Women's basketball recruiting: ZaKiyah Johnson, Divine Bourrage down to 6, big week for Big Ten schools

As we near the first live period of July, there’s no tranquility in the recruiting world for women’s basketball. With visits, announced finalists and commitments from some of the best players in the country, On3 recaps some of the biggest notables of the week.

ZaKiyah Johnson narrows list to six

ZaKiyah Johnson, On3’s No. 4 recruit in the 2025 class narrowed her list to six finalists on Wednesday: South Carolina, LSU, Louisville, Kentucky, USC and Notre Dame. The 6-foot shooting guard from Shelbyville (Kentucky) Sacred Heart Academy has taken unofficial visits to both in-state programs and is planning official visits to each school. 

Johnson is currently visiting Kentucky and has planned an official visit to LSU for September 7. 

“I’m looking for diversity on a campus, just so I can branch out and meet new people,” Johnson told On3. “I also really pay attention to dorms and dorm living. Then it’s just looking at the team, kind of reading them and seeing how their relationships are. Are they close or is it kind of fake? I look for little things. The majority of [these schools] are in the city area, so that’s really what I like. NIL also plays a big part in it.”  

Divine Bourrage down to six

On3’s No. 7-ranked recruit in 2025 has announced her top six schools. The programs included are Illinois, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, LSU, Baylor and Arizona.

Divine Bourrage noted that she plans to take official visits to all six programs.

McKenzie Mathurin narrows to 14, sets visits

McKenzie Mathurin, a top 50 recruit in the 2025 class, narrowed her list to 14 finalists after decommitting from Nebraska and reopening her recruitment. She told On3 that the programs she’ll now consider for her landing spot are Baylor, Arizona, Michigan, Texas Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Oregon. 

The 5-foot-10 guard out of Broken Arrow (Oklahoma) High School changed her mindset since backing off a pledge to Nebraska and is seeking something different from a program. 

“A lot can change in a year,” Mathurin told On3. “The thing that changed the most for me was perspective. When I committed, I was playing with Broken Arrow and my high school team and I was the best player on the team. The only star and that’s what I was used to… but after playing with Team Trae Young and with these literal superstars as teammates, I kind of changed my perspective.”

She’s taken official visits to Texas Tech, Alabama and Michigan over the past few weeks and has plans to visit UNC (July 24-26), Ole Miss (August 1-3) and Baylor (sometime in August). 

Layla Hays takes 2 Big Ten visits

Highly touted 2025 post player Layla Hays had a busy week, visiting two Big Ten campuses. The 6-foot-5 power forward from Wasilla (Alaska) High School first took an official visit to Indiana, one of the first big-time programs to recruit the 6-foot-5 forward. 

Then, later in the week, Hays traveled to Champaign, Illinois, to visit Illinois. Hays has also previously visited Iowa and Gonzaga, but has yet to publicly narrow down her list of potential landing spots. 

Aubrey Beckham takes 2 visits

Indiana hosted another 2025 recruit, bringing in top-50 guard Aubrey Beckham for an official visit. On July 1, Beckham took another official visit to Florida. 

She’s previously visited Auburn, Georgia and Florida State, but also holds offers from programs such as Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State and Baylor. 

Nebraska lands 2025 commit

Olivia Hamlin, a 5-foot-9 guard, chose Nebraska over Virginia on Monday afternoon. As a junior last season at St. George (Utah) Snow Canyon High School, she averaged 27.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 3.5 assists. 

Hamlin is the Huskers’ sole commit for the 2025 class after Mathurin’s decommitment last month. 

Villanova lands 2025 guard

Following the head coaching change at Virginia Tech, 2025 guard Kennedy Henry decommitted from the program and reopened her recruitment. This week, Henry committed to Villanova. 

The 6-foot New Jersey native held offers from schools such as Florida State, Boston College and Pittsburgh. Henry averaged 20 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season at Blair Academy. 

Clemson hosts 2 top recruits

Clemson hosted a pair of highly sought-after recruits from Cleveland, Tennessee, this week. Lauren Hurst, a 6-foot-3 power forward, is a top-50 talent in both basketball and volleyball in the class of 2025. She visited the Tigers this week for both sports and has done so with several other schools. 

Hurst has visited Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Western Kentucky, Georgia Tech and NC State during her recruitment process. 

The Tigers also hosted top-50 2026 recruit Kimora Fields for an unofficial visit. Fields, a 5-foot-11 wing, has also unofficially visited Mississippi State, Wake Forest and UCF.  

Florida State lands top-100 2025 point guard

The Seminoles landed Mari Gerton, a 5-foot-7 combo guard from Cincinnati’s Princeton High on July 2. Florida State only recently offered Gerton on April 24, the most recent to be posted by Gerton. 

Gerton chose Florida State over schools including her hometown program, Cincinnati, and is the Seminoles’ lone 2025 commit. 

Georgia hosts pair of top targets

The Bulldogs hosted a pair of recruits on campus this week. Caliyah DeVillasee, a 5-foot-7 senior-to-be point guard out of Our Lady Good Counsel, has also visited Virginia Tech and Cincinnati. In February, DeVillasee listed a top eight that didn’t include Georgia. Her finalists included Maryland, Penn State, West Virginia, Syracuse, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Ole Miss and Michigan State.

Georgia also hosted 2026 recruit Gabby Minus, a 6-foot-1 small forward from Hebron Christian in Georgia. Minus holds offers from programs including Penn State, Mississippi State, Florida State, Marquette and Miami. But the Bulldogs were her most recent offer on June 17. She’s visited Georgia Tech, Auburn and Mississippi State, in addition to Georgia.