Taylor Jones
(l to r) Anaya Peoples, Nyah Green and Zoe Young hold down the top of a loaded 2019 class. *Photos by Chris Hansen and Ty Freeman.
The excitement for the 2019 class cannot be contained. Scouts and college coaches alike are seeing talent at the top of the sophomore class with depth behind it. Compared to recent classes, the feeling is there is comparable top 10 level talent 25 players deep. And while there are years for this class to finish writing the prep chapter of this story, the early days are setting up for an epic tale.
Five states have four or more players in the ProspectsNation.com ELITE 60 rankings heading into the high school season. Led by a fantastic crop in California, including six players ranked in the ELITE 60, the Golden State has talent at every position in this class. Dynamic point guard Charisma Osbourne of Moreno Valley, California, and power shooting guard Alexis Tucker of Hawthorne, California, have impressed competing against elite competition several years their senior.
Another state that always brings elite talent to the table is Texas and the Lone Star State has five prospects in the early going for the 2019 class. The staggering thing is that all five are ranked in the top 18 spots and there are several players knocking on the door to be included in the ELITE 60. Nyah Green of Allen, Texas, is a player the country has known for what seems like years already. The Louisville commit held strong at the No. 2 spot nationally. Her San Antonio’s Finest teammate Liz Scott of Tomball, Texas, made a major move up the list, checking in at No. 5, after a fantastic summer.
“Scott rose to the elite conversation in the class with her aggressive play around the basket,” Brandon Clay of ProspectsNation.com, said. “She also impressed our staff with her willingness to compete on every possession. Scott showed her versatility at the PSBSummerInvite making plays on both ends of the hardwood leading San Antonio's Finest to the championship.”
Florida, New Jersey and Ohio all had four players represented in the ProspectsNation.com ELITE 60 for the class of 2019.
The top four remained the same with Zoe Young of Urbandale, Iowa, Green, Anaya Peoples of Danville, Illinois, and Samantha Brunelle of Ruckersville, Virginia, all having fantastic summers.
There are some terrific young post players in this class as well. No. 10 Taylor Jones of Forney, Texas, No. 11 Destinee Oberg of Burnsville, Minnesota, and No. 15 JaQuaya Miller of Renton, Washington, are talents with very different styles of play. Jones draws comparisons to 2016 McDonald’s All American Lauren Cox as their builds and mobility are comparable. Oberg has a strong frame and may have the best footwork on the block, with counter moves to her counter moves, and Miller has an awesome combination of speed and power in the post.
Three schools have struck gold early in the 2019 class. The aforementioned Green committed to Louisville, No. 14 Jordyn Oliver of Prosper, Texas, has committed to Baylor and No. 35 Fujika Nimmo of Haines City, Florida, recently gave her verbal to Georgia Tech.
Any way you slice it, the 2019 class has star power and will be fun to cover over the next two-plus years.
2019 ELITE 60 Rankings
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and 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.
