ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Major live period weekends like the Atlantic City Showcase primarily shine spotlights on the soon-to-be senior and junior classes. But for me, these events are a time-efficient way to get better looks at the rising young talent in New England.
We had a few current freshmen (and even an eighth-grader) playing up on top 17U squads. Several 2029 talents joined the mix in the 10th grade pools. I even made time to check out a couple of prominent local 15U programs, and I came away with a much better understanding of the 2029 and 2030 classes.
I take a slightly different approach with evaluating these players. Production obviously warrants some spots on this standout list. But I (and college coaches who choose to look at this age group) also watch for intriguing physical attributes or the potential for outlier skills. There's a lot more wondering about how a player could develop, in addition to seeing how they impact winning now.
We have 13 standouts from the 2029 class below, plus three 2030 talents to note and some additional honorable mentions.
MORE ATLANTIC CITY STANDOUTS:Â 2027 | 2028
Kameli Annigeri, Bay State Jaguars UAA 15U
Class of 2030, 5-7 (estimate) guard
Nobles/Medfield, Mass.
Annigeri opened the Jaguars' weekend by making three of her first four 3-point attempts Friday against iBelieve. She's the third Annigeri sister to play high school basketball, and Annigeri is similarly an elite perimeter marksman. She's also got long arms and innate defensive instincts that seem to run in the family. Annigeri was an important sixth player in Medfield's MIAA Div. 2 title run last year, so she's got plenty of experience as she transitions to NEPSAC and reclassifies.
Fiyin Ayo, Mass Rivals 3SSB 15U
Class of 2030, 6-2 forward
Austin Prep/Methuen, Mass.
Ayo is a totally different player archetype from her older sister and Michigan-bound senior, Fope Ayo. Whereas Fope is a strong, 6-5 true center, Fiyin Ayo (right now) is an agile, super skinny wing. But already we can see some impressive open court speed and lateral quickness, plus length that gives Ayo major upside as a wing defender. She is a very raw offensive player right now, but the physical traits and defensive impact stick out right away.
Kaylynn Bennett, Mass Rivals 3SSB 17U
Class of 2030, 6-0 guard
Sage Park Middle/Windsor, Conn.
This was my first watch of Bennett, who is playing all the way up on Rivals’ top 17U team. She looks confident enough to be on that stage already. Bennett played major minutes and made a legitimate impact in Saturday’s win against Team Northeast.
She’s much stronger physically than her age would suggest. Bennett’s coast-to-coast, difficult driving layup was the first head-turning moment, and she kept pressuring in transition with drives and smart passes. Bennett also knocked down a spot-up 3 later in the contest. She’s already a top-tier 2030 prospect and just landed a Power Four offer from Pitt. I'm excited to start tracking Bennett's growth.
Avery Bollin, Bay State Jaguars UAA 17U
Class of 2029, 6-3 center
Dexter Southfield/Raynham, Mass.
Bollin had a stellar weekend overall, capped by an arguable MVP performance in the Jags’ Sunday morning 17U thriller against iBelieve. She’s coming into her own as a post player who can overpower opposing centers and use spin moves and counters to create advantages. This was some of the best finishing around the basket I’ve seen from Bollin, who also connected with Ella Peper on two nice passing reads. I'll always respect how hard Bollin runs the floor and how consistently she competes.
Olivia Breen, Bay State Jaguars UAA 15U
Class of 2029, 6-2 forward
Oceanside/Oceanside, Maine
Breen didn't need to do much when I watched her team roll on Friday against iBelieve, but you can understand quickly why she's a well-known 2029 prospect already. Much like her older sister, Maine freshman Bailey Breen, Olivia Breen pairs established size and strength with easy floor-stretching ability. She made a couple of 3s in this game, handled the ball easily and facilitated for her teammates. Breen can win easily in the post against her age group, but she's a lot more than a paint presence.
Anabel Brooks MCW Starz P24 16U
Class of 2029, 5-9 wing
Nobles/Marlboro, Mass.
Brooks showed me some notable burst off the dribble in the two halves I saw. I've known her frame and physicality as early signature strengths, but she beat defenders several times by attacking corner closeouts and with one-on-one power drives. That combination can help her grow into an imposing wing matchup as she gets more consistent with her scoring touch. Brooks received an early Div. 1 offer from Robert Morris last summer.
Jazaiah Cleveland, Maine Firecrackers S40 17U
Class of 2029, 5-8 guard
Kents Hill/Farmingdale, Maine
I did not have a roster on hand, but at one point a videographer and I turned to each other and laughed as Cleveland caught fire behind the arc Saturday against Bay State Jaguars UA Rise Gold. And then I learned she was a freshman! She made three 3s just in the game segments I viewed. Cleveland looked at ease firing quickly off the catch, and she did a good job moving without the ball around the Firecrackers' lead guards. Cleveland was a NEPSGBCA All-Star at Kents Hill and is a new name from Maine for me to monitor.
Saige DeJesus, Mass Rivals 3SSB 16U
Class of 2029, 5-8 guard
New Hampton/Brockton, Mass.
DeJesus very recently reclassified to 2029. She was already part of our 2028 watch list and will be a definite addition when we next update the 2029 group. DeJesus continues to make solid all-around progress and is growing into a trustworthy point guard. She's a quality perimeter defender, she's improving in success and confidence shooting 3s, and I think her decision-making is getting better too. DeJesus has experience as an impact rotation player at New Hampton and embraces leadership responsibilities.
Jali Eason, New England Storm S40 16U
Class of 2029, 5-9 guard
Governor's/North Andover, Mass.
Playing up an age group, Eason was still able to beat opponents off the dribble when I watched her on Friday, and she has a quicker first step than I realized. Still, she's most adept at taking contact and pairing it with high-level scoring touch around the rim and in the mid-range areas. Her straight-line drives in half-court and transition were tough to stop. I noted a nice closeout block from Eason too. She's become one of the hallmark prospects in the Storm program.
Sysy Mcausland Emmanuel, MCW Starz P24 16U
Class of 2029, 5-9 guard
St. Mary's/Melrose, Mass.
Few guards in New England's 2029 class can match Emmanuel's ability to separate from defenders with her handle and burst. She's so shifty and her off-dribble bag is growing with more head fakes and spin moves. Emmanuel runs a lot of offense on an older team; I thought she reined in her decisions with the ball and was smarter as a facilitator. Her growth reading the floor is an important area to watch, and I liked the progress I saw last weekend.
Reese Jeamel, iBelieve Elite P24 16U
Class of 2029, 6-1 wing
MacDuffie/Coventry, Conn.
Perhaps no player in New England is generating more grassroots buzz than Jeamel, who added Arizona, Providence, Harvard and Penn State to her offers list within the last few days. I wanted to include a full game watch of her team, and I gave Jeamel a tough draw by choosing Sunday's 8:05 a.m. matchup.
Jeamel played great and grew more aggressive as the game went on. She has easy-looking athleticism and length, and she tallied multiple blocks, plus a deflection and save for a steal. Offensively, Jeamel can use a crossover and get to the basket quickly with her long strides. She has a spin move in her bag, elevates high on pull-up jumpers and floaters and doesn't shy away from contact. I want to see Jeamel get stronger and improve her body control on layups in addition to growing reading the floor. Those are common growth areas for young players; Jeamel has a bunch of exciting tools that back up this breakout spring.
Lexi Linsey, PSG Elite HGSL 17U
Class of 2029, 5-5 (estimate) guard
Andover/Andover, Mass.
Linsey is a natural bucket-getter who changes pace smartly. She's a stellar perimeter shooter, and I saw one impressive step-back 3 during my Saturday viewing. But I really liked how Linsey mixed up her decisions off the dribble. She used a hesi move to drive for a layup, she drove and kicked out to shooters, and she attacked open space for a late tying runner in a narrow, 50-47 loss to CT Royalty. Linsey is entertaining in a similar way to New England Storm/Dracut guard Kaylee Maier, and I think we'll see some fun battles in the Merrimack Valley Conference this winter.
Lydia Lizotte, Bay State Jaguars UAA 15U
Class of 2029, 6-0 (estimate) forward
Thornton Academy/Sanford, Maine
Lizotte was a totally new name to me and a hidden gem for now (but not for long). She's got a strong frame and can comfortably get to some solid post moves. I also thought Lizotte moved well at her position, switching onto some faster players and hold her own. This was a pretty small snapshot for a first viewing, but I want to follow more of Lizotte as she moves through AAU season and back to high school.
Maya Ocana-Saunders, iBelieve P24 16U
Class of 2029, 5-6 guard
Springfield Central/Springfield, Mass.
Ocana-Saunders averaged 10.6 points at Springfield Central this past winter and helped her team make the MIAA Div. 1 final. In Atlantic City, she was among the most consistently successful driving points guards I watched in her age group. Ocana-Saunders repeatedly drove left, shielded the ball, absorbed contact and finished shots at difficult angles around the basket. It was easy for her to create space off the dribble and she seemed unbothered taking the first bump from a defender.
Nahla Perkins, Shooting Touch 16U
Class of 2029, 5-10 (estimate) forward
Nobles/Needham, Mass.
Shooting Touch ran into a tough matchup that I watched against a very good Team Northeast squad on Saturday. Despite the 51-30 loss, Perkins shined consistently with her motor and activity in the paint. She's a stellar cutter who got rewarded by teammates, and she turned some short drives into difficult buckets. Perkins' long arms helped her corral offensive rebounds and swat shots around the rim. The length and competitive effort are a strong foundation for a prospect with a pretty high ceiling.
Zi’Yan Wallace, Springfield Ballers HGSL 17U
Class of 2029, 5-11 (estimate) wing
Springfield Central/Springfield, Mass.
I only watched a half of the Ballers on Friday and reaffirmed the hype I've long had around Wallace. Even in the limited window, she displayed easy physical advantages with her power and speed on drives. The Long Island Renegades didn't have many answers for Wallace in the 61-43 Ballers victory. Again, she showed flashes of advanced court vision and walled up in 1-on-1 defensive spots. She has so many tools already, and even though we're not ranking 2029 players yet, I would consider Wallace a top-tier New England prospect in this class.
Quick shouts: Keep an eye on 2029 Alem Teng (Manchester, N.H.), the younger sister of Michigan State sophomore Kur Teng and a Rivals guard who plays at Proctor. Teng has mismatch potential as a fast, powerful 2029 guard. ... I watched the Jags' UA Rise Gold 17U team fall to the Maine Firecrackers on Saturday, and Mollie Puffer (Sanford, Maine) had some bright moments as a recently-reclassified 2029 guard headed to Phillps Exeter. She picked up a Division 1 offer from Mercyhurst after the weekend. So many Mainers in this story! One more to know: PSG Elite 2029 center Emma Madore (Lewiston, Maine), who is listed at 6-foot-5. ... I didn't intend to dip down to the 2031 class, but Peyton Sughrue (Haverhill, Mass.) was standout-worthy on Rivals' 15U team. The 5-foot-9 guard was beating opponents off the dribble with relative ease Saturday. I've heard Sughrue's name for a while and this was a strong first impression.
