects be recruited by college coaches.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/10/Screenshot_20261026-130404-edited.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1962649" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Headliners Invitational Showcase, High School Session, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026. </figcaption></figure>   An event where girls would have the opportunity to: 1) Work with college coaches who want to recruit them, 2) Be evaluated by college coaches who fit their level of ability, and 3) Receive comprehensive media coverage by Prep Girls Hoops scouts was clearly needed for prospects in the community. Every prospect is unique, and the traditional showcase format may not be the best fit for everyone. Those girls need opportunities to demonstrate their skills through small-sided games and drills in front of college coaches--not just games. That's exactly why drills emphasizing different skill areas, 3v3, and 5v5 games were all included at the Headliners Invitational. The format was chosen to set prospects up for success in front of the scouts and college coaches. Every prospect had a reversible jersey with a number that corresponded to the information in the college coaches' event packets. College programs D2, D3, NAIA, NCCAA, and JUCO across the state received an invitation to this event, with several border state programs also included. Time was built into the event for prospects to speak with college coaches after their sessions. An exciting segment was added to the event this year, with Make Shots trainer Mike Soukup putting both the high school and middle school participants through a shooting workout.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/10/PXL_20261025_170659670-edited.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1962651" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Headliners Invitational Showcase, Middle School Session, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026. </figcaption></figure>   There were no middle school showcases offered in the state back in 2023, so it became clear that we had a great opportunity to provide an exceptional first experience for middle schoolers. Since college coaches are recruiting/evaluating high schoolers and our PGH coverage prioritizes high school prospects during their AAU and high school seasons, having a middle school session became very important. Middle schoolers not only worked with college coaches, but also had the opportunity to train with current Lansing Community College players. Jocelyn Kotowicz (2025, St. Johns) ran a Q & A segment with the participants and provided valuable insight about what it's like to be a college basketball player. Every middle schooler is on the Prep Girls Hoops radar ahead of their high school career and will be promoted on our platform. By experiencing a showcase ahead of their freshman year, these middle schoolers will be better prepared for high-stakes environments in front of college coaches in the future.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/10/PXL_20261025_171248343.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1962653" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Coach Mike Soukop, Make Shots Clinic, Headliners Invitational Showcase, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026. </figcaption></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/10/Screenshot_20261026-131438.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1962696" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Coach Ray Kimball, Lansing Community College, Co-Director of Headliners Invitational Showcase, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026. </figcaption></figure>   My coverage focused primarily on Team Wings during the middle school session. Here are evaluations for middle schoolers representing the Wings during session two at the <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/program/prepare-2-win-basketball/"></a><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/program/prepare-2-win-basketball/">[program_tooltip program_id='923712' first='Prepare' last='2 Win Basketball']</a> Headliners Invitational Showcase:    Adelinn is a crafty point guard who creates space, switches hands comfortably, gets to the rim, and provides a perimeter threat with her confident outside shot. Adelinn saw the floor well and made the extra pass to get teammates open looks. She understands spacing I and used quick, effective crossover dribbles to get by the first wave of defenders and penetrate with her dribble. Adelinn's ball-handling, shiftiness, and three-point shooting stood out at the Headliners Invitational Showcase.     Kendall had an impressive day at the Headliners Invitational Showcase. She separated herself early in the drills, sinking a corner three off a smooth catch and pivot, then ran to the opposite corner to drain another three. Kendall kept her balance while moving laterally, knocked down a three from the slot, then worked just as hard to give her partner crisp, accurate passes in the drill. Kendall attacked assertively off the dribble and drove hard to the basket, landed on two feet, then scored a contested bucket off the glass. Kendall's performance in the games for Team Wings made her one of the most impactful and noticeable players in the gym. She shoots with balance on her step backs, throws accurate passes to shooters, anicipates passes in the gap to create steals, crashes the boards to secure offensive rebounds, and split the gap on hard drives to cause fouls. Kendall changed directions with a shifty double-crossover combination to maneuver past her defender, and made good transfers inside for catch and finish layups. She drove downhill with determination, absorbed contact to score a tough layup, forced the defense to send her to the free throw line, and finished many speedy layups efficiently at the rim. Kendall dished out assists, followed her shot to secure the offensive board, scored the put back, and ripped the ball away on defense. Two of her highlight plays included a straight-on three-pointer from way downtown up top and a 94-foot fast break layup where she anticipate a pass, picked it off, then turned on the afterburners to take it all the way to the rim, then finished through contact.     Kylee ripped by her defender on a drive, absorbed the contact and finished at the rim. She was confident shooting the three, and drove to the basket confidently with her left hand. Kylee utilized crossovers effectively to create driving lanes and made a good transfer to her strong hand in the paint. She moves to open space, catches to shoot, and hit a nice, short jumper with touch. Kylee used a spin dribble effectively to escape pressure and showed her outside range by sinking a smooth corner three.     Annalee was one of the taller girls' on the court at the Headliners Invitational Showcase. She has great versatility as a guard-wing-forward. Annalee snaps her wrist on follow-throughs, stares down the rim, catches passes with her feet balanced, fires crisp passes to teammates, and steps into her shots well. Annalee pivoted and drained a smooth wing three during the drills, finished confidently with her off hand, and made a smooth transfer to her left to score off a step-through pivot after landing in a jump stop. Annalee continued to stand out and make an impact for Team Wings in the games. She contributed mightily on the offensive and defensive glass, firing a long lead pass up the court after securing the rebound for an assist on a fast break layup. Annalee attacked downhill off the dribble to score a layup, crashed the boards to secure an offensive rebound, and used excellent pivoting footwork to create the angle in traffic to score a layup. She caught a pass inside with soft hands, used a strong power dribble, anticipated the shot-blocker sprinting in, let her go flying by, then powered up off two feet for the finish. Annalee pushed the ball up the floor using both hands in transition after grabbing a rebound and showed her range by sinking a jumper from the wing off the dribble.     Livvie went out and brought the positive energy all day at the Headliners Invitational Showcase. She smiled and looked like she was having fun during the drills and the games. Livvie followed instruction well in the drills and read her defender well during the close-out choice drill. When the defender closed out aggressively, she took an extra dribble to create an open shot, and when the defender played the drive, Livvie shot the ball quickly. Livvie demonstrated good pivots as well during the drills.     Lily's positivity helped make the Headliners Invitational Showcase a good experience for everyone. Every time I looked up it seemed like Lily was smiling and having a great time throughout the different segments of the event. She grabbed an offensive and defensive rebound during the games and passed the ball quickly to an open teammate. She worked hard in the drills and caught a pass at the free throw line, dribbled into a controlled jump stop, without losing the ball, then used the square effectively to convert the layup.     Brianna showed great potential as a court general and I won't be surprised to see her playing a key role as a point guard in the future. Brianna keeps her eyes up to see the floor and is effective at changing her hands quickly when using crossovers to get past defenders. She also made an impact by snagging defensive rebounds.     Laityn was one of the most aggressive defenders at the Headliners Invitational Showcase and she showed plenty of skill on the offensive end as well. Laityn maintained good balance on her rip moves against closeouts, drained a smooth three from the slot off the catch, knocked down a free throw jumper, and hit another jumper in the mid-range. She moved to different spots, caught passes ready to shoot with her feet balanced, and shot the ball accurately. Laityn also gave teammates crisp and accurate passes in the drills to help them be successful. In games, Laityn continued to stand out, sinking a long catch and shoot jumper with a quick release, scoring a bucket inside after an effective shot-fake, and converted her free throw after driving downhill on a hard drive that caused a foul. She was very active and impactful on the defensive end. Laityn swiped the ball away and threw a pass ahead to a teammate on the money for an assist. Her fast lateral footwork eliminated dribble penetration and cut off drives.     Nora showed her outside range in the drills by sinking a three and she excelled in the 3v3 format. Her quick hands created steals and she dominated the offensive glass, reading shots very well off the rim and sprinting/muscling her way into position to secure several rebounds. Nora continued to be productive and make a difference with her effort in games for the Wings. She took the ball hard to the basket on a drive for a layup, landed in a jump stop to score a high-percentage bucket, secured an aggressive offensive rebound, and created multiple second chance scoring opportunities. Nora swiped the ball away at half court and sprinted back to force a turnover in transition. Her physicality, productive rebounding, and effort were separators at the Headliners Invitational Showcase.

Ray Kimball and I joined forces to offer the first-ever Headliners Invitational Showcase back in November of 2023. After taking a sabbatical in 2024, our conviction became undeniably strong that the Headliners needed to return and become a staple event in the community. The inspiration for the Headliners Invitational Showcase came after observing elite camps and prospect camps across the state. There were pieces of traditional showcase formats (games/scrimmaging), college elite camps, and prospect camps that I liked, but something was missing from the equation. The ideal format became apparent as I reflected upon my goal for joining Prep Girls Hoops in the first place: to identify and help girls basketball prospects be recruited by college coaches.

Headliners Invitational Showcase, High School Session, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026.

An event where girls would have the opportunity to: 1) Work with college coaches who want to recruit them, 2) Be evaluated by college coaches who fit their level of ability, and 3) Receive comprehensive media coverage by Prep Girls Hoops scouts was clearly needed for prospects in the community. Every prospect is unique, and the traditional showcase format may not be the best fit for everyone. Those girls need opportunities to demonstrate their skills through small-sided games and drills in front of college coaches--not just games. That's exactly why drills emphasizing different skill areas, 3v3, and 5v5 games were all included at the Headliners Invitational. The format was chosen to set prospects up for success in front of the scouts and college coaches. Every prospect had a reversible jersey with a number that corresponded to the information in the college coaches' event packets. College programs D2, D3, NAIA, NCCAA, and JUCO across the state received an invitation to this event, with several border state programs also included. Time was built into the event for prospects to speak with college coaches after their sessions. An exciting segment was added to the event this year, with Make Shots trainer Mike Soukup putting both the high school and middle school participants through a shooting workout.

Headliners Invitational Showcase, Middle School Session, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026.

There were no middle school showcases offered in the state back in 2023, so it became clear that we had a great opportunity to provide an exceptional first experience for middle schoolers. Since college coaches are recruiting/evaluating high schoolers and our PGH coverage prioritizes high school prospects during their AAU and high school seasons, having a middle school session became very important. Middle schoolers not only worked with college coaches, but also had the opportunity to train with current Lansing Community College players. Jocelyn Kotowicz (2025, St. Johns) ran a Q & A segment with the participants and provided valuable insight about what it's like to be a college basketball player. Every middle schooler is on the Prep Girls Hoops radar ahead of their high school career and will be promoted on our platform. By experiencing a showcase ahead of their freshman year, these middle schoolers will be better prepared for high-stakes environments in front of college coaches in the future.

Coach Mike Soukop, Make Shots Clinic, Headliners Invitational Showcase, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026.

Coach Ray Kimball, Lansing Community College, Co-Director of Headliners Invitational Showcase, Portland, Oct. 25, 2026.

My coverage focused primarily on Team Wings during the middle school session. Here are evaluations for middle schoolers representing the Wings during session two at the Prepare 2 Win Basketball Headliners Invitational Showcase: