ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — One of the biggest weekends on the AAU girls calendar is in the books.
More than 540 grassroots teams flocked to the Atlantic City Convention Center this past weekend for the Atlantic City Showcase, a massive East Coast tournament run by Select Events. Most of New England's club scene made the trip for a critical live-period showing in front of dozens, if not hundreds, of college coaches at all levels. The 30-plus courts were on fire (almost literally! The fire alarms did in fact go off Saturday night!) for three straight days.
I did my best to watch as many teams as I could throughout the weekend. This was a daunting challenge, and logistically I simply couldn't get to everyone (apologies to BCRI and Berkshire Reign, two programs who had great weekends that I missed). I also tried to watch full games when I could, but I had to make some concessions in order to catch additional teams on my list. By my count, I saw at least 27 matchups partially or in-full. Most teams I only got to view once, so while some players surely had standout moments I missed, I'm only writing off of my own observations.
Here are 10 standouts among the 2026 talents I watched, listed alphabetically by team. They range from Power Four to Division 3 prospects, but if a performance popped in front of me, I wrote it down.
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Jae Scott, Bay State Jaguars 2026 UAA
6-0 forward
Wachusett/Holden, Mass.
I only saw bits and pieces of two Scott weekend appearances; she did not play in the Jags' final game I watched in full. But her defensive impact was significant in the brief minutes I caught. Scott was switching onto some talented guards as part of the showcase's top pool where the Jags competed. She kept quick opponents in front of her and logged some impressive blocks and contests switching onto drives. I also saw her make a difficult driving floater through contact — a shot Scott has down pat — and add a driving assist to Brooke Nunnally-Gardner on the low block. I wish I'd gotten to watch Scott more, but I've been on the hype train with her for a while and she keeps delivering.
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Annie Camozzi, Bay State Jaguars 2026 UA Rise
5-9 guard
Needham/Needham, Mass.
Camozzi brought a ton of toughness to the Jags' Saturday night game, ultimately a 45-44 loss to Exodus National (this Jags UA Rise team lost three of four games by two points or less). She started her scoring by establishing good low post positioning and turning it into a bucket, added a couple of made runners, drove for a layup from the perimeter in the half-court and hit an elbow jumper off of a screen. Camozzi has a solid handle, is strong for her size and can make some heads-up plays in transition.
Tamia Darling, Boston Showstoppers 2026
5-10 guard/forward
Cathedral/Boston, Mass.
Darling is a gifted leaping athlete and her timing grabbing rebounds is on another level. She was all over the boards in the Showstoppers' 46-41 loss to Mid Penn Motion on Sunday morning, putting back several of her own and her teammates' misses. Darling slides her feet well defending on the ball and has some moments of refined footwork with her drives and spin moves on offense. She also scored out of a screen-and-roll action as a roller. Darling needs to keep working on adding a consistent jumper and getting the ball out quicker before help comes, but her general athletic tools and effort level set a promising foundation.
Serenity Lancaster, Connecticut Basketball Club (Fairfield)
6-1 forward
New Hampton/New London, Conn.
Lancaster was a rare two-game watch for me and her two-way impact shined. Her interior defense was awesome; she racked up a few blocks in rotation and guarding 1-on-1. On offense, I think Lancaster is at her best when she's decisive with her scoring moves. We saw it a few times with quick post spins into scores, and she also gave us a strong drive from the perimeter, using another spin move into a layup. Lancaster's handle at her size gives her an extra dimension as a transition player and half-court scorer.
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Noelle Lawrence, Connecticut Basketball Club (New Haven)
5-7 guard
West Haven/West Haven, Conn.
By all accounts online, Lawrence had a great weekend, and I got to see a glimpse of it during CBC New Haven's 53-48 victory over WeR1 Lady Sharks. She canned a pair of corner 3s, hit another wing 3 off the catch, and did a nice job moving without the basketball. Lawrence also jumped up on a screen to poke away a steal and take it the distance. I'll definitely have her more on my radar after she averaged 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.8 steals, with 65 made 3-pointers (38 percent) at West Haven last winter.
Abigail Casper, D4S 2026
6-0 forward
Northwest Catholic/West Hartford, Conn.
I've really become a fan of Casper's offensive game when I've watched her this grassroots season. She knocked down a couple of 3s in a 49-25 win against NY Havoc and has a pretty solid handle for her positional size as a 3-4 wing. Casper sees the floor well too, evidenced by a couple of quality drive-and-kick passes, and she pursues rebounds hard. She's probably best defending similar wings and forwards, but I saw her make quality contests against larger opponents this game. There's some intriguing point-forward playmaking potential with Casper.
Sophia Lee, D4S 2026
5-6 guard
Storm King/Ballston Spa, N.Y.
Lee teamed up with Casper to spearhead the D4S Saturday win. She hit a 3-pointer off a Casper transition pass and added another spot-up make; she looks confident shooting quickly off the catch. Lee also converted a tough transition and-1 layup. She's great when she can get to her power dribbles and drive with them, and she's stronger than her size indicates.
Selah Prignano, iBelieve Elite 2026 S40
5-9 guard
Wilbraham & Monson/Newington, Conn.
At times during my two partial iBelieve viewings (a 1-1 split), the team really needed someone who could get to the second level of a defense by herself. Prignano answered the call as a scorer with some difficult driving layups and pull-up twos. Her burst following a ball screen or in isolation is hard to prepare for in an AAU setting. When her scoring touch is on, Prignano can quickly stack up highlight buckets.
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Maddie Provost, Maine Firecrackers 2026 S40
5-8 guard
Lawrence/Fairfield, Maine
The Firecrackers gave SLAAM, a Pennsylvania-based Select Power 24 program, one of its toughest games this weekend in an 54-46 loss. Provost balled out. She drilled 3-pointers off the catch (I had her with four and might have missed some) and doesn't need much time to load and fire. Provost finished a half-court driving layup through contact off of a great hesi and scored another tough one in transition. She also picked up multiple steals defending off the ball and tracked cutters well. Provost is among the top returning players in the state of Maine and has some Division 1 offers from schools like Sacred Heart and Merrimack.
Maddie McCaffery, MCW Starz 2026 P24
5-8 guard
Tilton/Merrimack, N.H.
McCaffery was one of the better off-ball movers I observed this weekend, and her team rewarded her during the wins I saw against MD23 Elite and NEPA Elite. She scored on a hard cut to the basket off a feed from Sammie Sullivan in the first game, and was even more impactful in the NEPA Elite blowout victory. McCaffery ran hard off of a screen for a 3-pointer and stayed active even when she wasn't the focal point of the offense. She also picked up two steals that resulted in transition layups for herself. McCaffery plays every possession fast and injects some great energy into the lineup.
Quick shouts: The 2026 class brought it with guards defending on the perimeter. Each of these players deserves a shout for their effort: Maddie Benigni (Jaguars E40 Black/Hamden Hall), Reilly Chernovetz (CBC Fairfield/Hamden Hall), London Powell (iBelieve S40/Greens Farms), Keyona Raines (Boston Showstoppers/Cathedral), Annie Zink (MCW Starz S40/Bedford). Benigni in particular was one of the best vocal communicators I heard this weekend. ... Izzy Adams (MCW Starz P24/Dexter Southfield) did her typical thing with great transition passing, a no-look feed to the low block, and some tough runner makes. I'll also shout out Celia Neilson (MCW Starz P24/Bishop Fenwick), who fills a lot of small roles on the same squad with her versatility as an off-guard, two-way physicality and knack for tough, timely scores inside.
