SportsNovember 2, 2024

The University of Washington commit and five-star recruit will play her senior girls basketball season in Spokane

Dave Nichols Spokesman-Review
Colfax forward Brynn McGaughy (40) celebrates after beating the Okanogan Bulldogs 55-50 in the Washington 2B girls state championship game held at the Spokane Arena on March. 4, 2023, in Spokane.
Colfax forward Brynn McGaughy (40) celebrates after beating the Okanogan Bulldogs 55-50 in the Washington 2B girls state championship game held at the Spokane Arena on March. 4, 2023, in Spokane.James Snook for the Lewiston Tribune

Brynn McGaughy, the top girls basketball prospect in Washington who committed to the University of Washington earlier this year, has transferred from her hometown team in Colfax to Central Valley of Spokane for her senior season.

McGaughy and CV coach Jason Wilson confirmed via text message the 6-foot-2 forward has joined the Bears for the upcoming season. Central Valley will play its first season in 3A after last year’s reclassification.

McGaughy has played her club ball with Meta Hoops Idaho out of Boise. Her biography section on espnW’s Class of 2025 rankings page — where she is listed as a five-star prospect and the No. 19 recruit in the country — has been updated to show her affiliation with CV.

McGaughy led Colfax as a sophomore to an undefeated season, the 2B state championship and was named the state 2B player of the year.

Later that spring she sustained an open ankle fracture and dislocation injury playing at Hoopfest and was slowed by offseason surgery heading into her junior season. She still averaged 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and two blocks per game last season, but the Bulldogs lost in a state quarterfinal in March — where she scored a game-high 17 points with seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists — and bowed out of the tournament after losing in the fourth-place bracket.

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She has played in The Spokesman-Review Showcase Jack Blair Memorial all-star game the past two years and was named game MVP in 2023 with 23 points.

McGaughy entertained more than 40 Division I offers — many from Power Five conference schools — before she played a game her junior season. Some of her offers included basketball powerhouses like North Carolina and Iowa.

She announced her decision to attend Washington via a post on social media in May.

“I think the main thing for me was the culture and people there,” McGaughy told 247Sports.com in May. “Their vision for me is really good and the impact I can make when I get there my freshman year will be great. I fit in really good and they feel like family.”

Winter sports practices start Nov. 18. Central Valley starts its season with a nonleague game at Eastmont on Dec. 3 and plays its first GSL game of the season on Jan. 7 against University.

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