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Blue Star High School Invitational Showcase Standouts (Jan. 4, 2026)

01/05/2026, 5:00pm EST

By CoBL Staff

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The 2026 Blue Star Invitational brought together some of the nation’s best high school teams to the courts at Jefferson University on Sunday, with several dozen Division I coaches and hundreds of fans in attendance throughout the day to catch arguably the area’s top annual high school event in terms of the overall talent level. Some of the area’s top teams were in attendance, eager to show off their stuff against teams from Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and even one from Canada.

The CoBL staff took in the majority of the event, though we weren’t able to catch every game. Here’s who stood out in the games we did watch:

Leah Ault (2026 | Bethlehem Catholic)

Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) 2026 G Leah Ault impressed against Westtown. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The bulk of the offensive burden for an injury-depleted Bethlehem Catholic team fell on Ault against Westtown. After a cold start offensively, she picked up the pace, hitting two 3-pointers while scoring eight of her 16 points in the third quarter, Becahi’s most competitive stretch against the four-time defending Independent School state champions. The 5-foot-5 guard, who is receiving Division II and III interest, used a quick release to get off shots despite drawing considerable defensive attention.

Jezelle “GG” Banks (2027 | The St James Academy Va.)
It wasn’t Banks’ best shooting day, the electric point guard having a bit of an off afternoon finishing around the rim and at the foul line but she was otherwise her usual self in a one-sided win over Hoosac. Banks still put up 11 points and she racked up six assists but her most impactful efforts came on defense where the five-star prospect had six steals and was part of an extremely disruptive effort that had Hoosac anything but comfortable from the opening tip.

Reginna Baker (2027 | Neumann-Goretti)
Baker scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter despite missing some of it after getting hit in the mouth during a collision. The 5-foot-8 combo guard’s efforts helped the Saints go from 15 down in the second quarter to within two on her improbable basket while falling to the floor with 8.6 seconds left in a 46-42 loss to Paul VI. Before leading the way on the offensive end late, the recent addition to the 1,000-Point Club displayed her intensity on the defensive side.

Tamia Clark (2027 | Upper Dublin)
Clark continues to impress this season for the Cardinals, the bouncy 5-foot-9 junior turning in another terrific two-way effort against Maryland power McDonogh. She led Upper Dublin with 21 points and was a catalyst to the Cardinals’ flying first quarter start. Clark also brought it on the defensive end, an area of her game that has shined all season, helping the Cards hold McDonogh to a season-low in offensive production. She plays with a great tempo and her ability to play with tempo but also in control has helped UD compete with some tough nonleague foes this season.

Catie Doogan (above) showed her knockdown shooting ability and expanded offensive range. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Catie Doogan (2028 | Cardinal O’Hara)
The ball likes to find a hot hand and it certainly found its way to Doogan plenty in the Lions’ win over Rutgers Prep. Doogan posted 14 points on an efficient eight shots, the sophomore hitting 4-of-6 from three point range and her early surge helped keep O’Hara around after Rutgers Prep came out firing. The guard also mixed in a couple assists as part of an unselfish team win and Doogan helped O’Hara lock down on defense with a block, a steal and a couple rebounds as the Lions limited Rutgers Prep to 15 second half points.

Alexis Eberz (2026 | Archbishop Carroll)
The Villanova commit was an offensive machine on Sunday against Shipley. The eldest of the Eberz sisters started slow, but picked things up at Jefferson with an ensemble of deep threes. The senior utilized her catch-and-shoot shotmaking ability when taking her threes, many of which came from behind the men’s college line. In the paint, Eberz used her touch to finish contested floaters and layups.

Kayla Eberz (2028 | Archbishop Carroll)
One of the most highly touted recruits in the Philadelphia area made her mark at Jefferson on Sunday. Eberz’s elite handles and ability to make defenders miss when driving to the rack. Her body control allowed her to find the open teammate when the defense collapsed on her, and the sophomore knocked down multiple threes in her team's tight loss to Shipley and knocked down all of her free throws.

Jordyn Jackson (2026 | The St James Academy, Va.)
Jackson, the No. 8 prospect in the 2026 class, looked college-ready in a wire-to-wire win over Hoosac (NY). The Maryland recruit is a blur of speed, strength and athleticism and while she didn’t have a huge output with 10 points, she put a ton of pressure on Hoosac’s defense that her teammates used to break through in a 30-point win. Jackson just plays hard and she added seven rebounds, three steals and a block while flying around the court looking to make something happen for her team.

Sravya Janapati (2026 | Paul VI, Va.)
Janapati, a Brown commit, was unconscious by the way she was nailing her shots in Paul VI’s 50-40 victory over the Academy of Notre Dame on Sunday morning. Janapati finished with a season-high 21 points, hitting five three-pointers, three more than the entire Notre Dame team. Paul VI coach Scott Allen said afterward it was encouraging to see Janapati break out like that for Paul VI to successfully defend another state title. Once Janapati hit her first shot, Allen said, that stirred some confidence in her. She was 8 of 15 shooting, going 5 for 7 from three-point range. Her corner treys were particularly effective.

Stella Lockhart (2026 | Saint John Vianney, N.J.)
Lockhart capped a strong all-around effort by coming off a screen at the 3-point line and driving down the middle for the deciding basket with 10 seconds left in Saint John Vianney’s 53-51 win over St. John’s College (D.C.). “Stella made a great read,” on the game-winner, according to coach Dawn Karpell. The 6-foot-1 power forward, who has signed with Georgetown, also had a clutch fourth-quarter 3-pointer as part of a 5-for-6 shooting effort in the second half. She finished 9/11 FG, 3/3 FT with 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Emily McDonald (2026 | Long Island Lutheran, N.Y.)
The 6-foot combo guard and Kentucky signee found multiple ways to produce points three at a time throughout Long Island Lutheran’s 56-42 victory over Red Bank Catholic. McDonald’s 16 points included a basket from beyond the arc in each quarter. She had six of the Lutheran points in a 9-0 breakaway start to the second half, adding a pretty reverse layup for a three-point play off an offensive rebound. She later turned an offensive rebound into a chance to assist a 3-pointer by teammate Olivia Jones.

Megan Ngo (2026 | Upper Dublin)
We couldn’t pass on having Ngo on this list, especially on a day where she passed her way to UD’s career assists record. The FDU recruit was in full control in a commanding Cardinals win over McDonogh, going for 11 points and nine assists. Ngo’s energy was contagious and she was relentless on the defensive end pestering McDonogh’s talented backcourt into a rough afternoon. The senior also takes excellent care of the ball and her vocal presence was again noticeable on both ends of the floor.

Jordyn Palmer (above) put together a strong outing for Westtown with scoring, rebounding and playmaking. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jordan Palmer (2027 | Westtown School)
The 6-foot-2 Palmer used her strength to rebound, set picks at the high post and get to the basket fearlessly when she had the ball. Palmer did a bit of everything in a 62-35 victory over Bethlehem Catholic. The two-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year went 8-for-13 from the floor and connected on all eight of her free throws while finishing with 24 points, nine rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocked shots.

Megan Rullo (2026 | Cardinal O’Hara)
On a day where her outside shot wasn’t falling, Rullo embodied her older sister Molly’s game a bit by attacking the rim relentlessly and getting several trips to the line out of it. The Drexel recruit posted 15 points as the Lions rallied from an early deficit to pick up a quality win over Rutgers Prep, Rullo also adding five rebounds and a pair of assists. The senior went 7-of-8 at the line overall and scored six of her points in the fourth quarter as O’Hara turned a three-point deficit into a 10-point victory.

Morgan Stewart (2026 | St. John’s College, D.C.)
Stewart kept finding paths to the basket in a relentless fourth-quarter effort that made for an exciting finish in a two-point loss to Saint John Vianney. She had 11 of her 16 points and all but two of her team’s points during a rally from five down in the final 6:27. The Florida State commit, a 5-foot-10 combo guard, twice converted steals into scores. She also hit a difficult scoop shot and a pull-up jumper from the foul line before turning an offensive rebound into a game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute.

Rachel Thatcher (2026 | Paul VI, N.J)
Thatcher was a force in Paul VI’s thrilling win over Neumann-Goretti in one of Sunday’s best games at the event. The senior Penn commit netted 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal playing downhill and with purpose. Thatcher is a physical presence on the court and it wasn’t surprising most of her plays ended somewhere in the close vicinity of the rim. The senior came up clutch late, scoring six fourth quarter points as the Saints battled back to help her team get the edge on the scoreboard.

Melody Vaughn (2029 | Shipley)
A shifty guard, Vaughn’s finesse at the rim and defensive awareness were highlights of Shipley’s 42-20 win against Archbishop Carroll at Jefferson University on Sunday. Vaughn attacked the rim hard and finished through contact throughout the game and worked her way to the charity stripe with ease. Defensively, Vaughn racked up deflection after deflection and disrupted Carroll’s offense continuously.

Faith Watson (2028 | Friends Central)
The powerful 6-foot forward established the necessary position in the paint to make the most of her offensive chances in a 65-38 romp over Archbishop Wood. She made all five of her shots from the floor and went 6-for-8 from the line to finish with 16 points. Watson scored seven points in the first five minutes of the second half, including a three-point play off a putback and an easy basket after pulling in a lob pass for the last five points of a 13-1 run that opened the lead from four to 16.