ROCK HILL, South Carolina – The culmination of the adidas 3SSB Circuit is upon us. In total 118 teams are competing for the title of 3SSB Champions across three age groups.
FIBA Impact
The event will be without three of the circuits top players who are with national teams competing in Mexico at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Emilee Skinner and Hailee Swain will represent Team USA while Adriana Robles is with Team Puerto Rico. Their absence will be missed but provide opportunities for others to step up.
17U Championship
The 3SSB Circuit had two stops in the spring for league play. The top 24 teams qualified in pool play for the Championship Division. Teams not qualifying will compete in the Classic Division.
The Championships will start with pool play action with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the Elite 8 bracket for a chance to cut down nets and have a banner hanging in future adidas championships.
Pool A
Team Lex leads this group as a favorite after a perfect spring, finishing 8-0. The team will be without dynamite 2027 sharpshooter Finley Chastain due to injury but got a chance to play without her in Session II. Expect 2026 guard Amayah “Sunshine” Garcia and Keely Parks to be an impact perimeter players. In the frontcourt the pair of 2026 forward Kamora Pruitt and 2027 Eve Long are a formidable duo.
BY THE NUMBERS: Team Lex is 2nd in 3SSB in Points Allowed
The 2nd seed in Pool A is Elevate Elite, a formidable opponent that finished 7-1 in league play and tied for 1stin their pool. This squad has one of the deeper rosters in 3SSB. Kylie Torrence has been a steady contributor in the front court while Caliyah DeVillasee and Amori Jarrett have been leading the charge on the perimeter. The X-Factor will be Sanai Green. If she is at 100-percent Elevate Elite has a chance to make a run this weekend.
BY THE NUMBERS: Elevate Elite is 4th in 3SSB in Points Scored
The NY Gauchos and M14Hoops are the 3rd and 4th seed looking to play their way up and spoil someone’s plans. Keep an eye on Isabella Wesley from the Gauchos and recent Stanford commit Nora Ezike for M14Hoops. Those two will be key for any potential upsets.
5-Seed: Team Elite Hubbard
6-Seed: FAM Hoops
Pool B
This grouping has its favorites but also has a few dark horse options that could shake the championship bracket up.
Team Moriah Jefferson finished league play at 7-1 and did it by being one of the best defensive teams in the league. Skylar Durley and Taylor Barnes lead the charge offensively, both averaging north of 13 points per game. But the strength of this team is team defense which gives them a shot against anyone.
BY THE NUMBERS: Team Moriah Jefferson is 5th in Points Allowed
ETG Midwest is the 2 seed in this group with its only loss in league play coming at the hands of Team Lex. ETG is a tough matchup because the team shares the ball really well and has the ability to beat you inside with Virginia Tech commit Amani Jenkins or from the outside with Neleigh Gessert. The team is also one of the better teams defensively.
BY THE NUMBERS: ETG Midwest is 4th in Assists
The Darkhorse in this group has to be the NW Greyhounds who at 5-3 were a couple of buckets away from a 7-1 finish and were in every game they played in league play. With Oliviyah Edwards on the floor, one of the nation’s top prospects and a hard player to match up with physically, and three perimeter shooters near or above 40-percent from beyond the arc, this 4 seed could be in the mix.
Third seed Texas Lonestar had a terrific spring season but finds itself without starting point guard Adriana Robles who is playing with Puerto Rico in the FIBA u17 World Cup
5-Seed: Della Lamb
6-Seed: Utah Lady Prospects
Pool C
Hardwood Elite is the defending champion. After finishing the spring league play at 7-1, the team is well positioned to repeat. Session II in Norman saw the team have to come together without UCLA commit Sienna Betts, who was with the USAB U18 National Team while her team was in Norman. Betts leads 3SSB in rebounding, assists, blocks and is 6th in scoring. Hardwood Elite went 3-1 without her and their three wins were pretty convincing. The team shares the ball really well and is a hard scout.
BY THE NUMBERS: Hardwood Elite is 2nd in Scoring and Assists
United Family earned the 2nd seed after finishing league play 6-2. This crew is lead by Ariyana “Peanut” Cradle who is averaging 19.9 points per game. Despite being one of the better scoring teams they are 18th in assists in league play. For this team to make a big run the ball has to move as it has other scorers like Natalya Hodge and Aniah Smith.
BY THE NUMBERS: United Family is 2nd in Rebounding
The team who could keep chalk from holding is Indiana Elite. The inside-outside duo of Purdue commit Avery Gordon in the post and Meredith Tippner on the perimeter is formidable. This squad was undefeated in April and dropped two games in Session II to two of the top teams in the league this year in ETG and Team Lex. You know they wouldn’t mind a rematch in the Elite 8.
4th Seed: All IN
5th Seed: Minnesota Stars
6th Seed: Lady Jets
Pool D
Team Trae Young has backed up all the hype in its inaugural season on adidas 3SSB. This group finished a perfect 8-0 behind one of the deepest backcourt lineups on the circuit. McKenzie Mathurin was one of the league’s top scorers at 17.8 points per game but the versatile play of Oklahoma commit Keziah Lofton and the lead guard play of Rieyan DeSouze as well as timely play from Madi Stewart and Maya Thompson just make this team a tough out.
BY THE NUMBERS: Team Trae Young is 1st in Assists and 3rd in both Scoring and Points Allowed
The Metro Stars from Minnesota quietly played their way into a 2-seed. Statistically nothing jumps out but they seemed to come away on the winning side of several tight games to move up the league standings. Keep an eye on Aneisha Scott. She has the ability to have breakout games and is an efficient scorer when she gets going.
BY THE NUMBERS: Scott converted 93.8% of her Free Throws.
Another team who could render the seeding irrelevant is Full Package out of Illinois. They come into the championships as a 3-seed but managed to beat the defending champs at Session II. With the crafty play at point from Aubrey Galvan and wing play from Angelina Davorija, keep your eye on this squad.
BY THE NUMBERS: Full Package is 3rd in Assists
4th Seed: Mass Rivals
5th Seed: Bay City
6th Seed: Meta Hoops
16U Championship
The 16U champion will be crowned with the same 24-team format as the 17U division. Three teams finished undefeated and are the clear favorites to hang a banner in Rock Hill.
The guard play for AEBL is lead by the pair of Kamora Moore and Morghan Reckley. Moore has been scoring at a high rate all season. She’s coming into the championships at over 18 points per game. Reckley scores it well but she also creates havoc defensively and leads the team in assists. As a team they shot 27.6-percent from three. If they can improve on that they’ll be a tough out.
Elevate Elite has been terrific and it’s in large part to the dynamic play of Sabrina Anderson. Her recruitment has blown up this summer and with good reason as she’s scoring more than 22 points a game in league play while doling out 4 assists. While Anderson deserves the praise don’t sleep on Amari Worsham.
ETG Midwest is a super balanced team that finished as one of the most efficient offensive teams at the 16U age level. Keep an eye on Alexis Hecht who can score it and beat you with the pass. Another player you have to account for to beat this squad is Addison Medeck.