Who are Kentucky’s top 25 girls high school basketball players for 2025-26?
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2025-26 Kentucky High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing preview stories leading up to the start of the 2025-26 high school basketball season. You can read everything we’ve published by clicking on this drop-down list.
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Here is the preseason Top 25 ranking of Kentucky high school girls basketball players for the 2025-26 season as voted on by coaches in a statewide survey conducted by high school sports writer Jared Peck.
The poll asked every coach to rank their “top 10 players in the state.”
Tabulating the results, the Herald-Leader lists the overall top 10 along with No. 1 votes, school, grade level, height, last season’s points per game (in parentheses) and a brief comment. The next 15 players are listed with their school, grade level and last season’s points per game along with their choice of college, if known. All players appearing on at least two ballots received honorable mention.
In our online version, each top-25 player’s name has a link to her online highlight page or social media account.
THE TOP 10
1. Ashlinn James (47), Assumption (5-7 Sr., 12.2 points): A four-star recruit rated as the No. 64 senior in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz, James recently signed with Indiana as part of the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the nation. At point guard last season at Assumption after beginning her varsity career at Manual, James has led her team in scoring each of the last two campaigns and ranked second in rebounds for the Rockets last year with 4.7 per game. She earned Herald-Leader second-team all-state honors after a 2024-25 season that featured some of the most heralded girls high school basketball players in state history. When her spot in the HoopGurlz Top 100 was announced in July, Assumption coach Caryn Kovatch said: “She’s not only athletically gifted, but she has a great work ethic, and I think she’s somebody that really loves the game.”
2. Kennedy Stamper (7), George Rogers Clark (5-5 Jr., 12.0 points): Already one of the grittiest point guards in the state, Stamper, a Cincinnati commit, “has gotten stronger to prepare for more physical play,” Clark coach Robbie Graham said. A starter for the Cardinals since seventh grade, Stamper was one of only two underclassmen named H-L first-team all-state last season. She’s been an integral part of Clark’s run of four straight 10th Region titles and a big reason why her team is ranked No. 2 this preseason.
3. Brianna Wilkins (1), Sacred Heart (5-10 Sr., 11.7 points): A starter since playing for Eastern in seventh grade (when her father was an assistant there), the Marshall commit has averaged double figures her entire varsity career and has scored 2,483 points with 691 rebounds combined at Eastern, Christian Academy-Louisville and, finally, Sacred Heart. She should have no trouble picking up more of the scoring load for the Valkyries this season since she averaged 25.1 points per game as an eighth grader, well below her production last season as part of a loaded Sacred Heart team.
4. Teigh Yeast (0), George Rogers Clark (5-9 Sr., 10.1 points): Though Yeast signed with Robert Morris to play basketball, she’s also a standout in volleyball and track and is part of the rich athletic legacy of the Yeast family out of Harrodsburg. A George Rogers Clark transfer from Mercer County after her father, Terry Yeast, was named the Cardinals’ athletic director in 2023, Yeast swept the Class 3A long jump and triple jump last season to raise her track and field first-place medal count to nine over multiple events, including the Class 2A 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes as a freshman. “She’s one of the best, if not the best athlete in the state,” coach Graham said.
5. Haylee Noel (4), Cooper (5-10 Jr., 16.4 points): Noel eclipsed both the 1,000-point and 500-rebound milestones as a sophomore, which helped her earn H-L first-team all-state and 9th Region player of the year honors. She’s also already racked up an array of college offers, including Arkansas, South Florida and Western Kentucky.
6. Sayler Lowe (0), Calloway County (6-0 Sr., 19.6 points): A North Alabama signee, Lowe has led the Lakers in scoring and rebounding each of the last three seasons and totaled more than 2,000 and 1,000 rebounds for a career that included starting varsity in seventh grade.
7. Amirah “Tootie” Jordan (3), Sacred Heart (5-5 Jr., 13.0 points): The Valkyries’ starting point guard since coming over from Male as a freshman, Jordan “can score at will,” Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said. Jordan doubled her point production last season from the one prior.
8. Jaelee Knowles (2), Frederick Douglass (5-11 Jr., 17.6 points): Knowles nearly averaged a double-double as a sophomore on her way to H-L second-team all-state honors and the 11th Region and Lexington player of the year awards. “She’s a big guard who has developed her outside game and is a great defender and shot blocker,” Douglass coach Daryl Moberly said.
9. Madison Young (0), South Oldham (5-10 Sr., 18.2 points): An Illinois State commit, Young earned praise from South Oldham coach Krystal Hatchett as “a great athlete who loves to compete. She can score at all three levels and can be a hard-nosed defender.”
10. Claire Marshall (0), West Jessamine (6-0 Jr., 15.2 points): “Claire Marshall is just special,” coach Matt Hilkens said during last season, the third straight in which she averaged a double-double for the Colts, leading them in rebounding at 12.1 per game in addition to her scoring prowess.
THE NEXT 15
11. Abby Reitzel (2), Mercy (5-8 Sr., 15.4 points): Indiana Tech.
12. Maggie Simons (1), Nicholas County (5-11 Jr., 30.4 points): Undecided.
13. Kennedy Deener (0), Taylor County (5-7 Fr., 19.0 points): Undecided.
14. Mariella Claybrook (0), North Laurel (6-2 Jr., 10.0 points): Undecided.
15. Emma Holtzapfel (0), Notre Dame (5-11 Sr., 11.9 points): Bellarmine.
16. Brynli Pernell (0), Simon Kenton (5-6 Jr., 14.7 points): Undecided.
17. Jaidan Koch (0), Calloway County (5-8 Sr., 16.0 points): Southern Indiana.
18. Jaelyn Jones (0), Ryle (5-10 Sr., 18.2 points): Western Illinois.
19. Maliah Courtney (1), Elizabethtown (5-10 So., 22.8 points): Undecided.
20. Kylie Kinner (1), Paintsville (5-10 Jr., 24.6 points): Undecided.
21. Kennedy Lane (0), Daviess County (5-7 Sr., 18.6 points): Undecided.
22. Ava Moore (0), Assumption (5-10 Sr., 7.8 points): Undecided
23. Charlotte McCurry (0), John Hardin (6-0 Fr., 22.5 points): Undecided.
24. A’Tylia Green (0), Henderson County (5-7 Sr., 12.8 points): Kentucky State.
25. Anaysia Bagwell (1), Christian County (5-5 Sr., 16.1 points): Undecided.
HONORABLE MENTION
(Players mentioned on at least two ballots in points order.)
Nim Maynard, Raceland; Destiny Scott, North Hardin; Gabby Karle, Ashland Blazer; Ella Buckman, Bardstown; Brooklyn Gibson, Henderson County; Jayden McClain, Ryle; D’Myah Williams, Holy Cross (Covington); Tamia Waide, Frederick Douglass; Brookelyn Duckwyler, Ashland Blazer; Keziah Renee, Butler; Taylor King, Rockcastle County; Logan Kennedy, George Rogers Clark; Lay Mayes, Mayfield; Elizabeth Grimes, Breckinridge County.
METHODOLOGY
Our annual survey was emailed to all 271 KHSAA girls basketball coaches in Kentucky, using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players, and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, etc.). Some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote. A total of 71 coaches (26.2%) voted in our top-10 players poll out of the 159 coaches (58.7%) who responded to the survey and supplied information about their teams. Thanks to all.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
