Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey in attendance as high school stars Autumn Fleary and Haylen Ayers showcase scoring prowess at the Nike EYBL

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey were spotted courtside as high school stars Autumn Fleary and Haylen Ayers showcased their scoring prowess at the Nike EYBL.

Fleary led Team Takeover to a victory against Ayers' Tennessee Flight to advance to the Nike Nationals semifinals. Both players dropped 21 points in the game, with two of the best coaches in women’s college basketball watching.

Fleary, a five-star Class of 2026 guard, is expected to make a decision regarding her college destination this summer. She is ranked No. 10 in the country and No. 2 in the point guard position. She has several colleges scrapping for her commitment, including Mulkey’s LSU.

Fleary visited LSU officially in March, where the coaching staff hosted her for multiple days in Baton Rouge.

The guard recently narrowed her options down to four via a social media post on July 4, naming the LSU Tigers, UCLA Bruins, North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils as her preferred choices.

Following the March visit, LSU will hope they are the strongest contenders on that list, but UCLA are also reportedly presenting a solid NIL offer that could sway the decision their way.

Ayers, a 6-foot guard, is ranked as the No. 3 player in the Class of 2027 by both espnW and 247Sports. She averaged 22 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season at the University School of Jackson and was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee.

As a freshman, she earned Division II-A Miss Basketball honours and was later named a Naismith Award Honorable Mention All-American. She has already scored 1,620 career points through her sophomore season.

Ayers holds more than 30 college offers, with interests from major programs like Florida, LSU, UConn, Memphis, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee.

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Kim Mulkey addresses losing a lot of players from last season’s roster

LSU saw its entire frontcourt from last season depart, with Aneesah Morrow heading to the WNBA after exhausting her eligibility. On the other hand, Sa’Myah Smith, Jersey Wolfenbarger, Aalyah Del Rosario, and Amani Bartlett all entered the transfer portal.

"That's not gonna stop," Kim Mulkey told The Advocate. "Even if you win national championships. That's just the way it is now, and you can't even guesstimate because you don't know."

With only four contributors returning, Mulkey reloaded the roster with eight new players, five incoming freshmen and three transfers, marking the biggest overhaul since her first full offseason at LSU.

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Edited by Satagni Sikder