Marist’s Kate Harpring and Grayson’s Caleb Holt are among eight high school basketball players that Adidas recently signed to NIL deals.
The other six, all elite college prospects, are Bruce Branch III of Arizona, Adam Oumiddoch of Virginia, Keleena Smith of California, Anthony Thomas of Ohio, Oliviyah Edwards of Washington and Taylen Kinney of Kentucky. Kinney also has local ties as he plays for Overtime Elite, an Atlanta basketball league and private school.
Harpring, a 5-foot-10 point guard, is the consensus No. 2 senior girls basketball prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports. She was the Gatorade state player of the year this past season after averaging 32.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 3.7 assists for a 28-3 team that reached the Class 4A semifinals.
As a sophomore in 2024, Harpring led Marist to the Class 6A title. She scored 45 points in an overtime victory over River Ridge in the semifinals. She is the daughter of former Georgia Tech and NBA player Matt Harpring.
“Adidas is a great brand, and it’s cool to be one of the spotlight players on the circuit and having people wanting to come watch me play,” Harpring told the AJC. “It’s definitely something I never thought would happen two years ago. With the new NIL and opportunities, basketball is a cool sport to be in, just as a high school athlete.”
The Adidas deal isn’t the first NIL opportunity for Harpring. She signed with Leaf Trading Cards in March.
Holt, a 6-5 guard, is the consensus No. 5 boys player nationally, according to 247Sports. He came to Georgia last season from Alabama’s Buckhorn High and was the AJC’s Class 6A Player of the Year after leading Grayson to the Class 6A semifinals. Holt averaged 18.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.8 steals on a team that was ranked in the top 10 nationally most of the season.
Holt was just named the MVP of the Adidas Eurocamp in Italy, where he competed among other NBA prospects ages 16-22.
Holt is the second Grayson athlete to join Adidas. Football linebacker Tyler Atkinson, the state’s consensus No. 1 recruit according to 247Sports, signed with the company as part of the company’s first group of seven high school athletes in June 2024.
Adidas did not announce the value of the deals. NIL deals among Georgia high school athletes remain rare and typically are not lucrative except for a few, according to the Georgia High School Association. The GHSA told the AJC that fewer than 100 athletes had NIL deals this past academic year.
Credit: Adidas
Credit: Adidas
Credit: Adidas
Credit: Adidas
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
