Taniyah Tatum
Azy Jackson of Bonney Lake, Washington, leads Way To Win Gold in Roseville, California. *Photos courtesy of Elite Is Earned.
ROSEVILLE, California – The 2026 Elite Is Earned Spring Invitational has been a staple event in the April viewing period for the West Coast dating back to 2016. The event returned to the @theGrounds at Roebbelen Center, a state of the art all wood, 12-court facility.
New this year was the start of the EIE Select League, bringing together programs from across the western region to keep them in the areas they are most often recruited from for the Spring.
Zaniyah Jones of Sound Transition 2028.The April Viewing weekend was all about Way to Win Gold in the EIESL’s opening round. They cruised to a 5-0 start in the 17U division behind tournament MVP Azariah Jackson of Bonney Lake, Washington. She scored in double figures in four of her five games while also making it hard around the rim defensively. That paired well with fellow 2027 Avery Hansen, a guard who applied tough pressure the length of the floor and forced ballhandlers into rushed decisions. They have a player for the future as well with 2029 swing player Grayson Zilliax of Seattle, Washington, who plays with energy and brings it on both ends of the floor.
Way to Win Gold wasn’t the only program to go undefeated in the opening round of league play as EBC Elite, like Way 2 Win from the Pacific Northwest, ran the table as did CenCal Elite out of the Fresno Area.
CenCal Elite got terrific play from 2027’s Chyna Roland of Fresno, California, and Gia Souza of Visalia, California. They also got tough interior play from 2028 Zyraeis Murphy of Fresno.
EBC has a balanced attack led by 2027 big guard Ileana Olteanu of Kirkland, Washington. Her strong downhill ability coupled with finishing with both hands made her a tough player to guard. Versatile play from a pair of 2027’s, Grace Ding of Kenmore, Washington, and Natalie West of Redmond, Washington, had EBC rolling.
Chloe Clyde of Sagebrush Basketball.In the 16U Division of the EIE Select League, the Pacific Northwest, again, stood out with Sound Transition from the Seattle Area and Team Walton from Renton, Washington both starting out a perfect 5-0. Sound Transition used the MVP play of Zaniyah Jones of Lynnwood, Washington, to set the tone. Her ability to create allowed Transition to answer any run. Team Walton has a pair of underclass guards that can really play with 2028 point guard Jaliyah Dyson of Lynnwood, Washington, pairing with 2029 guard Taniyah Tatum of Spanaway, Washington.
Sagebrush out of Pasco, Washington, is a program you can always count on for talent. Their 2029 group went 5-0 in the 15U division and got MVP level play from Chloe Clyde of Pasco, Washington. She was able to run the point against the press or move an play the high post to pick apart a zone.
The next stop for the EIE Select League is Mesa, Arizona, for the Select Events Spring Showcase. Teams will wrap up regular season play and get a chance to compete across other circuits during the spring live weekend.
AROUND THE RIM
Keep an eye on Force National Meadors out of Redmond, Oregon and their 2028 lefty Millie Lathan from Grants Pass, Oregon. Her size, athleticism and how she uses her 6-foot frame were impressive.
Darby Chilcote-Dunn of Canyon Country, California, was a scoring machine for Statham Academy. The 2028 combo guard had a huge game against Team Inspire in a high scoring affair. She scored 37 points to power Statham to an 83-73 win.
UYF Elite Fury is based out of the Greater Spokane Valley was impressive, finishing 4-1. Their 2027 post Mariana Bullington of Rathdrum, Idaho, was a force in the paint. Her presence on the glass gave UYF plenty of second chance buckets and the ability to control the pace of the game by dominating the defensive glass in key moments.
Brooklyn Anderson of Meridian, Idaho, is a 5-8 guard in the 2027 class who rebounds and scores it well. She showed she can knock down the long ball when defenders go under ball screens as well as get down hill to her pull-up when they go over.
Gabriella Williams of Suisun City, California, was a force for Team Inspire. She has a strength and power about her game that allows her to get to her spots with ease but also showed the touch and finesse in her finishing game to complete plays. At 5-10 she might not have prototypical stretch-4 size but she’s a production over projection player.
Oregon Elite Navy post Kyle Proulx of Aloha, Oregon, is a 2027 who knows how to use her body to create passing and scoring angles. She does her work early and the 6-2 prospect is a legit post option.
Peak guard Shannon McIlroy of Phoenix, Arizona, is a smaller guard at 5-3 but makes a bigger impact than her height suggests. She pushes in transition and finds easy scores, she shot the three and used her bounce and athleticism to be disruptive defensively.
ABA Black has a pair of guards that both set the tone with their intense play. Kailyn Chloupek, a 2027 guard from Chehalis, Washington, and Grace Kessi, a 2028 wing from Sappoose, Oregon, were players to watch.
Kinsley Christian of Bozeman, Montana, is an impact underclassmen. The class of 2029 wing has a great sense for how to use her frame to protect the ball and scored it at a high level.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rylee Fraley – Peak 2027 – Unsigned Senior 2026
Natalie West – EBC Elite - 2027
Zarriah Hall – Team Inspire 2027 – 2027
Macy Cook – Utah NLB 2027 – 2027
Gabby Wickham – Team NorCal Gold – 2027
Olivia Patshkowski – UYF Elite Fury – 2028
Ella Lum – Team Inspire 2027 – 2028
Autumn Glover – Team Walton 2028 – 2028
Sofia Rodriguez – Oregon Elite Navy – 2027
Jillian Chen – Team NorCal 2028 – 2028
Soule Robinson – NW Blazers Grey – 2028
Audrina Pannell – EBC Blue – 2029
Kyle Alameda – Team Tet 2028 – 2029
Jordin Baker – Team Aloha – 2029
Sidney Jenkins – Utah NLB – 2029
Morgan Moore – Cal Ballaz 2028 – 2029
Britt Reno – Finn Hoops – 2027
Jenna Kauer – Finn Hoops – 2027
Nivea Harris – Lady Legends – 2028
Gia Souza – CenCal Elite – 2027
Ginger Biddle – Lady Hui Black – 2027
Jude Rampton – Meta Hoops Gold – 2028
Maya Van Edgom - EBC Blue 2029 - 2030
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase and ELITE is EARNED events. He can be reached at chris@chrishansenbasketball.com.
