MLK Invitational: 15 Open – Top Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend, Houston hosted a massive national-level club tournament, the 2024 MLK Invitational, which featured more than 250 teams from several states, with two of the three days of the event taking place at the NRG Center in Downtown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Texas was represented with multiple teams in every division and some of the most exciting prospects of the Lone Star State got to go on the court and battle teams from other states over three days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/01/mlk-invitational-15-open-photos/">MLK Invitational: 15 Open - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday, Prep Dig was at the British International School of Houston, where the 15 Open division was played, and got to watch seven Texas teams compete. Several players caught our attention and this week we'll feature them, this time highlighting the middles that shone the brightest:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Georgia Hornes","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Tomball","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Texas Legacy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"One of the most physical players on the court, Hornes was one of the standouts of her Texas Legacy 15 Elite team that finished seventh with three wins and four losses. 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I don't think any middle in the division had a larger offensive role than she did as, basically every time the pass allowed for it, Irwin would get on the ball. She was very successful with her swings, going to the ball with a lot of power and hitting it hard - she also did well when swinging from the left in one rotation. 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Standing at 5'9u0022, she wasn't among the tallest middles in the age group, but made up for that with an impressive jumping ability and by making the most of her long arms on both sides of the ball. Toliver was very quick to make her offensive approach and didn't hold anything back when hitting the ball, making of her swings very difficult to handle for defenders. She also made an impact with her blocking, moving very well at the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a840cc3ae6d"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1746211277381280004?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1746211277381280004?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Aaryn Brown","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Pearland","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Stellar","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Brown was a solid presence in the middle for Houston Stellar 15 Elite and helped the team get five wins and three losses to finish fifth in the 16-team division. 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