The summer is a wrap and now training and getting ready for the high school season starts. They is still some unfinished business left, such as seniors who have offers making decisions on college. There are still kids who have not settled on a high school, that could tip the balance in the shore conference.  They are no less than 2 possible transfers coming into the Shore. One would move a team from middle of the pack to a possible Top 5 team. So stay tuned there clearly are a few loose ends still out there. There was of course the usually AAU issues of kids leaving teams. We still had AAU organizations and now kids and parents posting recruiting information on social media. You still had kids playing on the wrong AAU teams. These things never change, but as a whole. This was one of the most drama free AAU seasons that I can remember. 

It hard to end the summer without talking about the rise of the 2023 class. This class could be the deepest D1 class in Shore history if things pan out correctly. Remember injuries, lack of hard work and development are always a road block when talking about babies. The 2023 class is loaded with impact babies. They start the year with the most D1 lock players in Shore history. They will start with 12 D1 lock players. Now that is an insane starting number. The 2023 Belles have impacted that number in a big way. I count 6 future D1 players on that team alone. There are no less than 3 future D1 players who have reclassified.  This is fairly new to girls basketball in the Shore Conference and we will see more and more of  this over the next few years.

Sophia Memon of Middletown North continued what Coach Truhan started this summer. She embraced competition and is moving into the D1 conversation. Taylor Crystian may be the most improved player in the entire state. But there were many others who stock rose this summer. Shae Sabino has gone from a role player to an impact player in one summer.  Jess Riepe is now a  D1 Mid Major level player, she has watched her stock grow by the minute. One has to believe Katie Hill is going to make a real bid for 1st Team All Shore this year. Hill has moved into superstar status after the summer. Grace Munt and Chloe Teter both have seen their stock rise this summer. But perhaps no player has done more for their brand than ALLY CARMAN. The month of August has been a breakout month for the 6’5″ Carman.

It hard not to talk about the power of Academic Elite. Once again it opened the door to a number of players without offers. In a year where running the event was a challenge, this year was the most successful one ever. In all the years we have never seen so many kids get offers or verbal right after the event.

Team Rio was a big success in year one. The organization introduced 2 new teams and neither team disappointed. Team Rio started out with lots of height and yes a massive recruiting campaign. It paid off because college coaches packed the house for their games. 

The Fagen Belles had a productive summer. Caitlian Wingertzhan became one of the most in demand post players towards the end of the summer. She choose William and Mary and broke the hearts of schools trying to get in the mix late. But the Belles 2022 stars Mary Donnely and Kylie Capstraw had success summers as well. Both are future D1 players with offers on the table already.

The JT Belles had a nice summer. Coach Truhan, convinced his team to upgrade their competition and then  put them in the right tournaments. It led to lots of buzz for the group and even produced real college interest for some of its players. No coach had more impact on a team of players this summer. Truhan helped those kids raise their profiles and improve. Hopefully the players will step it up in September after relaxing in August.

The 2021 ShoreShots get most of the attention in the ShoreShot organization. But what everyone seems to have missed is the 2020 Shoreshots had 4 players sign scholarships. Three to D1 and Paige Slaven to a D2 but she certainly could have gone D1 if she choose to do so. But what everyone is missing, they may have as many as 6 D1 players when it all plays out. This says a lot about a group kids sticking together for years…

There were some interesting babies stories…Like Taylor Dermack of Colonia stealing the show at NBS and Academic Elite. The 2024 guard is going to own Middlesex County one day. What about Devyn  Quigley getting a D1 offer and only going to be in 8th grade next year. Hope Masonsious  believe it or not has another year before attending high school. Let that roll around your head for a second.

Finally Jackson Memorial Coach Rachel Goodale can take a bow. In the past 2 years she has seen two players sign at D1 schools (Dani Evans, NJIT and Krista Donza, Navy) and now Bianca Giordano gives a D2 verbal to East Stroudsburg. Goodale has stepped up big for her kids on and off the court…big PROPS to her.

It’s clearly way too early to start talking about All Shore and Top 10’s. But it’s not too early to start the debates. So here we go and remember it’s all in fun. The fall training season will tell us way more than the summer. They say champions are made in the off season, so we will see how all that shakes out in the next 3 months. The good news is the Shore Conference will start the year with no less than 6 T0p 20 teams in the state…that number could reach a high of nine with a few breaks

WAY TO EARLY TOP TEN

1. ST. ROSE
2. MANCHESTER
3. RBC
4. SJV
5. RFH
6. MARLBORO
7. RBR
8. JACKSON MEMORIAL
9. MIDDLETOWN SOUTH
10. HOWELL

WAY TO EARLY AWARD WINNERS

    1ST ALL SHORE TEAM

KAYLA RICHARDSON- MIDDLETOWN SOUTH

BRYNN FARRELL- ST. ROSE

SOPHIA SABINO- RBC

CAMRYN FOLTZ- COLTS NECK

DESTINY ADAMS- MANCHESTER

1ST TEAM ALL FRESHMAN

ANGEL VELEZ- MANCHESTER

CASEY PRIOR- RBC

SARAH HUGHES- RFH

EMMA BRADLEY- SJV

GABBY ROSS- MANCHESTER

MOST IMPROVED TEAM

JESS RIEPE- MARLBORO

ALL CARMAN- RBC

KATIE HIL- SJV

LAYLA LAW- ST. ROSE

TAYLOR CRYSITAN- TBA

UPDATE

NBS PRIORITY  REGISTRATION ENDS ON THURSDAY MORNING….CURRENT MEMBERS MAY SIGN UP NOW!