The Under Armour Next Elite 24 showcase is officially underway, as the three-day showcase began with practices on Thursday and scrimmages on Friday before the nationally televised game this Saturday on ESPNU.
24 of the nation’s best women’s high school prospects came out to compete across the 2025, 2026, and 2027 recruiting classes, with over 75 percent of the participants being five-star recruits.
While Thursday was a lighter day that involved more individual drills and 3-on-3 work, Friday involved a full-on scrimmage between the two divided teams, with 12 players on each side, as the top recruits in the nation competed against each other over a grueling 40 minutes.
Although a number of players flashed with their abilities, two specific players stood out among the rest with their skillsets: 2026 five-star guard Kate Harpring and 2026 five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards.
Kate Harpring
Harping was one of the first players to stand out on Day 1 Thursday, as she quickly showed her ability to shoot the ball from distance during the individual drills.
One of the better players that I saw during the open shooting drills, Harpring was able to consistently knock down shots from a number of three-point spots on the court, showing one of the more improved areas of her game.
That carried over to Friday’s scrimmage, where the Atlanta native gave a glimpse of her ability as a three-level scorer. Not only was she able to knock down shots, but Harpring also had a nice drive with her off hand on fellow five-star Divine Burroughs, getting to the rim for a layup.
That wasn’t the only area where the 5’10” guard stood out, as Harpring was also physical defensively, which has been one of her calling cards as she’s developed into a top high school talent.
While she was called for a few (questionable) fouls during the scrimmage, the five-star didn’t waver from her intensity when on the court.
“I did get called for a couple [fouls]. I mean, I could have kept my arms off a little bit more, but I play hard on defense,” Harpring shared after the scrimmage. “I’ll get a few touchy fouls, but in general, I’ll still keep playing hard.”
Playing for Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia, Harpring is looking to be a point guard at the next level, and wanted to prove herself against some of the top players at the position here during the Under Armour’s Next Elite 24.
Averaging 27.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore with Marist last season, Harpring led her team to the Class 6A state championship. On the way, she had a massive 45-point performance in the semifinals, leading the War Eagles to an overtime win over River Ridge before going for 27 points in the title game to seal the deal.
Now, heading into next year, the rising junior is looking to become an even more effective scorer, while improving her game and maintaining her place as one of the top point guards in the nation.
“I’m just trying to get better at everything,” Harpring said. “Really trying to incorporate more jump shots in my game like [the] mid-range and stuff like that, but just keeping up on defense, keeping up on being a three-level scorer, [and] just keep playing.”
Oliviyah Edwards
While Harpring was one of the bigger standouts at guard, 2026 five-star Oliviyah Edwards was one of the top bigs in attendance over the first two days at the Under Armour Next Elite 24.
Although she was one of the taller players in attendance at 6’3”, Edwards quickly stood out on Day 1 with her soft touch and consistency around the rim on the offensive end.
That has been one the areas where the five-star has improved, becoming a two-way player that can operate well out of the post.
“My stepdad, he coaches me, so when I first started playing, I was known for being able to block shots and being really big,” Edwards acknowledged. “He didn’t like that because he was like, well, ‘she can do so much more,’ because he had already seen my athleticism and other sports because I used to play football, I used to wrestle and all that.”
So, he knew that he could pull that out of me. So we started working on all of that stuff. So that’s kind of where [the finishing] comes from, [as well as] being able to dribble. It’s just a lot of work that I do at home.”
The defensive side is Edwards’s strong suit, as she has great instincts as a rim protector, shoring up the paint well and blocking shots at a high clip, while also securing rebounds.
But, overall, the five-star, who is ranked as the No. 7 recruit in the 2026 class, just has a good feel for the game on both ends, which is impressive for a big, especially at her age.
“I feel like I try to do what I think the game needs to do,” Edwards shared. “So if I need to be in the paint for that game to win it, then that’s what I’m gonna do. If I need to be outside, pull the big out that’s guarding me out, and then go in, that’s what I want to do. I just want to be able to do whatever the team needs.”
The Elite 24 was a big test for Edwards, who is playing against a number of fellow five-star forwards and centers, as she continues to prove herself on a national level. However, the moment didn’t seem too big for her.
“It’s really about the mental and just your mindset and how you look at it,” Edwards acknowledged. “You can look at it as, ‘oh, there’s a lot of pressure and there’s a lot of this that,’ or you can look at it as, ‘I’m the dog and I’m gonna show everybody what I can do today.’”
I feel like my mom really helps me with that when I have, like bad anxiety, worried about what other people think. She really helps me with that pep talk and just telling myself, ‘okay, look, you got it. You’re the best. Go and get it.’ And that’s really what I work on. Even if I am having a bad game stats wise, I’ll just focus on the rebounds and stuff that I can control. So it’s just about that mindset part and how you turn it.”
The rising junior revealed that the mental area was a place that had affected her in year’s past, especially mid-game, but she grew in that department over her sophomore season, which helped her improve as a whole.
“I think I got better at shooting. I definitely improved with my leadership, I would say. And just the mental part of it, being able to bounce back,” Edwards said about the past year.
“I used to get really in my head a lot in the game, and that used to take me out of my game, and I feel like now I can mess up and still go after and still be able to bounce back. And that’s a really big part because that’s what used to be. My mom used to always say, ‘the only person that can stop you is you.’ So that’s really what I’m focusing on, is being able to just bounce back after a mistake.”
Now, heading into the 2024 season, Edwards is confident and will look to sharpen her tools all-around in hopes of another strong year.
