Two Vanderbilt Commodores Future Stars Nominated for McDonald’s Honor
The Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team is trying to reverse a three-game losing streak in SEC action but their future looks bright.
On Wednesday the Commodores learned that two of their signees for their class of 2025 have been nominated for the McDonald's all-America team, one of the most prestigious honors in high school basketball.
Guard Ava Black and guard Aubrey Galvin are up for the honor. The final selections will be made later this year, with the McDonald’s All-America Games set for April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Black, who is 5-11, is playing her final season at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. Considered one of Massachusetts’ top prospects, she also plays club ball for the Bay State Jaguars.
When she signed in November, Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph called her a “visionary” who could play multiple positions and performed as an above-average defender.
She has previously been selected New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) All-Class AA and led Tabor to a state title her freshman year. She missed her junior season due to injury. Entering this season she was selected to the preseason NEPSAC All-Class AAA team.
Galvan is 5-6 and entering her senior year at Wilmette Loyola Academy, she had already scored more than 1,300 career points.
She was coming off a junior season in which she led her team to an undefeated season (38-0) and an IBCA Class 4A state title. She averaged 16 points, 3.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.3 steals per game, was named an IBCA All-State first team selection and was a finalist for the 2023-24 Illinois Ms. Basketball award.
Before Loyola, she played two years at Deerfield High School, where she helped them to the IBCA Class 3A state semifinals her sophomore year.
She is also a two-time adidas All-American and considered a four-star recruit according to Prospect Nation, where she was also named to the site’s Elite 150 for the Class of 2025.
She plays club basketball for Full Package, which counts Olympians Jewell Lloyd and Cassandre Proper among its alums.
When she signed, Ralph said that “she is an electric guard with exceptional court vision and passing skills but can also fill up the scoreboard at any given moment.”
The third member of the class is Monique Williams, a 6-3 forward from Perth, Australia, who is playing at Willeton Senior High School.
Vanderbilt (14-4, 1-3 in SEC) returns to the floor on Sunday when it hosts in-state rival Tennessee at 2 p.m.
