Presented by Preferred Athlete Scouting Services and held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on July 24, 2023, Future Stars USA saw 80 talented middle schoolers (class of 2027 being the oldest) put their skills on display. Thirty-three colleges attended the eighth annual addition of the event which saw each student-athlete play in two running-clock games (concluded within the one-hour time frame) with the entire event running between 9am and 2pm.

Talent present

The participants come to Future Stars by invitation only. From a quick review, all but a very few of the 80 will be future NCAA Division 1 players (baring injury or choosing not to follow that path) and of those, perhaps over 20 will receive Power 5 offers. With so many of the top 2027 players tied up playing elsewhere, perhaps the richest vein of talent present was in the 2028 class.

A changing times

Most colleges are now recruiting a significant number of players out of the transfer portal and the joke in scouting circles is now it is sometimes better to finish second in recruiting a player as so many will transfer. Sadly (and perhaps wrongly), many D1 recruiting coordinators are now less concerned than ever about early identification of talent (except perhaps those geographically near the school). Also, with the recruiting calendar having fewer days and so many events to cover, many prior Future Stars attending colleges felt their evaluating priorities lay elsewhere and reluctantly passed on this well-run, talent-laden event. Those that did attend were not  disappointed and treated to a constant flow of Division 1 talent over the five hours of the event. For those who did not attend, please consider doing so next year!

Players below are listed alphabetically within graduating class with height, position and hometown [club team listed in parenthesis]. Players below impressed in the short time [not to say others did not stand out at other times on the other of the two courts employed] viewed with brief comments as to why.

2027

Nyla Black, 5-8, guard, Cummimg, Georgia [FGB George]
Athletic; hit the three and got to the rim

Trinity Boone, 5-8, point guard, Edmond, Oklahoma [Unity Basketball]
Showed nice handles, court vision and ability to get to rim with either hand

Love Forde, 6-1, center, Damascus, Oregon [ML20 Enforcers]
Low post using body well to get position to finish near rim

Victoria Hall, 6-4, center, Lake Wales, Florida [Central Florida Elite]

Long, athletic body; runs well; still developing skills but already beyond raw showing some nice finish in close

Kaylee Manning, 6-1, forward, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma [Unity Basketball]
Athletic; can post up and power to rim finishing with contact

Finley Parker, 6-2, forward, Woodstock, Georgia [Southeast All Stars]
Dominated a session by shooting threes but also showed she could drive to the rim

Jazlyn Rhodes, 5-9, shooting guard, Kansas City, Missouri [Unity Basketball]
Lefty who can power to the basket or spot up to shoot the three

Falisha White, 6-0, small forward, Jacksonville, Florida [Duval Elite]
Highly athletic; able to create shots looking to attack

2028

Katelyn Cherry, 6-0, forward, Douglasville, Georgia [GA Southern Starz]
Springy athlete able to get to the rim and finish

Leah DeWitt, 5-7, shooting guard, Marietta, Georgia [Alabama Southern Starz]
Purposefully very active with and without ball; strong driver and finisher

Sydney Ferguson, 6-3, forward, Akron, Ohio [Legends U]
Long and light on feet; able to finish near rim in traffic

Jhaliana Guy, 5-7, point guard, Clinton, Iowa [Mac Irvin Fire]
Good handles; showed above average speed to the rim

Belle Hill, 6-0, small forward, Florence, Alabama [Alabama Southern Starz]
Very poised for age; can play inside and outside; showed finish with either hand.

Nylah Mason, 5-8, guard, Cleveland, Ohio [Indy Gym Rats]
Showed ability to finish at the rim with either hand as well as shoot the three

Loriel Murray, 6-1, center, Lithonia, Georgia [Southern Starz]
Strongly built with good hands finishing near the rim

Ella Peper, 6-3, power forward, Newton, Massachusetts [Bay State Jaguars]
Moves well scoring mostly in key; can step out and hit on the perimeter

Morghan Reckley, 5-5, point guard, Fayetteville, Georgia [Team George]

Controlled action for significant portions of time with strong handles, can shoot the three; showed a jump shot at middle distance and can get to the rim.

2029

Nyla Leger, 5-7, point guard, Lake Worth, Florida [Wellington Wolves]
Nice athlete showing ability to attack and finish

Morgan Lilly, 5-6, guard, Montgomery, Alabama [Alabama Southern Starz]
Active with and without the ball showing good speed and handles; can hit from the perimeter

Savayah Mitchell, 5-6, guard, Indianapolis, Indiana [Showtime Academy]
Showed good quickness getting to the rim as well as hitting from the perimeter.