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Two TSSAA basketball players have been invited to the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team minicamp.
Two-time defending Division II-A Tennessee Miss Basketball Haylen Ayers, a University School of Jackson sophomore, and Webb School-Bell Buckle freshman Makynli Bacon were invited to the minicamp, USA Basketball announced Wednesday in a release.
The minicamp runs from April 3-6 in Tampa, Florida. The players will attend the NCAA Women's Final Four semifinals, set for Friday, April 4, in Amalie Arena.
The list includes 45 players from across the country for the Class of 2026-29.
On top of the on-court drills and scrimmages, players will have the opportunity to participate in educational presentations throughout the weekend.
LOOKING BACK: Heartbreak, glory and blind draws: Recapping top TSSAA basketball state tournament moments in 2025
Ayers is also the 2025 Gatorade Tennessee girls basketball player of the year.
Ayers, a 6-foot guard and forward, has helped lead the Bruins to two consecutive TSSAA state tournament appearances and delivered the school's first girls basketball state championship in 2024. She nearly led the Bruins to their second state title game in a row, but the team came up short in the state semifinals to Webb School-Bell Buckle despite Ayers' 40 points and 13 rebounds on an injured ankle.
Ayers has college offers from over two dozen schools, including Connecticut, Florida, LSU, Memphis, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and Vanderbilt, where her mom, Ashley (McElhiney) Ayers, played.
MORE ON AYERS: How family connection pushes USJ’s Haylen Ayers and cousin McCall Sims, of Westview, to new heights
Makynli Bacon, a freshman at Webb School-Bell Buckle, helped lead the Feet (28-7) to the TSSAA Division II-A state championship for the fourth time in five years and defeated USJ in a dramatic double overtime semifinal.
Bacon, a 6-foot forward, averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists per game this season for the Feet.
Bacon already has several offers from around the country, including Alabama, Chattanooga, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Lipscomb, Louisville and Michigan.
Austin Chastain is a sports writer covering West Tennessee high schools. Reach him by email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: TSSAA basketball: Haylen Ayers, Makynli Bacon invited to USA junior minicamp
Continue reading...
Two-time defending Division II-A Tennessee Miss Basketball Haylen Ayers, a University School of Jackson sophomore, and Webb School-Bell Buckle freshman Makynli Bacon were invited to the minicamp, USA Basketball announced Wednesday in a release.
The minicamp runs from April 3-6 in Tampa, Florida. The players will attend the NCAA Women's Final Four semifinals, set for Friday, April 4, in Amalie Arena.
The list includes 45 players from across the country for the Class of 2026-29.
On top of the on-court drills and scrimmages, players will have the opportunity to participate in educational presentations throughout the weekend.
LOOKING BACK: Heartbreak, glory and blind draws: Recapping top TSSAA basketball state tournament moments in 2025
USJ's Haylen Ayers
Ayers is also the 2025 Gatorade Tennessee girls basketball player of the year.
Ayers, a 6-foot guard and forward, has helped lead the Bruins to two consecutive TSSAA state tournament appearances and delivered the school's first girls basketball state championship in 2024. She nearly led the Bruins to their second state title game in a row, but the team came up short in the state semifinals to Webb School-Bell Buckle despite Ayers' 40 points and 13 rebounds on an injured ankle.
Ayers has college offers from over two dozen schools, including Connecticut, Florida, LSU, Memphis, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and Vanderbilt, where her mom, Ashley (McElhiney) Ayers, played.
MORE ON AYERS: How family connection pushes USJ’s Haylen Ayers and cousin McCall Sims, of Westview, to new heights
Webb School-Bell Buckle's Makynli Bacon
Makynli Bacon, a freshman at Webb School-Bell Buckle, helped lead the Feet (28-7) to the TSSAA Division II-A state championship for the fourth time in five years and defeated USJ in a dramatic double overtime semifinal.
Bacon, a 6-foot forward, averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists per game this season for the Feet.
Bacon already has several offers from around the country, including Alabama, Chattanooga, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Lipscomb, Louisville and Michigan.
Austin Chastain is a sports writer covering West Tennessee high schools. Reach him by email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: TSSAA basketball: Haylen Ayers, Makynli Bacon invited to USA junior minicamp
Continue reading...
