North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and UConn well-represented as college choices for the Girls Player of the Year candidates
ATLANTA (November 10, 2020) – The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today the 50 girls high school players to watch this season for the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for High School Girls Player of the Year. Throughout the season, this list will narrow until the winner is announced in March 2021.
“Each of these young women have the talent and potential to become the next Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy winner,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “It takes special talent to dominate over the course of a season in order to be considered for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, and this is just the beginning of the competition.”
The 2020 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for High School Girls Player of the Year, Paige Bueckers of Hopkins High School in Hopkins, Minnesota, will begin her freshmen season at UConn in a few short weeks. Bueckers became one of the eleven winners in the history of the award to go on to play at UConn. The Atlanta Tipoff Club will narrow the list to 25 high school girls athletes on the midseason team, which will be released on January 12, and a separate list for the top 25 underclassmen to watch will be announced on December 1.
“This is an amazing list of incredibly talented basketball players,” said Rich Hope, chief marketing officer, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc. “Jersey Mike’s is excited to be a partner of the Naismith High School Trophy for the third year in a row, and we look forward to following these great players throughout the season.”
2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Girls Trophy Watch List
| FIRST | LAST | CLASS | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL | CITY, STATE | COMMITTED TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destiny | Adams | Sr. | W | Manchester Township High School | Manchester Township, NJ | North Carolina |
| Clarice | Akunwafo | Sr. | C | Rolling Hills Prepatory | San Pedro, CA | USC |
| Janiah | Barker | Jr. | F | Tampa Bay Tech High School | Tampa, FL | |
| Lauren | Betts | Jr. | C | Grandview High School | Aurora, CO | |
| Taylor | Bigby | Sr. | G | Centennial High School | Las Vegas, NV | Oregon |
| Isuneh | Brady | Jr. | C | Cathedral Catholic | San Diego, CA | UConn |
| KK | Bransford | Jr. | G | Mt. Notre Dame | Cincinnati, OH | |
| Jillian | Brown | Sr. | G | East Grand Rapids High School | East Grand Rapids, MI | Northwestern |
| Sonia | Citron | Sr. | G | Ursuline High School | New Rochelle, NY | Notre Dame |
| Madison | Conner | Sr. | G | Perry High School | Gilbert, AZ | Arizona |
| Dominique | Darius | Sr. | G | Blair Academy | Blairstown, NJ | UCLA |
| Maryam | Dauda | Sr. | F | Bentonville High School | Bentonville, AR | Baylor |
| Amari | DeBerry | Sr. | F | Williamsville South | Williamsville, NY | UConn |
| Brooke | Demetre | Sr. | W | Mater Dei High School | Santa Ana, CA | Stanford |
| Caroline | Ducharme | Sr. | G | Noble & Greenough School | Dedham, MA | UConn |
| Sania | Feagin | Sr. | F | Forest Park High School | Forest Park, GA | South Carolina |
| Azzi | Fudd | Sr. | G | St. John's College High School | Washington, D.C. | UConn |
| Aaliyah | Gales | Jr. | G | Spring Valley High School | Las Vegas, NV | |
| Timea | Gardiner | Jr. | F | Fremont High School | Ogden, UT | |
| O'Mariah | Gordon | Sr. | G | Braden River High School | Bradenton, FL | Florida State |
| Damiya | Hagemann | Sr. | G | Detroit Edison Public Academy | Detroit, MI | Michigan State |
| Aubryanna | Hall | Sr. | G | Wayne High School | Huber Heights, OH | South Carolina |
| Rori | Harmon | Sr. | G | Cypress Creek High School | Houston, TX | Texas |
| Jillian | Hollingshead | Sr. | F | McEachern High School | Powder Springs, GA | |
| Kyndall | Hunter | Sr. | G | Cypress Creek High School | Houston, TX | Texas |
| KiKi | Iriafen | Sr. | F | Harvard Westlake | Los Angeles, CA | Stanford |
| Raven | Johnson | Sr. | G | Westlake High School | Atlanta, GA | South Carolina |
| Greta | Kampschroeder | Sr. | G | Naperville North High School | Naperville, IL | Oregon State |
| Teonni | Key | Sr. | W | Cary High School | Cary, NC | North Carolina |
| Rayah | Marshall | Sr. | G | Lynwood High School | Lynwood, CA | USC |
| Kayla | McPherson | Sr. | G | Madison County High School | Danielsville, GA | North Carolina |
| Olivia | Miles | Sr. | G | Blair Academy | Blairstown, NJ | Notre Dame |
| Aaliyah | Moore | Sr. | F | Moore High School | Moore, OK | Texas |
| Meg | Newman | Sr. | W | North Central High School | Indianapolis, IN | Arizona State |
| Maya | Nnaji | Jr. | F | Hopkins High School | Minnetonka, MN | |
| Ayanna | Patterson | Jr. | W | Homestead High School | Ft. Wayne, IN | |
| Laila | Phelia | Sr. | G | Mount Notre Dame High School | Cincinnati, OH | Michigan |
| Saylor | Poffenbarger | Sr. | G | Middletown High School | Middletown, MD | UConn |
| Sara | Puckett | Sr. | F | Muscle Shoals High School | Muscle Shoals, AL | Tennessee |
| Kiki | Rice | Jr. | G | Sidwell Friends High School | Washington, D.C. | |
| Reigan | Richardson | Sr. | G | Cannon School | Concord, NC | Georgia |
| Saniya | Rivers | Sr. | G | Eugene Ashley High School | Wilmington, NC | South Carolina |
| Shyanne | Sellers | Sr. | G | Aurora High School | Aurora, OH | Maryland |
| Payton | Verhulst | Sr. | G | Bishop Miege High School | Roeland Park, KS | Louisville |
| Talia | von Oelhoffen | Sr. | W | Chiawana High School | Pasco, WA | Oregon State |
| Sammie | Wagner | So. | W | Ronald Reagan High School | San Antonio, TX | Baylor |
| JuJu | Watkins | So. | G | Windward High School | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Hailey | Weaver | Sr. | G | Solon High School | Solon, OH | Northwestern |
| Ariana | Wiggins | Sr. | G | Heritage Christian School | Indianapolis, IN | Michigan |
| Jersey | Wolfenbarger | Sr. | W | Northside High School | Fort Smith, AR | Arkansas |
About The Atlanta Tipoff Club
Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, the most prestigious national honors in all of college and high school basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the family of Naismith Awards annually recognizes the most outstanding men’s and women’s college and high school basketball players and coaches. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the men’s and women’s college basketball defensive players of the year, as well as lifetime achievement awards to basketball officials and outstanding contributors to the game. UCLA’s Lew Alcindor received the first Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy in 1969, while the late Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) was the inaugural women’s recipient in 1983. Corporate partners of the Naismith Awards include Jersey Mike’s and Werner Ladder.
About Jersey Mike’s Subs
Jersey Mike’s Subs, with more than 2,500 locations open and under development nationwide, serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread — the same recipe it started with in 1956. Passion for giving in Jersey Mike’s local communities is reflective in its mission statement “Giving…making a difference in someone’s life.” For more information, please visit jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/jerseymikes), Instagram (instagram.com/jerseymikes), and Twitter (twitter.com/jerseymikes.com).
###
Media Contact:
Traci Messier
Jackson Spalding for the Atlanta Tipoff Club
706-816-6022