Kennedy Umeh Set To Lead McDonogh’s Title Defense Following Knee Injury

Greg Swatek, pressboxonline.com, January 5, 2024

At an open gym session back in September, everyone quickly feared the worst.

Kennedy Umeh, a girls’ basketball star at McDonogh School and one of the top prospects in the Class of 2024, landed awkwardly on her right knee and was down on the court in considerable pain.

“Obviously a gulp moment,” said McDonogh coach Brad Rees, who was present at the time. “When she first went down, I think everyone in the gym was like, ‘Oh no, she has torn her ACL. She is out for a year-plus, and she’ll never be the same.’ I think that’s the first thing that goes through, not only the player’s mind, but her coaches and teammates as well.”

The 6-foot-4 Umeh was able to walk off the court with some assistance and then took the next week off from any physical activity.

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2024 women's college basketball recruiting rankings: Updated top 25 classes

Shane Laflin, espn.com, November 21, 2023

Signing week has come and gone and now college commits are now college signees. The signing parties are over and the commitment announcements are now all behind us.

The perennial power programs have staked their claim to the prized recruits in the class of 2024. They are all shifting the bulk of their focus to the 2023-2024 season at hand but recruiting never ends -- especially in today's climate. We have a rare development in this class having five top 25 players decide not to sign during the early signing period. They will be hotly pursued until the April signing period.

No. 11 Stanford

Highest ranked commit: F Kennedy Ume (No. 42)

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Harper Peterson

Breaking the Press with Harper Peterson

Ian Mumm, fiveonfiveball.com, 9/6/23

Kennedy Umeh

Commitment analysis: Stanford WBB lands 2024 4-star forward Kennedy Umeh

Ben Parker • CardinalSportsReport, 8/19/23

Shay Ijwoye

Desert Vista’s ‘Point Goddess’ Ijiwoye headed to women’s hoops power Stanford

Sabrina McClain/Cronkite News, 10/17/23

Shay Ijiwoye feels like she has a good relationship with Stanford

Ben Parker • CardinalSportsReport, 4/24/23

Shay Ijiwoye: From playing with the boys to Stanford commit

Logan Hanson - BVM Sports Journalist/Editor, 9/19/23

Nunu Agara named to Team USA roster for Nike Hoop Summit

espn.com, February 14, 2023

A trio of schools each had two commits chosen for the USA women's team, which will be participating in the Hoop Summit for the first time.

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2023 Basketball Spotlight: Westminster 5-Star Courtney Ogden

Hannah Goodin, gpd.org, February 9, 2023

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TRIA Prep Salute, Feb. 7: Hopkins senior basketball star Sunaja Agara

KSTP Sports, kstp.com, February 7, 2023

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15 women's college basketball recruits to know in high school

Shane Laflin, espn.com, January 25, 2023

While we broke down the 2023 McDonald's All Americans who were announced Tuesday, we also want to highlight some of the recruits in the 2024 espnW 60, 2025 espnW 25 and 2026 espnW Watch List who have grown their skill sets and taken their games to new levels.

Class of 2025

Hailee Swain, PG

Height: 5-7 | Holy Innocents (Ga.)

Swain made a verbal commitment to Stanford in early June. She is a speedy and shifty guard who brings a lot of energy defensively. Swain uses her quickness to create off the dribble to get back to her lefty jump shot or to get advantageous takes to the rim. She has a very effective floater and her 3-ball is developing.

Swain does a very good job controlling tempo on the defensive end. She is relentless on the ball and really disrupts the opponents' offensive flow and execution. She rebounds well as a guard, which helps ignite an immediate fast break.

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McDonald's All-American Game snubs: 12 girls who should have made the 2023 rosters

Mike Swanson, scorbooklive.com, January 25, 2023

Now that we know who's in, it's time to shift to who should have been in.

The girls rosters for the 2023 McDonald's All-American Games in March were announced Tuesday, and today we'll feature some glaring snubs.

Nunu Agara, Hopkins (Minnesota)

Agara is the leading scorer on a stacked Hopkins squad that's ranked No. 7 in the national SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25. The 6-foot-1 wing is the senior leader on an undefeated team that appears poised for yet another state championship. She scored her 1,000th career point this season and will be playing college basketball at Stanford.

Chloe Clardy, Conway (Arkansas)

Clardy has been the undisputed best player in Arkansas for the past two seasons, and she'll be taking her talents to Stanford next year. After averaging 24.5 points, seven rebounds and 3.4 steals per game, the 5-foot-10 guard is continuing to thrive as a senior, including going toe-to-toe with a tough Sidwell Friends team at the GEICO Invitational.

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