Cooper sits at No. 2 in the Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Coaches Association (NKHSGBCA) preseason poll for 2026-27. The coaches' rankings, first reported by LINK nky, were released Monday, Sept. 21, with Holy Cross on top and Ryle at No. 5.
Senior Haylee Noel ranked as the No. 1 player in Northern Kentucky. Ryle sophomore Jayden McClain came in fourth. Players were nominated by their varsity coaches and voted on by NKHSGBCA members.
The poll gives Boone County fans two programs to watch when the season tips off in about two months.
Noel leads Cooper under new coach
Noel, the two-time Ninth Region Player of the Year, averaged 20.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 season, according to the NKY Tribune. She shot 88 percent from the free-throw line (139-of-158), ranking fifth statewide. She enters her senior year with 1,685 career points and 782 rebounds.
Noel committed to the University of South Florida on Sept. 1, choosing the Bulls from 25 scholarship offers, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. A Northern Kentucky girls player has not won the Miss Basketball award since Ryle's Maddie Scherr in 2020, and the Enquirer identified Noel as a candidate.
She will play her final high school season under new coach Ryan Bowman, hired April 27 after Christian Prohaska resigned following a 20-9 campaign. Bowman brings 20 years of coaching experience, including stints as Boone County's head coach (2017-2021), Ludlow's head coach (2024-25) and Conner's junior varsity coach during the 2025-26 season, WCPO reported. He was part of a staff that reached the 2017 state runner-up finish.
Cooper won four consecutive 9th Region championships from 2021 to 2025, the first girls team to accomplish that in region history, and posted a 131-29 record over those five seasons.
McClain anchors Ryle's rise
McClain, the No. 4-ranked player, averaged 12.8 points and 8.4 rebounds as a freshman during the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-6 sophomore already holds Ryle's program record in blocked shots, is ranked No. 12 nationally in the 2029 recruiting class and committed to the University of Kentucky in July.
Her expanding game was on display in the 9th Region quarterfinals on March 2, when she tallied nine blocks in Ryle's 63-27 win over Newport Central Catholic and hit two 3-pointers. After that quarterfinal, Ryle coach Katie Haitz told LINK nky: "She's got a beautiful shot and the more that you can make it where they don't think that the only thing that she can do is be down low, that's even better for us."
Full poll
The NKHSGBCA preseason top 10 teams: Holy Cross, Cooper, Simon Kenton, Notre Dame, Ryle, Bishop Brossart, Campbell County, Highlands, Dixie Heights and Walton-Verona.
Top 10 players: Noel (Cooper), Brynli Pernell (Simon Kenton), Asia Carner (Dixie Heights), McClain (Ryle), D'Myah Williams (Holy Cross), Noelle Price (Scott), Kylie Smith (Bishop Brossart), Jai Johnson (Holy Cross), Elin Logue (Walton-Verona) and Kendall Augsback (Campbell County).
