Who are the best girls’ high school basketball players in North Carolina? Here’s our top 25
Watauga High School’s Kate Sears, a 5-foot-10 point guard, is the state’s top high school senior girls’ basketball player.
And Sears, who has signed to Virginia Tech, headlines the annual ranking of the state’s top 25 senior players. The rankings, sponsored by The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh, are compiled by the media company’s high school staff and N.C. girls’ basketball expert Randall Clark, a co-host of The Charlotte Observer’s “Talking Preps” streaming show.
Sears is ranked No. 72 nationally by 247 Sports and a top 15 recruit as a point guard. She chose Virginia Tech over Clemson, Kansas, Michigan and Wake Forest.
Sears had more than 40 Division I offers after leading Watauga to the N.C. 4A state semifinals last season, when she averaged 30.6 points per game, 11 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.8 steals in the postseason.
For the season, Sears averaged 23.2 points, 8.5 rebound and 6.2 assists. She was Northwestern 3A/4A conference player of the year for the third time and N.C. District 11 player of the year. She was the only junior on the N.C. Basketball Coaches Association all-state first team.
For her career, Sears has 1,851 points.
The N.C. top 25 girls’ basketball rankings
| Rk. | Name | School | Pos. | College |
| 1. | Kate Sears | Watauga | PG | Virginia Tech |
| 2. | Adelaide Jernigan | Bishop McGuinness | 2G | N.C. State |
| 3. | Kylie Torrence | Winston-Salem Christian | W | Boston College |
| 4. | Caitlyn Jones | Rolesville | PG/SG | Wake Forest |
| 5. | Elle Stone | Mallard Creek | PG/SG | Delaware |
| 6. | Gabby White | Seaforth | SG | Virginia |
| 7. | Isyss Storm | Good Better Best | W | Tennessee State |
| 8. | Maya McCorkle | Cannon School | W | East Tennessee State |
| 9. | Trista Charles | Oak Grove | F | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| 10. | Samathan Shehan | Lake Norman | W | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 11. | Breonna Roaf | Terry Sanford | PG | Winston-Salem State |
| 12. | Alexis Shehan | Lake Norman | W | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 13. | Alana Hankerson | 1 of 1 Prep | PG/SG | Columbus State |
| 14. | Jamyia Lindsey | Richmond Senior | PG | N.C. A&T |
| 15. | Peyton Harvey | AC Reynolds | PG/SG | Mars Hill |
| 16. | McKenzie Graves | North Raleigh Christian | PG | Undecided |
| 17. | Jasmine Nivar | Apex Friendship | W | Undecided |
| 18. | Addison Sirianni | Lake Norman | W | Chaminade |
| 19. | Alyssa Hankerson | 1 of 1 Prep | PG/SG | Columbus State |
| 20. | Abigail Brown | Green Hope | F | Lenoir Rhyne |
| 21. | Braelyn Stillwell | East Burke | PG | Undecided |
| 22. | Isa Roman | Grace Christian | PG/SG | Appalachian State |
| 23. | Ashanti Fox | O’Neal School | W | Undecided |
| 24. | Brooklyn Saunders | Butler | PG | Undecided |
| 25. | Jodi King | 1 of 1 Prep | F | Mars Hill |
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
