had high aspirations and used the media to help promote WL as a major destination for top Wbb recruits. When is the last time you even knew we were hosting national recruits?
The University of Louisville women’s basketball staff used Thursday night’s game against Connecticut as a major recruiting tool.
The Cardinals hosted at least 10 prospects from the Class of 2020, ’21, ’22 and ’23 - among them a bevy of top-50 prospects. Louisville beat 11-time national champion UConn 78-69 before 17,023 fans - the largest in women’s hoops this season - at the KFC Yum Center.
Among the top recruits at the game was a trio of youngsters from Crestwood Secondary Prep in Toronto, Canada: 2021 forward Latasha Lattimore, 2021 point guard Shyanne Day-Wilson and 2020 shooting guard Aaliyah Edwards.
The 6-foot-3 Lattimore is a game changer-type of prospect. She ranks as the No. 14 prospect in the Class of 2021 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Lattimore has offers from a bunch of schools, including U of L, UCLA, Michigan State, South Carolina and Florida.
Day-Wilson is only 5-foot-5 but is described as an “electric lead guard,” and is ranked as the No. 8 point guard in the ’21 class.
The 6-foot-1 Edwards has played two years with Team Canada and as a member of the U15 national team in 2017 helped the Canadians to a gold medal and was the tournament MVP at the National Championships. She averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds last summer playing for the U-17 team in the FIBA U-17 World Cup.
Ryle High School junior Maddie Scherr - the top player in the state of Kentucky in the 2020 class - was at the game. Scherr, whose team plays in the LIT this weekend at Bellarmine, is ranked as the No. 25 player nationally by ESPN and Prospect Nation.
DeSoto, Kan., Bishop Miege guard Payton Verhulst was another elite prospect at the game. The 6-foot-1 Verhulst is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the ’21 class by ESPN. Verhulst was named to the Wichita Eagle’s All-State First Team as a freshman.
Two others in attendance were Kaia Wynn is a 2021 guard from Ensworth High School who is one of the top prospects in the Nashville, Tenn., area, and Mount Notre Dame guard K.K. Bransford, who is in the 2022 class and one of the elite prospects in the Cincinnati area.
Also at the game was Jeffersonville, Ind., top junior Nan Garcia. The 6-foot Garcia is averaging 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds and already has scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Indiana State, Xavier, Wright State, IUPUI, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Ball State, Northern Kentucky and several others.
There were also two elite 2023 prospects at the game: San Antonio guard Samantha Wagner and Noblesville, Ind., standout Ashlynn Shade.
The game proved to be a huge tool for the U of L staff in recruiting with not only a victory but the attention on ESPN and also the largest crowd in the sport this season. The crowd was also the fourth largest crowd for a women's game in the history of the Yum Center.
11COMMENTS
Walz and his staff have hosted several other prospects this season, but this was the largest - and most talented group - they've had at a game.
Louisville is 20-1 and plays at Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
Comments (11)
247Sports
The University of Louisville women’s basketball staff used Thursday night’s game against Connecticut as a major recruiting tool.
The Cardinals hosted at least 10 prospects from the Class of 2020, ’21, ’22 and ’23 - among them a bevy of top-50 prospects. Louisville beat 11-time national champion UConn 78-69 before 17,023 fans - the largest in women’s hoops this season - at the KFC Yum Center.
Among the top recruits at the game was a trio of youngsters from Crestwood Secondary Prep in Toronto, Canada: 2021 forward Latasha Lattimore, 2021 point guard Shyanne Day-Wilson and 2020 shooting guard Aaliyah Edwards.
The 6-foot-3 Lattimore is a game changer-type of prospect. She ranks as the No. 14 prospect in the Class of 2021 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Lattimore has offers from a bunch of schools, including U of L, UCLA, Michigan State, South Carolina and Florida.
Day-Wilson is only 5-foot-5 but is described as an “electric lead guard,” and is ranked as the No. 8 point guard in the ’21 class.
The 6-foot-1 Edwards has played two years with Team Canada and as a member of the U15 national team in 2017 helped the Canadians to a gold medal and was the tournament MVP at the National Championships. She averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds last summer playing for the U-17 team in the FIBA U-17 World Cup.
Ryle High School junior Maddie Scherr - the top player in the state of Kentucky in the 2020 class - was at the game. Scherr, whose team plays in the LIT this weekend at Bellarmine, is ranked as the No. 25 player nationally by ESPN and Prospect Nation.
DeSoto, Kan., Bishop Miege guard Payton Verhulst was another elite prospect at the game. The 6-foot-1 Verhulst is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the ’21 class by ESPN. Verhulst was named to the Wichita Eagle’s All-State First Team as a freshman.
Two others in attendance were Kaia Wynn is a 2021 guard from Ensworth High School who is one of the top prospects in the Nashville, Tenn., area, and Mount Notre Dame guard K.K. Bransford, who is in the 2022 class and one of the elite prospects in the Cincinnati area.
Also at the game was Jeffersonville, Ind., top junior Nan Garcia. The 6-foot Garcia is averaging 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds and already has scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Indiana State, Xavier, Wright State, IUPUI, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Ball State, Northern Kentucky and several others.
There were also two elite 2023 prospects at the game: San Antonio guard Samantha Wagner and Noblesville, Ind., standout Ashlynn Shade.
The game proved to be a huge tool for the U of L staff in recruiting with not only a victory but the attention on ESPN and also the largest crowd in the sport this season. The crowd was also the fourth largest crowd for a women's game in the history of the Yum Center.
11COMMENTS
Walz and his staff have hosted several other prospects this season, but this was the largest - and most talented group - they've had at a game.
Louisville is 20-1 and plays at Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
Comments (11)
247Sports
