Honesty Scott-Grayson
Aquira DeCosta of Sacramento, Calfi., tops the ELITE 25 heading into the summer evaluation season *Photo by Chris Hansen.
Over the past 18 months the class of 2018 has really started to take form. With the recent USA Basketball U16 trials, spring club ball and that group’s first high school season in the books, the ProspectsNation.com Ranking Committee released the first player ranking for the freshman class.
2018 ELITE 25 RANKINGS
Sitting atop the rankings are two players who have earned five-star rating early in their careers – No. 1 Aquira DeCosta of Sacramento, Calif., and No. 2 Honesty Scott-Grayson of Brick, N.J.
The two will be teammates later this summer on the USA Basketball U16 national team as they travel to Merida, Mexico, looking for the fourth straight gold medal for USAB in the U16 FIBA Americas for Women tournament.
Rounding out the top five spots are a trio of players standing at least 6-3 in No. 3 Charli Collier of Crosby, Texas, No. 4 Sedona Prince of Liberty, Texas, and Amira Collins of White Plains, Md.
By The Numbers
1 - Number of players currently committed (Prince to Texas)
2 - States with four players in the ELITE 25 (Georgia and Texas)
3 - Players from the Buckeye State in the ELITE 25
4 - Players standing 6-4 or taller
5 - Players standing 5-8 or shorter
6 - Players making the USA U16 team
7 - Number of true post players ranked
PROSPECTSNATION.COM RANKING COMMITTEE
Brandon Clay serves as the WNBA Director of Scouting for ProspectsNation.com and owns The JumpOffPlus.com International Report, which is picked up by more than 150 colleges and universities nationwide. He serves as the Executive Camp Director for the Elite Basketball Academy Camps. He serves on the Naismith Trophy Men’s / Women’s College Player of the Year Academy and is chairman of the HS Boys / Girls Board of Selectors.
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com.
Jonathan Hemingway is the Assistant Director of Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report, is on the Naismith Trophy Board of Selectors and owns CoachHemi.com, the go-to source for coaches for X’s and O’s. He is the floor director of #TeamEBA camps, a site director for #TeamPSB tournaments and can be reached at jonathanhemingway@peachstatebasketball.com.
Keil Moore is the Director of Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report and international scouting report. He serves on the Naismith Trophy Board of Selectors and has been a member of the women's basketball community for more than six years as a trainer and evaluator. He can be reached at keil@prospectsnation.com.
Stephen Peck is the owner of Dream In Motion Athletics and is a national evaluator for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report. He also serves as a on-floor skills coach at the Elite Basketball Academy events. He can be reached at StephenPeck@peachstatebasketball.com.
Mercedes Wetmore joined ProspectsNation.com in the summer of 2014 after graduating from the University of Washington with a Communications degree. She left Washington as the all-time leader in games played and also played with the softball team in the College World Series. She was the Gatorade State Player of the Year her senior year in high school capping off a career which included three state titles. She can be reached at mercedes@chrishansenbasketball.com.
