Stepping Up Early

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486518' first='Swynn' last='Jackson'] (2026) of Fort Wayne's Northrop High School.   While we are just to Thanksgiving Break in the 2024-2025 high school season, there have already been a number of players who have stepped up their game from a season ago and scored the ball at a high level. Below is a look at five such prospects who have stood out this year because of their newfound assertiveness offensively.   .    Jalyn is a long, wiry, smooth, and fluid basketball player who plays with a great sense for the game. She has always been a capable perimeter shooter, but she has also really worked on her ball skill and playmaking ability. Through her first three seasons in high school, she averaged 14.1 points, 17.1 points, and 17.7 points per game, however, this season she is averaging a whopping 25.9 points per game through five games. She's also at 5.3 assists and 3.1 steals per game.     Oaklee is a tough-nosed, compact, hard-working ballplayer who does a lot of little things that affect winning. As a Sophomore, she averaged a career-best 16.1 points per game. She was then injured and missed all but 10 games last season. She averaged just 9.0 points per game in those 10 games a year ago. Now, as a Senior, she is back and fully healthy, plus she's pouring it in at a rate of 22.8 points per game through 4 games. She's also rebounding at a 10.8 per game clip. Additionally, she has collected 5.3 steals per game thus far.     Ahniyah is an extremely talented run-and-jump athlete who has excelled on the track as much as she has on the basketball court. However, she has "sprinted" out of the gates this Winter, averaging 18.7 points per game through their first three games of the year. She is absolutely electric off the bounce, she can elevate high off the floor and shoot over much taller defenders, plus she is a lockdown defender herself who can pick up 84-feet and cause havoc for opposing guards. If she can maintain a similar pace all year, look for her to start drawing serious college interest this Spring.     Swynn is a noticeably talented wing prospect from the moment you watch her warm up. She has tremendous length, fluid athleticism, and she just looks the part when she's on the floor. She can glide to the room or knock down a rhythm jumper, and my biggest complaint is that she has been a little too passive at times. Not this Winter...she is averaging 20.8 points per game through five games, and she has made herself quite the scoring threat from all spots on the floor. Add to her scoring 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 4.6 steals, and 5.4 blocked shots per game, showcasing her versatility and talent.     Brynn has been an impact player from Day-1 for Austin, but what she's doing this year is more than impressive. She was a 20.6 point per game scoring a year ago, but this season she has scored the ball at a rate of 32.1 points per game through 7 games. Though it's early, she also has career high averages so far in rebounds (7.0 rpg), assists (4.7 apg), and steals (4.4 spg). She is skilled with the ball and can play point, but she's such a good shooter, and with range; she's doing a better job of figuring out how to create space with and without the basketball in her hands.

The featured image is of Swynn Jackson Swynn Jackson 5'10" | SF/SG Fort Wayne Northrop | 2026 State IN (2026) of Fort Wayne's Northrop High School.

While we are just to Thanksgiving Break in the 2024-2025 high school season, there have already been a number of players who have stepped up their game from a season ago and scored the ball at a high level. Below is a look at five such prospects who have stood out this year because of their newfound assertiveness offensively.