2028 Lady Vols Recruiting

[mcannon1]

2028s offered: (# ESPN rank)
12 Giovanna Burress
3 Sydney Douglas
JaKaila Gaskin
16 Belle Hill
4 Ella Peper
6 Morghan Reckley
10 Nyajuacni Riak

 

[mcannon1]

5'10" guard from New Jersey

 

[JL1231]

5'10" guard from New Jersey

Giovanna Burress (Class of 2028) is a highly touted 5-foot-10 point guard/shooting guard at DePaul Catholic High School in New Jersey. The daughter of former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress, she is considered one of the top high school basketball prospects in her class, having already received an offer from Notre Dame.

 

[RetroVol]

AI-enhanced version of @mcannon1 list above. As always, check for mistakes:
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2028 Recruiting Targets — Early National Snapshot

A few 2028 names that have been mentioned as possible Lady Vol targets. These rankings are early-cycle and will move around. I used ESPN/SportsCenter NEXT where available, On3/Rivals Industry, Prep Girls Hoops, and public scouting/writeups. Heights vary a little by source, so I noted ranges where sources disagree.

Player / School / Hometown / Pos	Ht	Ratings / Rankings	Quick Read
Sydney Douglas[br]Centennial HS — Corona, CA[br]Hometown listed: Upland/Corona, CA[br]F/PF	6-6 / 6-7	ESPN: #3 / 96 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #2, 5★, 92.30[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #2[br]247: 96 / 4★	National big-forward prize. MADE Hoops describes her as a high-upside modern forward with size, mobility, defensive impact, rebounding, and developing inside-out scoring. Tennessee is listed among many major offers.
Ella Peper[br]Dexter Southfield — Brookline/Newton, MA[br]W/F	6-4	ESPN: #4 / 96 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #4, 5★, 92.29[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #5[br]247: 96 / 4★	Big skilled wing/forward. 247 scouting says she has real size, open-floor mobility, and is already comfortable shooting from three; upside jumps if she adds more pinch-post/interior creation.
Morghan Reckley[br]Sandy Creek HS — Fayetteville/Tyrone, GA[br]PG/G	5-7 / 5-8	ESPN: #6 range / 96 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #15, 5★, 91.65[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #7[br]247: 98 / 5★	Pure point guard with elite pace/paint-touch potential. 247 calls her one of the best PGs in the sophomore class, a USA Basketball gold medalist, a willing passer, improving 3-point shooter, and high-level primary defender.
Nyajuacni “Nya” Riak[br]La Follette HS — Madison, WI[br]F / SF-SG	6-2	ESPN: #10 / 95 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #11, 5★, 91.72[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #12	Big-time athlete and explosive wing/forward. Prep Girls Hoops has used “generational talent” language; MaxPreps highlighted her rare in-game dunk and listed her among the top young prospects nationally.
Giovanna Burress[br]DePaul Catholic — Wayne/Totowa, NJ[br]G/SG	5-10	ESPN: #12 / 95 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #9, 5★, 91.95[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #14	Scoring guard with a major athletic bloodline — daughter of Plaxico Burress. On New Jersey reported she averaged 20.6 ppg as a freshman, third among top North Jersey scorers and first among freshmen.
Belle Hill[br]Mars Hill Bible — Florence, AL[br]G/CG	6-1	ESPN: #16/17 range / 94 grade[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #17, 5★, 91.63[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #18	Alabama guard with size and production. Phenom Hoops describes her as a strong, high-IQ prospect who impacts the game as a scorer, rebounder, distributor, paint player, and physical presence. Local coverage called her the No. 1 girls recruit in Alabama’s 2028 class after a 41-point regional performance.
JaKaila Gaskin[br]Cannon School — Concord/Charlotte, NC[br]F/C	6-3	ESPN: 90 grade / HoopGurlz prospect[br]On3/Rivals Industry: not in public Top 25 page[br]Prep Girls Hoops: #30	True frontcourt target. Phenom Hoops praised her rim-to-rim running, size, hands, touch, glass work, and two-way impact. Prep Girls Hoops calls her an elite post with footwork, paint scoring, rebounding, and enough skill to step away from the basket.

Source note: For 2028 players, I would treat the exact order as temporary. The better takeaway is the tier: Douglas/Peper/Reckley/Riak/Burress/Hill are all national top-20-ish names in at least one major source, while Gaskin is a high-major-sized post prospect who is ranked lower nationally by PGH but has the kind of frontcourt tools Tennessee needs to keep watching.

 

[knoxvol52]

 

[mcannon1]

Kendall Proffitt is a 6'0" Shooting Guard in the 2028 class. Proffitt attends St. Johns Country Day in Florida and plays club basketball for Duval Elite.

 

[mcannon1]

 

[mcannon1]

 

[mcannon1]

2028s offered: (# ESPN rank)
12 Giovanna Burress
3 Sydney Douglas
JaKaila Gaskin
16 Belle Hill
4 Ella Peper
Kendall Proffitt
6 Morghan Reckley
10 Nyajuacni Riak

 

[RetroVol]

@mcannon1 gives you a list in alphabetical order. Here's the same list with added info in ranking order. AI generated, so check for errors.

2028 Recruiting Targets — Early National Snapshot

Player / School / Hometown / Pos	Ht	Ratings / Rankings	Quick Read
Sydney Douglas[br]Centennial HS — Corona, CA[br]Hometown: Corona / Upland, CA[br]PF/F	6-5 / 6-7	Prep Girls Hoops: #2[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #2, 5-star, 92.30[br]ESPN: 96 grade[br]247: 96 / 4-star	National frontcourt prize. Big, mobile forward with length, defensive upside, rebounding tools, and developing inside-out skill. One of the cleanest elite prospects in the 2028 class.
Ella Peper[br]Dexter Southfield — Brookline, MA[br]Hometown: Brookline / Newton, MA[br]PF/SF	6-4	Prep Girls Hoops: #5[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #4, 5-star, 92.29[br]ESPN: 96 grade[br]247: 96 / 4-star	Skilled big wing/forward. Size, perimeter skill, shooting touch, and mobility make her more than a traditional post. High-upside modern forward profile.
Morghan Reckley[br]Sandy Creek HS — Fayetteville / Tyrone, GA[br]PG	5-7 / 5-8	Prep Girls Hoops: #7[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #15, 5-star, 91.65[br]ESPN: 96 grade[br]247: 98 / 5-star	High-level point guard with pace, vision, scoring ability, and USA Basketball profile. Smaller guard, but the skill level and feel are big-time.
Nyajuacni "Nya" Riak[br]La Follette HS — Madison, WI[br]SF/SG	6-2	Prep Girls Hoops: #12[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #11, 5-star, 91.72[br]ESPN: 95 grade	Explosive athlete and big wing/forward. Prep Girls Hoops has used very strong language on her upside, calling her a generational-type talent with rare athletic tools for Wisconsin.
Giovanna Burress[br]DePaul Catholic — Wayne, NJ[br]Club: Philly Rise EYBL[br]SG	5-10	Prep Girls Hoops: #14[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #9, 5-star, 91.95[br]ESPN: 95 grade	Scoring guard with size and major bloodline — daughter of Plaxico Burress. Productive early high school scorer with national attention and high-major interest.
Belle Hill[br]Mars Hill Bible — Florence, AL[br]CG/SG	6-1	Prep Girls Hoops: #18[br]On3/Rivals Industry: #17, 5-star, 91.63[br]ESPN: 94 grade	Big Alabama guard with strength, production, and versatility. Phenom Hoops described her as a high-IQ player who impacts scoring, rebounding, passing, paint play, and physicality.
JaKaila Gaskin[br]Cannon School — Concord / Charlotte, NC[br]Club: HER Elite[br]F/C	6-3 / 6-4	Prep Girls Hoops: #30[br]ESPN: 90 grade[br]On3/Rivals: not found in public top page	True frontcourt prospect with size. Phenom Hoops calls her one of the premier regional talents and a national-level prospect. A useful watch-list big because she has real length and interior tools.
Kendall Proffitt[br]St. Johns Country Day — Orange Park, FL[br]Club: Duval Elite[br]SG	6-0	Prep Girls Hoops: #67[br]ESPN: not found in public top list[br]On3/Rivals: not found in public top page	Florida scoring guard with size. Prep Girls Hoops lists her as a 6-0 shooting guard at St. Johns Country Day and Duval Elite. MaxPreps shows major scoring production, including 33.1 points per 32 minutes. More of a watch-list riser than a consensus top-20 national name right now.

Bottom line: Douglas, Peper, Reckley, Riak, Burress, and Hill are the clear national top-20-ish names across the public sources I found. Gaskin is a high-major-sized frontcourt prospect who is ranked lower nationally by Prep Girls Hoops but has tools Tennessee should keep watching. Proffitt is a newer watch-list guard with size and scoring production, not yet a consensus elite national ranking name.

 

[mcannon1]