Overtime Select prospects reflect on impact of high school recruit rankings

A few possessions later, Brown returned to the same spot, changing speeds and bursting toward the rim for another scoop layup. On a court filled with seven five-star recruits, she scored four of the Venom Tears’ first nine points, setting the tone for the game.

“My mindset was to be me and show the world what I can do,” Brown told The Next. “Not a lot of people know me, so I feel like being me out here on a stage like this is going to help me get my name out there even more.”

Get 24/7 soccer coverage with The Equalizer

The Next is partnering with The Equalizer to bring more women’s sports stories to your inbox. Subscribers to The Next receive 50% off their subscription to The Equalizer for 24/7 coverage of women’s soccer.

For the 5’6 sophomore guard, being left out of ESPN HoopGurlz’s initial 2027 rankings has become a source of motivation. 

“When I see those lists come out, and I’m not on them, I just use it as motivation and fuel,” Brown said. Every time I [play against] one of the girls on those lists, I make sure I play my hardest and prove my point for why I should be on the list.”

Gabby Minus, a 6’1 forward out of Kathleen, Ga.,  finds herself in a similar position. Despite not being ranked in the Top 100 of the 2026 recruiting class, she’s kept her focus.

“At first, I [cared about rankings],” she told The Next. “It shows more people want to see you play, and it provides more exposure and publicity. I did take it seriously, but everyone’s process is different, so I just continue to work hard.”

Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%

Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his next book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.

If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.

The art of ranking players across all levels, especially high school prospects from small towns and under-recruited areas across the country, presents an incredibly challenging and complex task. It’s a realm where some McDonald’s All-Americans never make a WNBA roster, while unranked recruits can emerge as key contributors for successful college programs and even make WNBA All-Star games¹.

But for Mya Pauldo, the No. 49 recruit in the 2025 class and a Tennessee commit, it’s not about where you rank.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to do what you want to do,” Mya Pauldo told The Next. “Whether you want to be in the [WNBA] or do something like that, being the No. 1 [ranked] player isn’t going to define you going to the league.”

Her twin sister, Mia Pauldo, the No. 13 recruit in the 2025 class and a fellow Tennessee commit, shares a similar belief.

“It’s great to be ranked,” Mia Pauldo told The Next. “We appreciate the people who put a lot of hard work into doing it, but rankings really don’t matter to us. We know our game, and we aren’t going to let anything define us.”

“For me, I’ve been ranked high throughout high school, but seeing the girls ranked ahead of me, makes me more motivated to [compete against them] anywhere I can. I feel like [Overtime Select] is a great platform to do that because this is where [all of the top recruits] are.”

While recruiting rankings don’t dictate a player’s success in college or their professional career, they do have a significant influence on selecting players for high-profile events.

“When I was a freshman, I really cared where I was ranked,” Destiny Jackson, a five-star point guard in the 2025 class, told The Next. “Now, I care, but I only care because I know I’m not going to get invited to certain events if I’m not ranked a certain number. [For example], the McDonald’s All-American game, you have to be ranked a certain number to get in.”

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

According to the McDonald’s All-American selection process, the McDonald’s All-American Games Selection Committee is made up of high school analysts, prep scouts, media, and basketball coaches. In 2024, all McDonald’s All-Americans were ranked within ESPN’s Top 40 recruits, with Me’Arah O’Neal ranked lowest at No. 33.

“The good pressure comes from having to go out and play someone ranked higher than you,” Jackson added. “Also, when you’re [the higher-ranked player] and people are coming at you, I like a battle, regardless, so if people are coming at me, I’m going to be happy about that.”

Darianna Alexander, the back-to-back Ohio Player of the Year, is familiar with the pressure of being a top recruit. “I know I have to work 10 times harder because people are trying to get to the point that I’m at,” she told The Next. “I just have to be continuously working and never letting my foot off the gas.”

Overtime Select is a perfect platform to highlight players away from the national spotlight and possibly boost their placement in rankings in the process. However, as experienced AAU coach Sherri Pegues advises, “I would say look at them but don’t lock into them too much because rankings change daily,” she told The Next. “The only expectation you should have is for yourself. If you prepare yourself properly, the ranking will be there.”

1. Courtney Williams, Kayla Thornton, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus are among the WNBA’s best players to be unranked recruits out of high school. ↩︎