Rivals' initial 2027 women's basketball recruiting rankings

Rivals has released its’ initial 2027 women’s basketball recruiting rankings. The release includes the Top 50 players in the class. While many of these players remain wide open in their recruitment, some are beginning to narrow their focus.

Let’s take a look at a few of the players featured in the initial rankings.

The nation’s elite

Kaleena Smith, a 5-6 point guard from Ontario (CA) has been discussed for years now as the top prospect in the class. In fact, many say that she’s the best prospect regardless of class. She’s an elite playmaker who’s receiving interest from the nation’s elite, including UConn, USC and UCLA. 

Post player Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka is a versatile prospect whose college options are endless. The 6-2 forward from Frederick (MD) has attracted interest and offers from many of the nation’s powerhouses, including Ohio State, North Carolina, UCLA, Tennessee, Notre Dame, LSU, South Carolina and UConn. She averaged 18.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game last season for The Bullis School. 

Rounding out the top five are guards Haylen Ayers, Jezelle “GG” Banks and Sydney Savoury. Each of them hold offers from countless high-level programs around the country. 

A couple of stock-risers

Ogechi Okeke held eight P5 offers following last summer’s live periods, but following this summer, she’s added 17 new high-major offers. The list now includes programs such as Louisville, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and TCU. On the Adidas circuit this spring and summer, the 6-4 wing averaged 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, shooting 59% from the field. 

Destiny Manyawu received her first D1 offer this June and they’ve been flying in ever since. She now holds 32 offers, including 27 at the P5 level. For Mokan Elite 16 EYBL, the 6-2 post player averaged 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season. 

The stats — guards vs. post players

Rivals’ 207 rankings include 20 guards and 30 post players – a drastic difference from the Class of 2026, which includes 32 guards and 18 post players in the top 50. 

Elite post players were the biggest draw in the transfer portal this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see how this class fares with a plethora of available top-notch bigs. 

But the guard play is just as high-level. From top to bottom, this top 50 is loaded with talent.