Fueled by five-star underclassmen, Montverde Academy, Ontario Christian lead national girls basketball title chase

Top-ranked Montverde Academy and No. 2 Ontario Christian boast two of the nation’s brightest young stars in Saniyah Hall and Kaleena Smith

Ohio native Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 recruit for the 2026 class, has excelled in Florida this season while helping Montverde Academy (21-1) to the No. 1 ranking in the country. / Montverde Academy

Montverde Academy (Fla.) and Ontario Christian (Calif.) are proving that the best high school basketball teams in the country often feature some of the nation’s top talent. The latest High School on SI 2025 national girls basketball power rankings place Montverde at No. 1 with a 21-1 record, while Ontario Christian sits at No. 2 with a 30-1 mark. Both teams showcase elite rosters, including two of the most highly regarded underclassmen in the country.

For Montverde, that star is Saniyah Hall, a 6-foot-2 junior guard ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2026 by ESPNW HoopGurlz Rankings and No. 2 by 247Sports. Ontario Christian, meanwhile, boasts Kaleena Smith, a dynamic 5-foot-6 sophomore guard who is the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2027.

The duo is among the starting five and the only underclassmen named 2025 Naismith First-Team All-Americans, joining top 2025 recruit Aaliyah Chavez (Lubbock Monterey, Texas), Sienna Betts (Grandview, Colo.), and Jasmine “Jazzy” Davidson (Clackamas, Ore.).

As expected, both Hall and Smith hold offers from nearly every major women’s college program in the country and could be in line for significant NIL deals in the near future. Smith reportedly became the first women's athlete to sign a shoe deal with Adidas back in November.

Leading their teams to a national championship in 2025 would only add to their already impressive resumes.

Montverde Academy junior guard Saniyah Hall scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds to guide the No. 1-ranked Eagles past The Newman School (Mass.), 89-57 earlier this season. / Montverde Academy

Despite the step up in competition, Hall has dominated this season. She's averaging 20.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks through 26 games. As of March 8, she has scored 521 points and set a career high in assists with 91, while sharing the court with elite recruits like Agot Makeer (South Carolina commit) and Aaliyah Crump (LSU commit), among others.

An Ohio native, Hall began her high school career at Laurel School (Ohio) before transferring to Montverde for her junior year. As a sophomore at Laurel, she averaged 25.5 points and 11.1 rebounds over 29 games, also posting 3.4 steals, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. That season, she recorded a career-high 46 points and 16 rebounds, along with four assists, four steals, and four blocks in a 72-27 victory over Lutheran East on Jan. 29, 2024.

Montverde Academy's Saniyah Hall, shown here competing for Legends in April of 2024. / Saniyah Hall | Instagram

Here's what 247Sports' Brandon Clay, Women's Basketball Director of Scouting, had to say about Hall:

Brandon Clay / 247Sports

Hall also secured a career-high 322 rebounds during the 2023-24 season and has 678 career rebounds to date. As a freshman, she led Laurel to an 18-7 record, averaging 21.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 steals, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game.

Smith, meanwhile, has been equally as impressive. She may not be the tallest player on the court, but her skill set more than compensates for her size.

Ontario Christian (CA) sophomore Kaleena Smith drives for a layup against Christ the King (NY) in 2025 Hoophall Classic. / Basketball HOF

Leading No. 2 Ontario Christian to a 30-1 record as of March 8, the 5-foot-6 sophomore has paced the team with 23.2 points per game across 31 contests while also leading the squad by a wide margin with 8.1 assists per game. Defensively, she adds 4.5 steals and 2.7 rebounds per game.

As a freshman, Smith was even more dominant, averaging 34.9 points, 6.5 assists, 4.2 steals, and 3.5 rebounds over 33 games. That season, she erupted for a career-high 62 points, including 10 3-pointers, in a 132-21 win over Temecula Linfield Christian (California) on Jan. 12, 2024. Less than a month earlier, she nailed 11 3-pointers and scored 55 points in a 136-29 victory over Riverside Woodcrest Christian (California) on Dec. 15, 2023.

Kaleena Smith's strong basketball IQ and sharpshooting ability has hoisted her to the top of the 2027 recruiting class. / Photo: Dennis Lee

A confident shooter, Smith connected on 179 3-pointers and totaled 1,153 points in 33 games as a freshman. This season, as defenses have homed in on stopping her, she has cut her 3-point attempts in half — dropping from 437 attempts last year to 246 in 31 games this year. She has still managed to knock down 89 3s and score 719 points thus far.

Here's what Clay says about Smith:

Brandon Clay / 247Sports

With Hall and Smith leading the way, Montverde Academy and Ontario Christian remain the teams to beat on the national stage.

Read about No. 1 2025 girls high school basketball prospect Aaliyah Chavez here.