The summer grassroots basketball season came to an end last weekend and some very talented girls teams came home with national championship trophies.
The Napheesa Collier Elite 16U team won the Platinum Division title at the National Championships in Louisville, KY. Phee Elite defeated Drill 4 Skill in the championship game to win the 32-team tournament. The team features several top players from St. Louis area schools which include Peyton Olufson, Savannah Stricker, Addi Owen, Nevaeh Lucious and Amya Porchia (Incarnate Word), Kennedy Stowers (Lutheran-St. Charles), Moriyah Douglass (John Burroughs), Josie Christopher (O’Fallon) and Amelia Beer (Mater Dei).
The Missouri Phenom 15U EYBL team won the championship at the Nike Nationals in Chicago. The Phenom defeated MoKan Elite 55-54 in an exciting championship game that was decided on a buzzer beater by guard Ryenn Gorden from Centralia (MO).
What is cool about these two teams is that each one has a member that is part of a very talented family lineage in basketball. Moriyah Douglass is the daughter of former Chaminade standout Monroe Douglass Jr. and granddaughter of former McKinley High and Saint Louis U all-time great Monroe Douglass.
Moriyah is making her own name as a basketball standout as well. She is a 6’4” junior forward who has helped John Burroughs to two state championships. She also has scores of Division I scholarship offers, which include recent ones from Houston, Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Maryland. She also has an offer from SLU, which came before she entered high school
One of the top players on Phenom’s talented team is Jordyn Haywood, a 6’0” guard who is an incoming freshman at MICDS. She is one of the top prospects in the country in the Class of 2028. She is the daughter of former Lutheran North and Saint Louis U. basketball standout Jana (Tillman) Haywood. Her father, Carl Haywood, was a two-sport standout at Jennings High.
Jordyn has also received several Division I scholarship offers before playing a high school game. Among the schools that have offered include Saint Louis, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas and DePaul with many more to follow suit in the future.
*Some College Commitments
A pair of top high school basketball players gave their verbal commitments last weekend. BreAunna Ward, a girls basketball standout from John Burroughs, gave a commitment to Evansville while Vashon High boys standout Dehrio McCaskill gave a verbal pledge to SIU-Edwardsville.
Ward is a 5’10” guard who has been a three-year starter for the Bombers. She helped John Burroughs win the Class 4 state championship in 2022 and the Class 4 state title in 2024. During the summer grassroots season, Ward played with the Missouri Phenom 17U EYBL team that was one of the top summer teams in the country.
McCaskill is a 6’4” shooting guard that is one of the most explosive athletes in the state of Missouri. He has been a big part of the Wolverines’ last two Class 4 state championship teams with his athleticism and perimeter shooting.
On the football front, some of the top athletes in St. Louis have been making commitments throughout the summer. One of the latest ones was defensive back Charles Bass III of East St. Louis, who committed to Missouri. Bass is a 6’2” 190-pound safety who had 56 solo and 78 solo tackles and one interception for the Flyers.
Standout wide receiver Corey Simms of CBC recently gave a commitment to USC, who will be joining the Big Ten Conference this season. The 6’3” 190-pound Simms had a tremendous junior season in which he caught 79 passes for 1,049 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Belleville Althoff standout Dierre Hill gave a commitment to Oregon earlier this summer. The 6’0” 180-pound Hill is a fantastic running back who can also make plays in the passing game. As a junior, he rushed for 1,788 yards and had 208 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns.