AAU Season: Five Rememberable Prospects I Saw On The Road

Throughout the Spring and Summer AAU season, I was on the road for 16 weekend, traveling all around the country covering AAU basketball for both mens and women's. During this time, I had the opportunity to see a lot of talented prospects, across a bunch of different platforms. In this article, I highlight five individuals that really stuck with me while I was covering the action.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    This Spring in Council Bluffs I had the chance to see [player_tooltip player_id='377192' first='Ashlyn' last='Koupal'] compete with a different basketball team than usual, that was put together for the weekend with some really impressive prospects that usual compete with [program_tooltip program_id='787122' first='Sanford' last='Sports Academy']. Throughout this weekend, I found out that Koupal was a top ranking recruit in the nation out of the 2026 Class and it's really easy to see why. At 6'3, she can really do anything asked of her on both sides of the ball while competing with determination and a high motor. Offensively, she can step out and knock down shots from deep off the catch/dribble or she can screen and roll to the hoop for an easy bucket over a weaker defender near the paint. Defensively, she can switch 1-5 at the moment and she gets her hands on a lot of tips/deflections because of her ability to recover to the rim at a quick rate on or off the ball. This is someone that has almost every recruiter in the country after her at the moment so I'm sure you'll be hearing about her on a national level before you know it.     I've never been in the gym when a middle school girl has dunked until this Spring AAU season when Nyajuacni Riak of the Wisconsin Purple Aces 16U did it at halftime of her contest a few months ago. She then attempted it twice in the second half of the game after doing a powerful drop-step move and both times it hit every part of the rim, eventually bouncing out. It's also important to note that she is more than a big and athletic body. She is also very skilled. She can step out and knock down shots from the Volleyball line or she can take her defender off of the dribble for a lay at the rim. That's why she has several Power-5 D1 offers, prior to ever stepping on the high school floor yet. Riak may only be a 2028 prospect but if she can stay dedicated, she will have a chance to take the throne as the best prospect out of Wisconsin, no matter age, as a Freshman. Her ceiling is insanely high. She just needs to stay locked in mentally.     There aren't many better that I've seen on the road this year than [player_tooltip player_id='309979' first='McKenzie' last='Mathurin'] of [program_tooltip program_id='712993' first='Team' last='Trae Young'] 3SSB. Mathurin is a 5'10 guard, that has a complete basketball game and when I say complete, I mean COMPLETE. She can handle, create, facilitate, and produce better than most I've seen in my scouting career. While also being a tenacious defender and aggressive rebounder on the boards. Not to mention, she has a lot of intangibles that you can't teach as a coach. Things such as a high motor, situational understanding of the game, and how to be a natural leader. When I had the chance to watch her compete this Spring, she was still committed to Nebraska but following that weekend, she reopened her recruitment and within the first few days she had a ton of high-end Power-5 D1 offers. At this point she hasn't pulled the trigger as to where she is going to go yet but whoever gets her, is getting a winner, who is sure to produce against anybody.     Over the past two years, I have yet to see Khloe Nicholson have a bad game. She may not be the best on the floor every time but she is certainly a positive factor when I've been around. Nicholson is going to be a Top Five Freshman out of Illinois when those rankings come about in the near future for her Class. She holds a handful of D1 offers because of her mixture of length, smooth skill set, knowledge of the game, and raw ability at this point in her career. She is coming off of an AAU season where she just won a EYBL 15U National Title with her Missouri Phenom program, playing up a grade level and competing at a higher rate than most. The possibilities that Nicholson has on the hardwood are endless right now. She is everything you want in a guard on the floor and she is going to take the high school basketball scene in Illinois by storm these next eight months.     Being in Iowa, I understand how good Libby Fandel can be but this AAU season, she has also shown to the nation that she is the real deal as well. So much so that in the latest 2025 Class Update on ESPNW, she was ranked around 40th in the country because of her production with her All Iowa Attack 17U EYBL team. Fandel had a season to remember and was one of the highest stock-risers out of Iowa this past few months. She holds a handful of D1 offers and I'm sure that list is going to grow this Fall if she stays uncommitted. She will return this Winter for one last run with her Xavier Saints High School team and I'm sure her goal is to put up respectable numbers state-wide, while trying to help her squad back to Des Moines for another State Tournament appearance.

Throughout the Spring and Summer AAU season, I was on the road for 16 weekend, traveling all around the country covering AAU basketball for both mens and women's. During this time, I had the opportunity to see a lot of talented prospects, across a bunch of different platforms. In this article, I highlight five individuals that really stuck with me while I was covering the action.