As the Class of 2019 begins college, it’s time to look toward the next crop of high school seniors who are likely to star for their teams this coming season.
RANKINGS: Way-Too-Early Super 25 Football Rankings
This list is not ordered solely by talent. Instead, the USA TODAY High School Sports staff looked at the intrigue of players and excitement they may provide in their respective sports, each of whom have immense ability and appear likely to play at the professional level, if they so choose.
With that, here are 20 names to know in the Class of 2020.
RELATED: 19 names to know in the Class of 2019
20. Julian Fleming
School: Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pennsylvania)
Sport: Football
Position: Wide Receiver
College: Ohio State
The ALL-USA Second Team selection and ALL-USA Pennsylvania Offensive Player of the Year racked up 78 receptions, more than 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns on offense. On defense, he had four interceptions, three of which were pick-sixes.
Punting in his direction? Good luck.
Choose a side of the field to watch him. You won’t be disappointed.
Elite at using his speed to create space after the catch, Fleming gets by defenders with apparent ease. And when defender is on him tightly, Fleming has the size, ability and hands to go up and make the catch.
Committed to Ohio State, Fleming is one of the most exciting offensive weapons in high school football. He’s ranked No. 4 in the Chosen 25, and listed at 6-foot-2, 299 pounds, he looks to be someone who will be able to contribute at the college level immediately.
Fleming has progressed year after year. When he joined the team his freshman season, he put up 956 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Sophomore year, the numbers jumped up to 1,462 yards and 20 scores. You saw his stats from junior year, which landed him on the ALL-USA Second Team Offense.
In his final year of high school, Fleming will look to break his marks one more time and lead Southern Columbia to its third consecutive championship.
19. Rylee Rader
School: Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky)
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Middle blocker
College: Ohio State
Rylee Rader can’t go up much more after last season. The ALL-USA Volleyball Player of the Year led Assumption to an undefeated season – 43 victories – and won the championship. She had 415 kills with a .533 hitting percentage and only made 34 errors on 689 swings.
The middle blocker, who is committed to Ohio State, did all that despite having a shoulder injury, according to the Courier-Journal.
Rader was the MaxPreps Volleyball Player of the Year. She’s a two-time Gatorade Kentucky Volleyball Player of the Year.
And even while receiving that Gatorade award as a sophomore, Rader took a huge step in her junior year. Listed at 6-foot-3, she increased her kill count from 260 to 415, increased her hitting percentage from .525 to .553, kill percentage from 58.8 to 60.2 and even put up 21 aces, compared to just one the year prior. On defense, she excelled with 56 blocks and 46 digs, good for 1.3 and 1.1 per match, respectively.
She had more games without any errors (22) than she did with (21).
Don’t know volleyball well? To put it lightly, those numbers are very good. If you’re trying to get into volleyball, Rader is a good person to start watching.
She finished the season with 10 consecutive games with 10 kills or more. How long will her streak go before a team finally figures out how to stop her?
18. Blake Biondi
School: Hermantown (Minnesota)
Sport: Hockey
Position: Forward
College: Minnesota-Duluth
We could be seeing the final year of high school for a 2020 NHL First Round Draft pick.
Blake Biondi, named to the ALL-USA Boys Hockey First Team this year, Biondi put up 34 goals and 29 assists for Hermantown in a season in which the team went 22-4-2 and reached the sectional title game. This came after he served as the Team USA captain and was the leading scorer in the U-17 Five Nations tournament during the summer of 2018.
He’s now set to join the U18 Men’s National Team, according to KBJR6. Against international competition, Biondi will once again test his prowess against some of the best young players in the world.
Not the prettiest of breakouts, but it’s a strong first pass from Eamon Powell and a nice cross-ice feed from Dylan Peterson.
Blake Biondi makes a nice move and stays with the play, tapping the puck to Landon Slaggert for the score and a 4-3 game. #NTDP #WorldU17 pic.twitter.com/4bDlxuXced
— Stars n’ Stripes Hockey (@StarsStripesHKY) November 6, 2018
From CBS3 Duluth: Scouts “rave” about Biondi’s “pure goal-scoring talent.” He “sees the ice as well as any player I’ve watched in the last dozen years.” He has quick speed and an accurate shot.
That’s all backed up by stats.
In 2016, Biondi scored 81 total points – 42 goals and 39 assists – for the Hermantown Bantam AA “C” team, according to Elite Prospects. The following year, at Hermantown High, he had 23 goals and 21 assists.
Biondi is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the same school his father, Joe, attended from 1989-1993. If he can take another step forward as a senior in high school, he’ll be well-suited to play at the college level and then transition into the NHL.
17. Caitlyn Wurzburger
School: American Heritage (Delray Beach, Florida)
Sport: Lacrosse
Position: Attacker
College: North Carolina
In American Heritage lacrosse’s third year of eligibility —2018 — the team won the FHSAA championship.
That wasn’t luck. Caitlyn Wurzburger, who was named a captain in the seventh grade, was a sensation. The No. 1-ranked player on Insider Lacrosse, has incredible stick skills. She’s fast. She’s clearly good a leader.
Wurzburger became the first eighth grade girls lacrosse player to score 100 goals and 100 assists in a single season, according to Inside Lacrosse. Then she did it again.
She hasn’t missed that mark since.
#OnTheRise • Caitlyn Wurzburger
Learn more about U.S. U19 star Caitlyn Wurzburger. pic.twitter.com/REUnEg9ppu
— U.S. Women’s National Team (@USAWLax) July 24, 2019
The star has now tallied 100 goals and 100 assists for four seasons in a row, most recently totaling 103 of each and being named the Sun Sentinel Palm Beach County girls player of the year for the fourth straight time. She had 30 ground balls and won 70 percent of faceoffs, according to the Sun Sentinel.
American Heritage won another division championship last year, Wurzburger was named the best player in the tournament, winning the Heather Leigh Albert Award, according to US Lax Magazine.
The star committed to Syracuse in eighth grade, but decommitted and instead decided on North Carolina. In an exhibition game with the US U19 team in June against pro and college athletes, Wurzburger scored three goals and three assists, including a behind-the-back shot.
SCANE ▶️ WURZBURGER 🔥
BTB coming in hot 🇺🇸🥍 pic.twitter.com/s7vrhcA9f9
— U.S. Women’s National Team (@USAWLax) June 9, 2019
Over her career, Wurzburger has 406 goals and 429 assists, which is a national record of 835 points, according to Team USA. How far can she extend that record this year as she wraps up her prolific high school tenure?
16. Paige Bueckers
School: Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minnesota)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Point Guard
College: UConn
Paige Bueckers showed why she deserves ESPN’s No. 1 ranking in the 2020 girls high school basketball class. The 5-foot-10 point guard led Hopkins to an undefeated season, going 32-0 and winning the championship.
She posted 24.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 steals per game, being named to the ALL-USA Second Team as a result. Bueckers is a crafty passer with both hands, can make shots off the dribble and on the move, and is a fiend on defense.
Bueckers also has international experience. Her latest stint was in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, during which her 10.3 points per game were more than any other player still in high school. The only two who averaged more graduated in 2018. She also averaged 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds as she played 25 minutes per game, the most on the team, according to FIBA.
The 2020 player already has four years of varsity experience at Hopkins, first playing as an eighth grader, according to USA Basketball. In that time, the team has gone 149-8. Barring any unlucky streak or injury, she will likely score 118 points and become the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Bueckers committed to UConn and appears poised to become a face of one of the most consistently dominant teams in sports. Catch her growth this final year in high school before she becomes a household name. That might be just around the horizon.
15. Mick Abel
School: Jesuit (Portland, Oregon)
Sport: Baseball
Position: RHP/First baseman
College: Oregon State
The new No. 1 player in Perfect Game’s 2020 class rankings, Mick Abel looks to establish himself in the upper echelon of high school athletes come draft time. The right-handed pitcher’s talents are off the charts with speed and movement, with a fastball that can hit 97 miles per hour and an 86 mile per hour slider, according to Perfect Game.
Last season, the Oregon State commit was named Gatorade Oregon Baseball Player of the Year with a 9-0 record, an ERA of 1.34 and 90 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched, only giving up 33 hits and 19 walks. He was also productive at the plate, batting .294 with 12 runs scored and 14 RBI.
Then, in the Prospect Development Pipeline over summer, Abel was one of the top pitchers. He started the High School All-Star game, and after allowing a pair of hits, he struck out the next three batters. Abel is part of the group that will play for USA Baseball at the U-18 World Cup in Busan, South Korea, in September.
After a strong year and summer that pushed Abel to the top of the Perfect Game rankings, another dominant season would do wonders for the pitcher/first baseman. Oregon State is losing Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, but the team is hoping that another star will soon join to lead the team — that is, if he doesn’t sign with the MLB team that drafts him next year.
14. Jalen Green
School: Prolific Prep (Napa, California)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Combo guard
College: Uncommitted
Jalen Green’s incredible athleticism serves him well during the game, helping him penetrate the lane with ease on offense, dunk with ferocity the way other kids might on a Nerf hoop, and stay in front of the opposition on defense.
But while athleticism is important to the No. 3 player in the Chosen 25, Green isn’t over-reliant on it. He is a sharpshooter who can take over on offense, score huge numbers of points in a short amount of time, and would at times get assigned to the top offensive weapon on opposing teams, as what happened during Hoophall West when his former team, San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, California), faced Arizona signee Nico Mannion’s Pinnacle High School (Phoenix).
Now at Prolific Prep, Green will show off his USA Basketball experience at a more national level. Highlight videos of his dunks regularly go viral; fans would be wise to pay attention to the other ways he scores, too. Green, named to the ALL-USA Second Team last year as a junior, averaged 30.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 63 percent from the field and leading San Joaquin to the playoffs.
There’s one more year until Green hits the big time – at which college, it’s not yet known – but he still has time to score 49 points, or 46 points in a one-point win, or rack up his team’s first 18 points in a game (which he did during Hoophall).
13. Brennan O’Neill
School: St Anthony’s (South Huntington, New York)
Sport: Lacrosse
Position: Attacker
College: Duke
Three years ago, Brennan O’Neill committed to Penn State. Then an eighth-grader, he became the first lacrosse player in the class of 2020 to commit.
Since that March day in 2016, much has changed, including O’Neill’s commitment – he flipped to Duke in October – but one thing that hasn’t is O’Neill’s immense talent on the field. Ranked the No. 1 player in 2020 by Inside Lacrosse, O’Neill has ability, flair and the stats to back it up.
He could shoot 100 miles per hour by middle school, according to US Lax Magazine. He scored 99 points in eighth grade. Last season with St. Anthony’s, he had 56 goals and 16 assists, according to US Lax Magazine, and scored seven goals – five in the second half – in the championship game. St. Anthony’s won 14-13.
He shoots with power from awkward angles, makes acrobatic shots behind his head and around defenders.
O’Neill is at his best when it matters. In the July 2018 National Lacrosse Federation Championship, he made a laser over his shoulder and then hit the game-winner for Team 91 Crush.
Lacrosse enthusiasts and those who don’t know the sport alike can enjoy O’Neill’s prowess on the field. He dazzles opponents, viewers and teammates. Next up is Duke — but not before one more year at the youth level.
12. Hailey Van Lith
School: Cashmere (Washington)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Guard
College: Uncommitted
Through three years, Hailey Van Lith’s achievements in Washington have been unparalleled.
She has helped her team go undefeated in district play three years in a row, winning the championship each time. She was the Caribou Trail League Player of the Year all three years and the Washington State 1A Tournament MVP in 2018 and 2019. In the 2018 Washington State Tournament, she set a record for most points in a game (36), most points in a tournament (83) and, unsurprisingly, averaged the most points in a tournament, according to Cashmere head coach Brent Darnell.
Van Lith is on pace to break the state record of 2,900 career points, and already holds the Cashmere record in the major statistic categories including points, rebounds assists and steals.
Last season, Van Lith averaged 34.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.2 steals and 4.9 assists per game while setting records with a 52 point game and making 12 3s in one contest. She was named to the ALL-USA First Team.
This summer, all she’s done is go out and win more.
Van Lith was named the MVP of the USA Women’s 2019 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup. She also won MVP of the USA Basketball 3×3 U18 National Championship in 2018.
SLAM Online called her the “Lady James Harden” (she’s a lefty and can score with apparent ease). ESPNW narrated her ball handling training, highlighting dribbling moves she borrows from Kyrie Irving, and quoted her club coach calling her the “best ball handler” he’s seen in his “40, 45 years” of coaching.
With her college commitment still unannounced, Van Lith should have the national spotlight as she plays her final year of high school ball.
11. Zachary Evans
School: North Shore (Houston, Texas)
Sport: Football
Position: Running back
College: Uncommitted
The top running back in the nation, Zach Evans looks to be poised for one final dominant high school year before figuring out and announcing which college he’ll attend.
Last season, Evans was dynamite, rushing for almost 2,000 yards and 29 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He shined in the grueling Texas 6A D1 playoffs, rushing for 894 yards and 13 touchdowns on 92 carries in six games as he helped lead North Shore to a championship.
Watching him play, it’s clear what makes him so special. Get him one-on-one? Good luck taking down the 5-foot-11, 200-pound athlete. If he doesn’t barrel you over, he’s quick and agile enough to juke defenders and get into open space.
Evans can squat 605 pounds (at least, he did in February. Who knows how much he can do now that he’s going into his senior season). He can run wild. He can truck, stiff arm and elude defenders. He’s everything a team would want in a running back – and everything a viewer would want on TV. With 44 offers, according to 247Sports, and no clear choice on which college he will be attending, all the focus will be on Evans as he tries to lead North Shore to another title.
10. Cade Cunningham
School: Montverde Academy (Florida)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Combo guard
College: Uncommitted
After an excellent season at Montverde, Cade Cunningham truly broke out this summer. He averaged 25.1 points on 55.7 percent shooting and 37.1 percent from 3-point in Nike EYBL while adding 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.
Then, at the Peach Jam, he put up 24.4 points while shooting an incredible 73.8 percent from the field, with nearly all his damage coming from inside the arc (47-for-61 inside, 1-for-4 behind the 3-point line). He averaged 7.2 rebounds and six assists.
Cunningham was the star high school player on the 2019 FIBA U-19 Men’s Basketball World Cup team, putting up 21 points in the championship game, 11 of which came in the final seven minutes, and had seven rebounds and assists apiece.
That was all just this summer. Last year, he was a key cog in Montverde’s GEICO Nationals run and nearly posted a triple-double in the win over Cole Anthony’s Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia), posting 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
This season, we’ll be watching to see how Cunningham handles the load without teammate Precious Achiuwa, now a Memphis freshman. He was a strong all-around player, averaging 11.4 points, 5.7 reboudns and 5.5 assists. Can Cunningham continue to put up numbers the way he has this summer?
If so, Montverde should be among the GEICO contenders again, but it could have further impact.
Draft buzz surrounding Cunningham has been surging in the wake of his dominant summer. If his season progresses similarly, could he become a No. 1 draft pick contender?
9. Regan Smith
School: Lakeville North (Minnesota)
Sport: Swimming
College: Stanford
If you’re looking for a young athlete who you might see competing in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, look no further than Regan Smith.
At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Smith placed 13th in the 100-meter backstroke. She was 14.
As a 15-year-old, she became the seventh swimmer ever in the age group to break one minute in the 100-meter backstroke. Smith made the US team in the 2017 US World Championship Trials, and in the 2017 FINA World Championships, she broke the junior world record in semifinals of the 200 backstroke, according to Swim Swam. Then, in the 2017 World Junior Championships, she set a world record junior time in the 100-meter backstroke and also won gold in the 200-meter backstroke.
In the 2018 U.S. National Championships, Smith tied for first in the 200 backstroke – setting a world junior record — and finished third in the 200 butterfly and 100 backstroke. The swimmers who beat the then-16-year-old were all adults.
Still a year from joining Stanford, Smith has been racing with the Riptide team, according to College Swimming.
With her second Olympics Trials coming up, Smith has the chance to compete at the highest level. Get to know her name now – who knows how good she’ll be over the next decade of Olympic games?
8. Jayda Coleman
School: The Colony (Texas)
Sport: Softball
Position: Middle infielder
College: Oklahoma
High school softball statistics among the top talents in the country often look unbelievable, with high batting averages and miniscule ERAs.
Jayda Coleman, an Oklahoma commit considered by many to be the top recruit in the 2020 class, is an outlier even among that top group. Last season, she hit .717 with 86 hits and 83 runs and posted an OPS of 1.981. Amazingly, that’s the lowest OPS through her three-year career, according to MaxPreps.
Coleman has hit .700 or better over the last two years. She had 27 home runs, 53 doubles, 22 triples and 94 RBI over three seasons. Her lowest on-base percentage was .726 as a freshman, and she has slugged above 1.200 all three years.
The Colony ties Calallen 1-1 in bottom of first as @OU_Softball commit Jayda Coleman steals second and comes all the way around to score when throw goes into center field and all the way to wall. #txhssoftball @SportsDayHS @TheColonyHS @TexasGlory @DFWfastpitch @LewisvilleISD pic.twitter.com/7ol1knvFoT
— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) May 31, 2019
She’s not just prolific at the plate. Coleman had 72 bases in 44 games last season, according to the Star-Telegram. On defense, she had just two errors — by far the fewest of her career — and had four double plays to go with a .988 fielding percentage.
An amazing statistical accomplishment that’s unlikely but not out of reach — Coleman has a career batting average of .699 and career OPS of 1.988. A .700 BA and 2.000 season OPS is not impossible.
If you’re looking for an athlete who has the potential to excite every time she steps on the field, look no further.
7. Blaze Jordan
School: DeSoto Central (Southaven, Mississippi)
Sport: Baseball
Position: Third baseman
College: Mississippi State
Blaze Jordan presents an interesting case for multiple reasons. We’ll start with the most exciting part of his game, the thing that has helped him blow up nationally and go viral for his talents: home runs.
Jordan has hit the ball 500 feet in Home Run derbies. He said there aren’t any measurements in games at DeSoto Central, but he’s confident some have eclipsed 400, maybe 450 feet. It’s not just because of his metal bat; at the Perfect Game Showcase in Phoenix this summer, he was cranking them into the Chase Field bleachers with wood.
The second piece is that Jordan reclassified to 2020. He was the longtime No. 1 player in the 2021 class, but with the move up, it’ll be interesting to see where he stacks up against some of the top players in the class. The most recent update on the site has him at No. 2, behind Mick Abel. The former No. 1 player, Pete Crow-Armstrong, is now No. 5.
Jordan has a couple goals this year. He wants to work at defense – this could boost him well up the 2020 draft board if he can become a better fielder – and be more patient at the plate.
With the skills he’s proven and the intrigue going into this season, Jordan is one of the names to watch this year. Plus, his name is really great.
6. Sharife Cooper
School: McEachern (Marietta, Georgia)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Point guard
College: Uncommitted
The reigning ALL-USA Boys Basketball Player of the Year took McEachern to an undefeated 32-0 record and the first state championship in school history. Sharife Cooper averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 assists, six rebounds and 4.1 steals a game, and had similar numbers against Chosen 25 foes: 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.
McEachern did not participate in the GEICO Nationals after Cooper and some other important players had different conflicts. For Cooper, it was a USA Basketball camp that he agreed to take part in before the GEICO teams were announced. But with that USA Basketball experience, Nike EYBL (named to the First Team) and Peach Jam (24 points, 10 assists, according to D1 Circuit), Cooper looks primed to take another step forward in his final season of high school basketball.
Cooper is elite on multiple levels with the ball, scoring with ease, driving to the paint and a remarkable passer. He took the mantle of No. 1 player in the Chosen 25 following the undefeated season with McEachern, in which they finished No. 3 in the Super 25. With his leadership and talent, it will be intriguing to see how many more wins the team can rattle off before someone finally takes them down.
Also — Cooper has yet to commit to a college. Entering his final year of basketball, that will be at the forefront of everything he does. He has 19 offers, but many of the names oft-associated with top-tier talent – Kansas, North Carolina, Duke – don’t show up on the offer list, according to 247Sports. The mystery behind his recruitment and intrigue to his talent make for a season to watch.
5. Bryan Bresee
School: Damascus (Maryland)
Sport: Football
Position: Defensive tackle
College: Clemson
Bresee got his commitment out of the way early, choosing Clemson over a whopping 34 other offers, according to 247Sports.
Now, all that’s left is for him to dominate one last season of high school football. As a junior, he had 46 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks for Damascus while being named to the ALL-USA Defense First Team and the Maryland ALL-USA Defensive Player of the Year.
With speed and power to boot, there’s no stopping Bresee on the line. He dominates against local competitions and stars alike, putting top offensive linemen on notice during The Opening in Frisco, Texas this summer.
A devastating combination of quickness, power and will, Bresee, a Clemson commit, was named to the top five at The Opening Finals in Dallas in July after dominating the one-on-one linemen challenge.
Bresee moves with remarkable grace for a person bordering on 300 pounds. He looks like he can be an automatic addition to Clemson, and we’ve only seen him through his junior year of high school. High school awards seem to be a forgone conclusion for this athlete. College recognition seems to be up next, and, not far on the horizon, possible NFL success. Time to watch him early.
4. Briana Williams
School: Northeast (Oakland Park, Florida)
Sport: Track and Field
Events: 100, 200-meter
College: Uncommitted
The ALL-USA Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year qualified to represent Jamaica in the IAAF World Championships after breaking the U-18 record when she eclipsed 11 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Her 10.94-second run placed third in the race, behind a then-26-year-old and a 32-year-old.
Briana Williams was the second high school runner to ever run faster than 11.10 – something she did three times, matching the 11.10 time, then running 11.02, and finally culminating in her 10.94 race, which she ran with a fever.
It was the fourth-fastest 100-meter race by any female — younger or older — this year.
When Williams was 16, she won the 100- and 200-meter races at the IAAF World U20 Championships. She was the youngest in the race.
Now entering her senior year, Williams will come with the experience of international competition and the confidence than she can beat 11 seconds. If she can do that while sick, how fast can Williams run when fully healthy? All that is assuming she runs — MileSplit is reporting she might not run another high school individual race.
If that’s the case, it’s just her against the pros.
Williams will be an athlete to watch in international competitions and during the school year. According to the Olympic Channel, she is aiming for her “prime” Olympics to be in 2024 and 2028. She should be on your radar for the next decade.
3. DJ Uiagalelei
School: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California)
Sport: Football
Position: Quarterback
College: Clemson
The 2018 ALL-USA Football Player of the Year is back for one more season. With the award and a commitment to Clemson in check, DJ Uiagalelei has one last thing to accomplish after two years of dominance – winning a national championship.
In the last two seasons, St. John Bosco lost the championship game to rival Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California), the team who went on to win both Super 25 National Championships. Bosco was close last year, winning the October matchup 41-18, but fell flat in the title rematch.
Uiagalelei returns as the most important player on the Bosco team. Though he’s a pro-style quarterback, he can extend plays in the backfield and run with power to add yardage when he sees a whole. He also has pinpoint accuracy, consistently hitting windows to his receiving corps, which appears will be led by four-star Beaux Collins and Logan Loya.
Uiagalelei had 3,366 yards, 48 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year while adding six more scores on the ground. He’s proven himself as the No. 1 quarterback in the class. Now, all that’s left is to prove his team as the best in the country. With games against top teams throughout the country – including DeMatha (Hyattsville, Maryland), Liberty (Henderson, Nevada), Mililani (Hawaii) and the usual Trinity League cast — it’ll be appointment viewing.
2. Katelyn Tuohy
School: North Rockland (Thiells, New York)
Sport: Cross Country, Track and Field
Events: 1,500, 3,000, 3,200
College: Uncommitted
Katelyn Tuohy’s accomplishments on the track are among the best in the history of the sport – and she still has one more year to go.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of everything the young runner has done on the track, but some notable records:
Some accomplishments:
- 2017: In the Manhattan Invitational Cross Country Invitational, she ran a 13:21.80 on the 4-kilometer course, breaking the course record by 32 seconds. She won this race by 95 seconds.
- At the Virginia Showcase in January 2018, the then-15-year-old ran the indoor 5,000 in 15:37.12. She won the race, beating the runner-up by more than two minutes, broke the high school record by 18.63 seconds (15:55.75) and broke the U-20 U.S. girls junior record by 5.69 seconds (15:42.81).
- June 2018: Ran a mile at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals Track & Field championships in 4:33.87, which broke the record set 36 years prior – 1982 – by 1.37 seconds. She won the 2018 race by 15 seconds.
- At the Sander Invitational in Jan. 2019, she broke the 3K record with a time of 9:01.81 (previous record: 9:04.51 in 2013). She finished third in the race against professionals.
- In 2018, broke her own Nike Cross Nationals record in the 5k by almost seven seconds, finishing with a time of 16:37.80.
- In March 2019, broke the New Balance Outdoor Nationals two-mile record by more than five seconds with a time of 9:51.05
Tuohy was the first runner to win both the Gatorade national awards for Cross Country and Track and Field athlete of the year in 2017-2018, and was the Gatorade Girls Athlete of the Year that year.
She missed part of the second semester last season due to fatigue and some stress with classwork, according to LoHud, but she’s still on track to run the qualifiers for the Olympic Trials.
“I kind of need a down year if I want to accomplish what I want next year,” Tuohy told the outlet.
Stay tuned.
1. Evan Mobley
School: Rancho Christian (Temecula, California)
Sport: Basketball
Position: Center
College: Uncommitted
Could we be watching the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft?
There’s still some to learn about Evan Mobley, but there’s quite a lot to like already. A strong defender on the post and up top, last year’s Rancho Christian defense revolved around forcing the ballhandler toward Mobley and his brother, Isaiah, who is now enrolled at USC.
On offense, Mobley has shown the capability to handle the ball and be a playmaker, and with his frame – as of June 2018, he was 6-foot-11.5 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan – he can score down low with ferocity and ease. He averaged 19.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 2.9 assists per game as he was named to the ALL-USA California First Team.
But there are times it looks like Mobley needs to get accustomed to his length and add some weight to his 200-pound frame. Dominant as he is already, it will be fun to watch to see if Mobley can take yet another step toward become a true force of nature.
And that college is still yet to be determined. It has been widely assumed he will attend USC, where his dad coaches and brother will play, but Mobley has yet to announce any decision. In December 2018, he said “Not any big-time (schools are reaching out) right now.”
Mobley is a player we can enjoy watching — for the immense talent he already has, for being a lone star away from Isaiah, for the improvements he might be able to make in his final year and to see which program will be blessed with his abilities next year.
