Northeast Fl- The top 5 girl’s basketball players of the year were named this week, as our basketball expert Coach Patrece observed from her perspective the most impactful players of the year. Let’s take a look at the “Starting 5” below, and don’t forget to look out for the release of the 2nd team and honorable mention players later this week.
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Guard, 5’5, Kaylah Turner
High School: Oakleaf
College: Signed with Alabama A&M
Lightning quick as a tenacious scorer and defender, Kaylah Turner powered Oakleaf High School to the tune of 22.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 5.7 steals per game and 3.1 assists per game. She led the team in three statistical catagories (points, assists and steals), showing why she can completely take over a game on both ends of the court. She was the focus of opposing team’s defensive schemes, and amazingly still went for over 30-points four times her senior year.
She guided her team to the Final 4 for the second time in four years, scoring 34-points in the Regional Semifinals against Crestview, and 26-points in the Regional Finals against Land O’ Lakes. The talented Turner ended her career with 1,791 points and signed to play collegiate basketball at Alabama A&M University.
Guard, 5’8, Sophia Rueppell
High School: Bishop Kenny
College: Signed with Kennessaw State
The overwhelming consensus around girl’s basketball in Northeast Florida is that “Rueppell is the real deal”! Sophia Rueppell of Bishop Kenny was a true floor general for the Class 4A State runners-up. The Kennesaw State signee averaged 11.6 points per game her senior year, tops on the team. Rueppell also led the team in assists averaging 4.0 a game. The sharp shooter hit 79 three pointers her senior year, and was a consistent presence from the free-throw line, shooting 82% from the charity stripe. Against Cardinal Gibbons, Rueppell scored a team high 18-points, hitting three 3-pointers leading her team to the state championship game.
She’s been a top player in area since her freshman year, where at Nease high school she averaged 11.2 points per game in 2019. Her steller high school career earned her several offers from many D1 schools such as Marshall, JU, Austin Peay, Samford, and Charleston. She signed with Kennesaw State to continue her basketball career collegiately.
Center, 6’1, Clare Coyle
High School: Bishop Kenny
Class of 2024
Her presence was felt in the middle of every game, leading Bishop Kenny all the way to the Class 4A State championship in 2023. Clare Coyle established herself as a true inside force to be reckoned with going into her senior year. She grabbed 5 of her game high 14 rebounds in the first quarter of the state title game versus eventual champs Lake Highland Prep.
Her 9.2 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game averages led Kenny. While her 10.9 points per game was good enough for second. She has offers from Mercer, Presbyterian College, and the University of Vermont. They noticed that if your building your ultimate team, you’d best start with Coyle. A player able to hold down the middle on both ends of the court.
Forward, 5’9, Fantasia James
High School: Oakleaf
College: Signed with FIU
“We have had the pleasure of watching Fantasia blossom over the last couple of years,” said Coach Burks-Wiley of FIU. “Fantasia’s motor has allowed her to get better and better every single year. We couldn’t be more ecstatic to be able to have a local player of her caliber for four years, she has definitely been worth the wait!” Fitting words for Oakleaf 2023 guard Fantasia James, who has impressed since her freshman year. Just search her name on the Duval Sports website and you’ll see her mentioned several times stemiming all the way back to her middle school days as a track & field standout to go along with her incredible basketball skill.
She’s played in 104 games in her four years of high school and averaged 18.8 points per game including a 7.9 rebounds per game average as a freshman. She is a terrific two-way player, who makes an impact in any game on the defensive end. With the Knights, she averaged an impressive 2.4 steals per game to go along with 2.6 blocks. She led Oakleaf to the playoffs every year, and tt’s the reason James made all the superlative basketball honors lists, including making the Duval Sports girls basketball first team list. She heads off to play collegiate ball at Florida International University.
5’9, Swing, Taliah Scott
High School: St. Johns Country Day
College: Signed with Arkansas
She averaged 37.3 points per game, leading Florida, and second in the nation. She won the Class 2A Player Of The Year, and the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year Awards. And as a crowning achievement, she was selected as a 2023 Mc Donald’s All-American, becoming only the fourth girls basketball player to earn the honor from Northeast Florida.
A complete all around player, Taliah Scott showed that she can do any and everything on the court in her high school career. She’s a lights out shooter, and has impeccable ball control while driving to the basket. She led St. Johns Country Day to the playoffs in 2022 and to the Final 4 in 2023.
Her sophomore year she led Oakleaf to it’s first Final 4 appearance in school history. She averaged 23.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.2 apg and 2.6 spg. She scored 20+ points 15 times on the season. Scored 30+ points six times. Just an incredibly dominant baller on the court. She attended the 2021 USA Women’s U16 National Team Trials and made the Duval Sports All Area Team. Scott is an ESPN five-star prospect in the Class of 2023, and signed to play collegiate basketball at the University of Arkansas.
