Five-star USJ basketball standout Haylen Ayers announced her top five schools in a social media post on X, Oct. 31. Ayers will decided between Vanderbilt, Duke, Texas, Kentucky and UConn.
The 6-foot shooting guard, who is also a standout softball player at USJ, holds more than 30 basketball offers, including Tennessee and South Carolina.
Ayers has posted photos of her visits to Kentucky, Texas and Vanderbilt on her Instagram account. Her mother, Ashley McElhiney Ayers, starred at Vanderbilt (1999-2003) and was a third-round WNBA draft pick by the Indiana Fever in 2003.
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Last season, Ayers averaged 22 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while leading USJ to a second straight Division II-A state championship appearance.
Earlier this month, the 17-year-old announced an NIL deal where she became the youngest addition to New Balance’s athlete roster. She hosted a free youth basketball camp at USJ in coordination with New Balance, Jr. NBA/WNBA Court of Athletes and Dynamix Physical Therapy.
In addition to winning back-to-back TSSAA Miss Basketball awards in DII-A and being named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, Ayers is ranked as the 2027 class’ No. 1 recruit in the state and the No. 3 player in the nation by 247Sports Composite.
Over the summer at the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Nike Nationals, Ayers stood out as one of the top players, averaging the fourth most points at 18.7 while shooting over 47% from the field, 44% from three-point range and making 79% other free throws.
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Reach The Jackson Sun high school sports writer, Isaiah De Anda Delgado, on X and Instagram @IsaiahDDelgado or by email at IDelgado@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Haylen Ayers announces her top 5 schools including UConn, Vanderbilt
