October is the month of open gyms, fall tournaments and the slow winding up of excitement for high school basketball.
But we still have a generous portion of recruiting news to sort through.
One of the top remaining uncommitted players in New England just chose her college destination. Several more local standouts have found homes in Division 2 and Division 3. Our commitments database for the 2027 class has surpassed 80 entries.
Here are my notable takeaways from the last month in recruiting.
Tiffany Burns picks Niagara
Austin Prep point guard Tiffany Burns announced her commitment to Niagara on Tuesday morning, choosing the school over Providence and Siena.
It represents the biggest commitment of the month (to date) in New England girls basketball. Burns (Methuen, Mass.) is our 21st-ranked prospect in the 2027 class and was the second-highest-ranked uncommitted recruit on the board.
"When I came here in eighth grade, I knew I wanted to play Division 1 basketball, but it felt so far away. So I always took it a year at a time, year at a time," she said. "And then when I finally got to today, I was like — I did it, you know. And from a big margin, there's just so many people who don't get this opportunity. So to sit here in front of everybody, and be able to share my news and my happiness with everybody, is just such a blessing."
As an eighth-grader, Burns was part of Austin Prep's inaugural season in NEPSAC and has seen her game grow along with the program. She received her Providence and Siena offers early on, but then landed Niagara this summer. Current Niagara head coach Tiara Johnson recruited Burns heavily while at Providence, and when Johnson got the Niagara job this offseason, she made Burns a priority.
"When I got that call from Niagara — I had gotten recruited by you know the head coach prior — and so (Johnson) called me and she's like, 'I want you to be my point guard,'" Burns said. "I went on my visit, and I saw the culture, and I just fell in love with the school. I fell in love with what she was trying to bring, and I knew that's exactly where I wanted to be."
Burns had her team, classmates and several family members on had for her announcement at Austin Prep. Her family members wore pins to honor Burns' late sister, Chyna, who passed away in February.
"If she was here, she would have been the loudest person here," Burns said. "So I just wanted to feel like she was here with me."
DD Harcourt chooses Oregon State
Daniella "DD" Harcourt (Colonie, N.Y./Nigeria) and Darrow are not from New England, but it's worth shouting her out as one of the top centers in NEPSAC.
I would have Harcourt as a top-10 senior prospect in the region if she were eligible. She's 6-foot-4 and super strong protecting the paint. With Harcourt as an anchor, Darrow should be immediately competitive as it moves up to Class AAA.
Harcourt announced her commitment on Oct. 8 and chose Oregon State over more than 20 other offers, including finalists UCF, Texas State, George Washington and Hofstra.
Daemen, Central Connecticut continue looking local
These two schools have quietly been crushing it on the New England recruiting trail.
Central Connecticut most recently added Marianapolis forward Sophia Webb (Worcester, Mass.) to its incoming class. At 5-foot-11, Webb brings an intriguing combination of ball-handling and power at her size. She's the third Central Connecticut recruit in the 2027 class from New England — and that's after the Blue Devils added six players with ties to the region in its 2026 class.
Daemen picked up its fifth commitment in the 2027 class from New England in Gray-New Gloucester guard Abbey Steele (Gray, Maine). Steele should be one of the top players in Maine public schools this winter as she chases a state championship. She joins Meg Allbee, Sidney Anderson, Ava Vitti and Maddie Keough as Daemen recruits.
What's the buzz with fall offers?
October doesn't bring nearly the same level of recruiting frenzy as the grassroots spring and summer. But we do see some activity pick back up with open gyms taking place. Colleges bop around the region and check in on prospects, and coaches have also had more time in the late summer to build relationships through calls and visits that may culminate in verbal offers down the line.
This is an informal roundup because not every offer goes public right away and different schools/grassroots teams have different ways of highlighting them.
Among what I've seen in October: Newman 2029 transfer Melody Vaughn continues to generate hype as one of the most notable prospects new to the region. She's tallied three offers from Providence, Wisconsin and Michigan State.
The 2028 class has some prospects picking up steam, highlighted by Shannon O'Leary (Marshfield, Mass.), who scored two offers from Sacred Heart and Merrimack.
Medfield wing Abby Broderick added another offer from Bucknell, New Hampton transfer Eva Zink (Bedford, N.H.) landed one from Dartmouth, and MacDuffie transfer Layla Ljubuncic (Burlington, Conn.) notched one from Loyola Maryland. Avery Terry (Acton, Mass.), a 2029 transfer to Tilton, added an offer from UMass.
Decisions to watch
New England still has plenty of talented uncommitted players sorting through their college options.
Tilton center Ava Bryant, our fourth-ranked 2027 prospect, is the top player who (as of Tuesday) has yet to commit. Bryant has taken official visits to Georgetown, Boston College and Colorado at this point.
After Bryant, we have seven more names in our Top 50 who remain uncommitted (removing Maliah Pierre, who reclassified to 2028):
- No. 28 London Powell (Greens Farms/Milford, Conn.)
- No. 30 Sam Barton (Dexter Southfield/Reading, Mass.)
- No. 31 Skyelyn Schoen-Rene (Choate/Colchester, Conn.)
- No. 43 Casey Stores (New Hampton/Bellingham, Mass.)
- No. 44 Delaney Bonneau (Narragansett/Narragansett, R.I.)
- No. 47 Amaya McNeil (Hotchkiss/Meriden, Conn.)
- No. 49 Avery Littlefield (Dover/Dover, N.H.)
We'll also see some major commitments coming from postgrads at NEPSAC schools.
