Who are Kentucky’s top 25 girls’ basketball players for 2020-21?
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2020-21 High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing season preview stories leading up to the start of the 2020-21 high school basketball season on Monday, Jan. 4. You can read everything we’ve published to this point by clicking on this drop-down list. All of the stories are also available in our print editions.
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Below is the preseason top 25 ranking of Kentucky high school girls’ basketball players for the 2020-21 season, as voted on by coaches in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com.
The top 10 players are listed with their school along with grade level, height and last season’s points per game in parentheses plus a brief comment. The remaining 15 players are listed with their school, grade level and last season’s ppg along with their college choice, if known.
Top 10 players
1. Brooklynn Miles, Franklin County (5-6 Sr., 21.7 ppg): Arguably the fastest point guard in the state, Miles helped lead the Lady Flyers get back to the Sweet 16 last season after being part of their state finals runs as a seventh- and eighth-grader.
That longevity as one of Franklin County’s best-ever players means name recognition and respect and 46 first-place votes from coaches participating in the Herald-Leader’s preseason survey out of the 71 who participated in the player rankings.
Recently committed to Tennessee, the three-star recruit ranks as the No. 20 point guard in the nation according to ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz ratings, which label her as “a defensive menace.”
Franklin County figures to be in the mix for a state title with a lot of key pieces around Miles returning for another run at the 11th Region crown. Find her on Twitter at @miles_brooklynn.
2. Macey Blevins, Wayne County (5-10 Sr., 21 ppg): The Cardinals’ leading scorer each of the last three seasons, she was also been the team’s leading rebounder all that time out of the point guard spot. Blevins has an “extraordinary work ethic,” says Coach Mark McKinley. “She has put in the time and effort to be considered one of the best players in the state.” Blevins has committed to Western Kentucky. Twitter: @maceblevins.
3. Tiarra East, Butler (5-10 Sr., 13.6 ppg): East, a four-star guard, is the state’s only ESPN Top 100 player coming in at No. 65 on the nationwide list, according to HoopGurlz. Coach Wyatt Foust says East “can create her own shot at a high level.” East is a large part of why Butler comes into the season as the Herald-Leader’s preseason No. 1 team, but as a bonus, the Bearettes also have the state’s No. 18 player, Dynastee White. East has committed to Temple Twitter: @east_tiarra.
4. Brie Crittendon, Ryle (5-10 Sr., 15.5 ppg): Crittendon, an Eastern Kentucky signee, steps to the forefront of the three-time defending 9th Region champion Raiders, who were the last team to win a Sweet 16. Though 2020 Miss Basketball Maddie Scherr got the headlines last year, it was Crittendon who led the team in scoring and was second on the team in rebounds. Twitter: @bcrittendon3
5. Harley Paynter, Boyd County (5-7 Sr., 22 ppg): 7.9 rpg Paynter, a Tennessee Tech commit, returns with an experienced set of Lady Lions who lost only one senior off last year’s 16th Region finals team. Her 38 percent shooting from three-point range and 2.6 made threes per game ranked her among the state leaders. Paynter is also a big rebounder out of the guard spot, grabbing 7.9 boards per game. Twitter: @HarleyDustyn14
6. Mya Meredith, Scott (6-0 Sr., 25.2 ppg as a sophomore): After an All-State campaign as a sophomore, Meredith missed last season recovering from an ACL tear. She’s back and a big reason why the Eagles are considered a Herald-Leader preseason No. 24 team coming off a 3-25 campaign. Meredith also averaged eight rebounds per game. She’s committed to Western Kentucky. Twitter: @MyaMeredith2
7. Amiya Jenkins, Anderson County (5-11 Jr., 15.2 ppg): Coach Clay Birdwhistell affirms that Jenkins “is one of the top players in the state of Kentucky,” and has only gotten better in the offseason. “She is taller, more skilled and more assertive.” Jenkins scored 15 points in the Bearcats’ clutch win over Franklin County in one of the few games played in last year’s Sweet 16 before it was halted by the pandemic.
8. Haven Ford, Rowan County (5-6 So., 19.9 ppg): Coach Matt Stokes voted his young guard as the best player in the state and even without his ample support, she’d easily rank in the Herald-Leader top 10 after averaging nearly a double-double as a freshman. She already has offers from Marshall, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Toledo. Twitter: @HavenFord4
9. Cassidy Rowe, Shelby Valley (5-5 Jr., 6.9 ppg): Last season, Rowe was still recovering from her second ACL tear in as many years and eased back into the lineup and the rotation as the season wore on. Father and coach Lonnie Rowe says his point guard “is brace free and playing at a high level once again.” She committed to Kentucky after a breakout eighth-grade season. Twitter: @cassidyballer5
10. Marie Kiefer, Bishop Brossart (6-2 Sr., 17.9 ppg): The Mustangs have all five starters back and Kiefer has proven to be a reliable force down the stretch in close games. She averaged a double-double with better than 10 rebounds per game as a junior. Kiefer has signed with Ball State.
The next 15
11. Ella Thompson, Bethlehem (5-11 Sr., 16.7 ppg): Uncommitted.
12. Timberlynn Yeast, Mercer County (5-9 So., 17.3 ppg): Uncommitted.
13. Sofia Allen, Scott (6-0 Sr., 13.9 ppg): Tampa.
14. Kennedy, Lee, Manual (6-0 Jr., 12.2 ppg): Uncommitted.
15. Gracie Merkle, Bullitt East (6-5 Jr., 7.1 ppg): Uncommitted.
16. Dynastee White, Butler (5-7 Sr., 12.6 ppg): Uncommitted
17. Amelia Hodges, Bethlehem (5-7 Sr., 15.9 ppg): Lindsey Wilson.
18. Rachel Presley, South Laurel (6-2 Jr., 12 ppg): Uncommitted.
19. Halle Langhi, Marshall County (6-1 Jr., 14.8 ppg): Uncommitted.
20. Brianna Byars, Clark County (5-11 So., 12.5 ppg): Uncommitted.
21. Elise Ellison-Coons, Paul Laurence Dunbar (5-10 Sr., 16.7 ppg): Uncommitted.
22. Sydney Lockard, Dixie Heights (5-7 Sr., 14.6 ppg): Kentucky Wesleyan.
23. Hayley Caudill, Hazard (5-8 Sr., 16 ppg): Uncommitted.
24. Tyra Flowers, Clark County (5-10 Jr., 10 ppg): Uncommitted.
25. Cayson Conner, Marshall County (5-7, Sr., 15.8 ppg): Uncommitted.
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, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received; some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote due to unfamiliarity with players and teams outside of their own. A total of 71 coaches (26.2 percent) voted in our top 10 players poll out of the 175 coaches (64.6 percent) who responded to the survey and supplied information about their teams.
2020-21 season preview
This is the fourth of eight stories the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is publishing in the coming days previewing the 2020-21 high school boys’ and girls’ basketball seasons, which are scheduled to tip off Jan. 4.
This story was originally published December 24, 2020 at 8:28 AM.
