2025-26 Berks I Girls Basketball: Top Players to Watch

The 2025-26 Berks girls basketball season tips off on Black Friday. Here is a list of players to watch in Division I of the Berks Girls League.

Xiani Beatty

Sophomore, Reading High

The 5-7 guard burst onto the Berks girls basketball scene during the Red Knights' run to a BCIAA championship. Beatty scored a team-high 16 points in the title game and had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in the semifinal upset win over Wyomissing. She averaged 8.0 points per game last season as a freshman, which was third on the team behind the graduated Yamilex Rodriguez and Tamyia Collier.

Kenleigh Brill

Sophomore, Muhlenberg

Brill was the No. 2 scorer for the Muhls as a freshman last season averaging 8.9 ppg. The guard made 63 free throws at a 75.9-percent clip last season. She led the Muhls in scoring in nine of their 22 games, including a season-high 17 in the finale against Susquehanna. With three starters graduating, Brill's production is bound to increase even more.

Abby Cannon

Sophomore, Berks Catholic

Cannon is the next guard in line for the Saints, who have had stellar play at the position for years from Caroline Reedy to Caraline Herb to Madison Langdon. The 5-7 guard's playing time gradually increased during her freshman season and she led the Saints in scoring with a 14-point game against Gov. Mifflin in late January. She finished with a 3.5 scoring average in 22 games and hit 12 3s. The Saints will be young this season and have an influx of wings so Cannon will likely be counted on to control and orchestrate the offense.

Laura Crocona

Senior, Wilson

The 5-8 guard has been a varsity contributor since her freshman season and committed to Kutztown University to continue her athletic and academic careers over the summer. Always a great defender, Crocona boosted her scoring average from 5.5 to 9.8 last season, earning all-division honors. She also hit seven more 3-pointers, finishing the season with 27 total. Crocona is part of a talented senior class in West Lawn that is still looking for that elusive county gold.

Brooklyn George

Junior, Gov. Mifflin

George was the third-leading scorer on the Mustangs last season with a 8.4 ppg scoring average. She hit 37 3s, second on the team, a big jump from the 16 she made as a freshman. George, Bella Super, and Bridget Martin give Mifflin a talented — and now experienced — guard trio after they went to the Berks championship game last year before falling to Reading High. The 5-9 guard was an all-division honorable mention pick the past two years.

Kailani Hardy

Junior, Wilson

Hardy took the biggest leap out of any Berks player last season averaging 14.2 ppg and hitting 30 3-pointers during her sophomore season. The 5-9 guard was rewarded with an All-Berks selection after admirably filling in the production left by an injury to Laila Jones (more on her later). Hardy is over halfway to 1,000 points with 580 entering her junior season and her development is a big reason why the Bulldogs are the Berks favorite.

Violet Houck

Senior, Wilson

Houck is a three-time all-division pick as the Bulldogs' athletic post presence. The 5-11 forward is a menace defensively and on the boards. She's also a standout in track and field, which she plans to pursue in college. Houck averaged 5.9 ppg last season including a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double in the PIAA Class 6A first round victory over Upper Dublin, Wilson's first state win since 2014.

Laila Jones

Senior, Wilson

The 5-8 point guard returns from a torn ACL that forced her to miss her entire junior season. Even with missing an entire season, Jones still sports a decorated high school career. She was an All-Berks selection in both her freshman (13.4 ppg) and sophomore (16.1) seasons and has 788 career points. The Bulldogs are 39-14 when Jones plays. She remained a vital leader from the sideline during her junior year, helping the aforementioned Hardy and Ryan Leaman improve. Jones made her return to the court during AAU play this summer with the Philly-based Lady Runnin' Rebels.

JilliAnn Laws

Senior, Reading High

Laws, a 6-0 forward, took a big step last season in averaging 4.9 ppg, the fourth highest on the team. An all-division honorable mention pick, Laws will be counted on in the paint by head coach Rashida Suber. Laws, alongside Beatty, are the top two returnees for the defending county champions.

Ryan Leaman

Junior, Wilson

The 5-9 junior point guard had a large increase in responsibilities — both in ball handling and scoring — and stepped up to the occasion during her sophomore season. Leaman averaged 7.5 ppg and hit a team-high 36 3s while being named an all-division honorable mention choice last year. She's committed to play lacrosse at the University of North Carolina.

Bridget Martin

Junior, Gov. Mifflin

The 5-8 junior all-division guard has a lunch-pail style of play, much like her sisters and fellow Mifflin basketball standouts Jen and Melissa Martin who came before her. The younger Martin scored 6.4 ppg as a freshman and 7.8 ppg last year. Martin, along with teammate Bella Super, made City of Basketball Love's standouts list for their play during the Philly Girls' High School live event over the summer.

Lianna Martir

Senior, Muhlenberg

The 5-1 senior battled injuries last season and saw a small dip in her scoring average from 10.6 as a sophomore to 9.1 as a junior. Martir will be looking for a strong senior season after back-to-back all-division honorable mention listings. She has hit 56 3-pointers the past two seasons, including 30 last year, and sits at exactly 500 career points. She led the Muhls in scoring in six games last season, with a 24-point performance against Unionville and a 23-point performance against Reading High.

Bella Super

Junior, Gov. Mifflin

Super, a 5-9 guard, returns for her junior season after being one of two Berks players selected to the Pennsylvania Sportswriters All-State Girls Basketball Teams. She averaged 19.3 points per game and sits at 801 career points, highest in the county. Super shined in the BCIAA playoffs with 28 points in the championship game loss to Reading and 25 in the semifinal victory over Wilson. She dropped a season-high 30 points against Conrad Weiser in mid-January. She received her first offer from Mercyhurst over the summer.

Liv Welker

Senior, Berks Catholic

Welker, a 5-8 wing, is the lone returning starter for the Saints. After two seasons as the go-to player at Daniel Boone, Welker played in a complementary role as she learned the ropes in her first year with Berks Catholic. She averaged 8.9 ppg as a freshman and 10.4 as a sophomore in Birdsboro. Welker averaged 5.3 ppg, third-highest on the team, last year to bring her career point total to 531.

Others to watch: Gov. Mifflin junior Ja'Tiyah Case, Reading High senior Mekhira Gaskins, Berks Catholic sophomore Janaiyah Ford, Berks Catholic sophomore Belle Hopkins, Wilson freshman Lila Houck, Wilson sophomore Jade Lee, Berks Catholic junior Katy Linderman, Reading High senior Nayara Ortega, Berks Catholic freshman Jaylianni Ortiz, Wilson freshman Mariam Osumanu, Berks Catholic junior Myah Pegram, Muhlenberg freshman Blanca Ramos, Gov. Mifflin sophomore Saray Renninger, Wilson senior Janai Tisdale, Reading High sophomore Yolanda Velez, Berks Catholic sophomore Esperanza Zudie.