The 2027 class has played in its final summer live periods and likely suited up for the last time on the grassroots circuit. One part of the development journey is complete. And it's a great time to update our Best of New England rankings.
The top three prospects in this class form one of New England's best trios in recent years. All six New England state associations have at least one player in the Top 50 along with plenty of NEPSAC representation. Seven new players make their debuts.
I've kept the rankings in the back of my mind all spring and summer. We're listing New England's stars as college prospects. My in-person viewing carries the most weight, but I'm constantly talking with college coaches about players and program needs to inform my perspective. You can read more about my philosophy on these rankings here.
Here are our top 50 players in New England's Class of 2027.
MORE BEST OF NEW ENGLAND: 2028 girls | 2029 girls | 2027 boys | 2028 boys
1. Bella Owumi
6-0 wing
Tilton/MCW Starz
Hometown: Lynn, Mass.
NCAA: Florida
ALL EYES ON HER:Â How Owumi has handled the pressure of great expectations since she was 12
2. Corinne Lomax
6-0 wing
Tabor/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Watertown, Conn.
NCAA: Arizona
PROSPECT WATCH:Â What makes Lomax one of the region's best
3. Anna Moser
5-8 guard
Hoosac/Team Northeast
Hometown: Rutland, Vt.
NCAA: Florida
FEATURE STORY:Â How Moser has become one of Vermont's top basketball prospects ever
Note:Â Moser and her family currently live in Clifton Park, N.Y. However, since Moser has spent most of her life growing up in Vermont, I've made the judgement call to keep her eligible for our rankings.
4. Ava Bryant
6-5 center
Tilton/Jersey Gemz
Hometown: Rye, N.Y.
5. Kendra Foy
5-10 guard
St. Luke's/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: Bethel, Conn.
NCAA: East Carolina
6. Alannah Baehr
6-1 wing
Suffield/Connecticut Basketball Club
Hometown: Colchester, Conn.
NCAA: Penn
7. Zariah Ottley
5-7 guard
Northfield Mount Hermon/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Rockland, Mass.
NCAA: Boston University
8. Lucianna Parrotta
6-0 forward
Sacred Heart/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Armonk, N.Y.
NCAA: Texas State
9. Gabby Middleton
5-10 guard
Newman/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Stoughton, Mass.
NCAA: UMBC
10. Izzy Kittredge
6-1 forward
Nobles/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Medfield, Mass.
NCAA: Brown
Top 10 thoughts: I’ve kept the top three in the same order because all three kept dominating during the spring and summer. I couldn't find a significant reason to move one over the other. ESPN has Owumi ranked No. 32 in the national 2027 class, Moser at No. 79 and Lomax at No. 90. At this point, you could rearrange Owumi, Lomax and Moser in any order and make a defensible case.
Ottley moves up just a bit because I increasingly appreciate how unique she is as a scorer, with a rare guard ability to win on post mismatches, plus her rebounding and passing. My general opinions on players 4-through-10 haven’t changed too much. In their own ways, they’re all versatile enough to find roles as valuable mid-major college talents.
An important housekeeping note: I had planned for Paola Kanoute to slot in at No. 5 and praised her in our rankings preview. She has since announced she is transferring to DME Academy in Florida. Because Kanoute is from France and no longer attends a New England school, she has been removed from the rankings.
11. Maddie Benigni
5-5 guard
Hamden Hall/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: East Hampton, Conn.
NCAA: Sacred Heart
12. Gracyn Barnes
5-6 guard
Worcester Academy/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Grafton, Mass.
NCAA: Stony Brook
13. Leah McKenzie
6-0 wing
Loomis Chaffee/iDream
Hometown: Farmington, Conn.
NCAA: Sacred Heart
14. Lauren Fitzgerald
6-1 wing
Tabor/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: North Attleboro, Mass.
NCAA: Colgate
15. Autumn Udoh
6-0 forward
MacDuffie/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: Bristol, Conn.
NCAA: Central Connecticut
16. Gemma Murray
5-9 guard
Londonderry/MCW Starz
Hometown: Londonderry, N.H.
NCAA: Le Moyne
17. Jocelyn Gesner
6-3 forward
Northfield Mount Hermon/West Virginia Thunder
Hometown: Chapel Hill, N.C.
NCAA: Drexel
18. Jacylah "LaLa" Goode
6-0 forward
Loomis Chaffee/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Derby, Conn.
NCAA: NCCU
19. Celia Neilson
6-0 wing
Tilton/MCW Starz
Hometown: Georgetown, Mass.
NCAA: Wright State
20. Charlotte Theriault
5-10 wing
Suffield/Connecticut Basketball Club
Hometown: Palmer, Mass.
NCAA: Iona
11-20 thoughts: Aside from a bump up for Benigni, I’ve kept the first six names here in the same order relative to each other. Benigni continues to show a relentless will as a driving scorer, and her movement shooting is even more impressive than I realized.
Goode represents the most notable riser in this section, climbing from No. 25 to No. 18. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from her as a skilled scoring forward who has a bag of moves around the basket and a solid spot-up 3-ball. Neilson debuts in the 2027 rankings after choosing a postgrad year at Tilton.
One other note here: I would consider Fatima Diouf in this tier of prospect stature. The French guard played for Putnam Science last winter, but that school has now closed. I've removed Diouf from the rankings for now. However, if she ends up transferring to a New England prep school, she would again be eligible and I would add her back in the next update.
21. Tiffany Burns
5-9 guard
Austin Prep/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Methuen, Mass.
22. Shannon Welburn
5-9 guard
Newman/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
NCAA: Denison
23. Sammi Santacroce
5-7 guard
Suffield/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: North Haven, Conn.
NCAA: AIC
24. Pearl Dickson
6-4 center
Berkshire/New Heights
Hometown: Aboase, Ghana
NCAA: Niagara
25. Jordyn Crump
5-8 guard
Biddeford/Maine Firecrackers
Hometown: Biddeford, Maine
NCAA: Colgate
26. Sarah Poland
6-0 forward
Rivers/Mass Huskies
Hometown: Sudbury, Mass.
NCAA: Bowdoin
27. Maliah Pierre
5-9 wing
Dexter Southfield/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Hanson, Mass.
28. London Powell
5-8 guard
Greens Farms/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: Milford, Conn.
29. Riley Hamilton
5-11 wing
Dexter Southfield/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Lexington, Mass.
NCAA: Bentley
30. Sam Barton
5-10 wing
Dexter Southfield/MCW Starz
Hometown: Reading, Mass.
21-30 thoughts: In a shallower, more guard-heavy class, this is roughly where we’ll start seeing some Div. 1-Div. 2-Div. 3 crossover. Some of these players will end up at Div. 1 mid-majors. Others will head to very prominent schools in Div. 2 or 3. Welburn, up nine spots, is among the biggest risers in these rankings. I appreciate how consistent she is with her motor as a guard rebounder and defender, and she's also reliable attacking the defense and getting to her short jumpers.
This tier also kicks off a group of complementary wings and forwards who are among my favorite players in the class. Poland is strong and skilled, capable of winning against post mismatches, knocking down spot-up 3s or making unselfish plays. Pierre, right behind her, has shown through AAU and her brief NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase appearances that her explosive drives and defensive tenacity translate across any form of competition.
Hamilton and Barton are similar in their prolific shooting and success attacking driving lanes. Barton, who has successfully returned from a major knee injury, is the highest debutant in these rankings. She recently picked up an offer from Stonehill.
31. Skyelyn Schoen-Rene
5-11 wing
Choate/Connecticut Basketball Club
Hometown: Colchester, Conn.
32. Zoe Knight
6-0 forward
St. Andrew's/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Wakefield, R.I.
NCAA: Manhattan
33. Taelor Arnold
5-3 guard
Darrow/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: East Hartford, Conn.
NCAA: Wagner
34. Teegan Lanpher
5-3 guard
Wachusett/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Holden, Mass.
NCAA: Adelphi
35. Eva Stirk
6-4 center
Hopkins/Connecticut Basketball Club
Hometown: Orange, Conn.
NCAA: UMBC
36. Nyasia Caban
5-4 guard
Kimball Union/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Lawrence, Mass.
NCAA: Stonehill
37. Skyler Burke
5-9 guard
Choate/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Meridan, Conn.
NCAA: Rider
38. Ava Perry
5-7 guard
New Hampton/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Groveland, Mass.
39. Sidney Anderson
6-0 wing
Marianapolis/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: Brooklyn, Conn.
NCAA: Daemen
40. Sara Santimaw
6-2 wing
Taft/Bay State Jaguars
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
31-40 thoughts: Continuing the theme, Schoen-Rene also moves up as another versatile wing I enjoyed watching this grassroots season. She's a great defender and cutter who plays with a steady high motor. Anderson and Santimaw climb as well. They both tally deflections and blocks with their long arms and are showing growth as projectable 3-and-D college players.
Four Mass Rivals guards — Lanpher, Caban, Burke and Perry — also appear in this section and I’d group them all close to each other. Stirk’s move up from No. 44, coupled with her UMBC commitment, shows how coveted post players are at the college level.
41. Kamryn Derba
5-6 guard
Tilton/MCW Starz
Hometown: South Easton, Mass.
42. Synaa Waters
5-7 guard
Fitch/iBelieve Elite
Hometown: Groton, Conn.
NCAA: Central Connecticut
43. Casey Stores
5-7 guard
New Hampton/MCW Starz
Hometown: Bellingham, Mass.
44. Delaney Bonneau
5-11 wing
Narragansett/BCRI
Hometown: Narragansett, R.I.
45. Kaylee Maier
5-5 guard
Dracut/New England Storm
Hometown: Dracut, Mass.
NCAA: Assumption
46. Kelsie Rivard
5-10 forward
Hazen/Lone Wolf Athletics
Hometown: Hardwick, Vt.
NCAA: Assumption
47. Amaya McNeil
6-2 center
Hotchkiss/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Meriden, Conn.
48. Alani Rodriguez
5-5 guard
Phillips Andover/Mass Rivals
Hometown: Haverhill, Mass.
49. Avery Littlefield
5-6 guard
Dover/New England Storm
Hometown: Dover, N.H.
50. Sarah von Dohlen
5-8 guard
Miss Porter's/iDream
Hometown: Westport, Conn.
NCAA: Middlebury
41-50 thoughts: These last 10 positions are prone to shuffling. We have six new names in the final spots.
Waters was a force who averaged 24 points and 14 rebounds in CIAC play last year, and she continued her success on the grassroots circuit and picked up a Division 1 commitment. Bonneau logged a fantastic AAU season with BCRI, showing off her perimeter game and high-level court sense as a shooting guard.
McNeil impressed as a post player at the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase, and again, centers are in demand for colleges. Rivard was among my favorite breakout performers at this level in AAU. Her combination of strength, mid-range touch and power driving skill as a forward helped her make the cut. I increasingly believe Littlefield is the second-best 3-point shooter in this class behind Anna Moser. Von Dohlen might contest that, because she can catch fire behind the arc as well.
I considered roughly 10-12 additional names for these final spots. We have more sweet-shooting guards (Kamiya Balcombe, Alaysia Drummonds), productive leaders and floor generals (Lia Calderon, Aly Dorman, Annie Whitmore), high-energy wings and forwards (Maeve Early, Alexa Huckaby, Reign Whiteing) and intriguing centers (Payton Scurry, Eileen Lowther) also in the mix.
As I’ve said before, Division 2 and 3 programs should be psyched at the amount of impact talent available in this class at all positions.
Ineligible: A reminder that to be eligible for the Best of New England rankings, a player must be a New England native or enrolled at a school based in New England for at least a full school year.
In this case, Darrow standouts DD Harcourt and Brooke Lilley, plus Hoosac forward Teagan Keane, are the most prominent ineligible NEPSAC players. Harcourt in particular is a top-five 2027 prospect in NEPSAC. We’ll also be waiting on the 2027 postgrad group, which includes notables like Khalia Lewis (Newman) and Jessie Lee Toxey (Holderness). They’ll become eligible at the end of the prep season.
