The Bluegrass Cardinal Classic gave high school teams and players the opportunity to play in front of college coaches in a much different way than what you typically see. Normally, college coaches chance to view players comes with their AAU teams at live events. The Bluegrass Cardinal Classic allows players to take advantage of a live period in June with their high school team rather than their AAU team. Below you can read about the 2026 players that stood out to us throughout The Bluegrass Cardinal Classic Team Event and Individual Showcase (listed alphabetically by last name).
Please note: There are a few write-ups below that were already featured on X (@riseupsports1) during the event. Also please take into account that each of us only caught one game per team for the most part, so these notes were based on performance in that specific game. Please let us know if any of the information below is incorrect and we will get it fixed as soon as possible.
Gibson moved well without the ball and made some nice aggressive drives to the hoop. Finished well through contact. Also kicked well when defense collapsed. Crashed the boards strong.
Really love the way she facilitates. High IQ – smart playmaker. Uses shot and ball fakes really well to get the defenders to jump/shift. Can score the ball herself but is a very unselfish player.
Handles look good – keeping the ball low and quick moves. Handled pressure well too. Caught ready to pull and knocked down outside shots. Stayed active defensively.
Versatile with the ability to be effective at any guard position. Ball handling looked good and didn’t let pressure rattle her. Good court awareness and passes. Attacked gaps well. Nice outside shot. Aggressive on drives. Strong with rebounds.
Love the reads she was making and made some excellent passes to teammates. Did a great job not forcing passes as well. Active defense helped her team get steals and stops. Can score inside or out.
Poised and ready to have a breakout season. Nice touch around the basket. Had some tough finishes on both sides of the rim. Good moves and footwork to create space/separation. Runs the floor well. Crashed the boards hard and worked for good positioning. Used length and strength well to be disruptive defensively.
Quick, tenacious defender with active hands and feet. Capable of scoring in bunches from anywhere on the floor. Does a nice job getting downhill and finishing at the rim. Great perimeter shooter who can get hot in a hurry. Tough competitor who does what it takes to win.
-KEVIN CLANCY
James is one of the most elite playmakers in the 2026 class and really just a special player overall. She makes great decisions with the ball and the awareness she has as far as where her teammates are allows her to create in ways a lot of players simply cannot do. Teams have to respect her ability to score inside and out, including really crafty buckets, but as soon as help defense steps over, she knows where to pass it. High motor and active on both ends of the court.
Jayasuriya had a big week at the Cardinal Classic just continuing to show her impressive play on both sides of the ball. Love the use of jabs to read the defense. Tough drives and can finish with contact. Good outside shooter. Made some really tough moves to create space from defender. Can score in a variety of ways.
Johnson is athletic and uses that athleticism well to be very disruptive defensively. Can elevate to get her hands on the ball and come up with deflections and steals. Scored the ball inside and out. Played with high energy on both ends of the court.
