Meet Loyal McQueen, the South Carolina Eighth-Grader Offered a Scholarship by Alabama Women's Basketball

 

The University of Alabama's women's basketball team has reportedly extended a scholarship offer to Loyal McQueen, an eighth-grade basketball player from South Carolina. McQueen, who is considered one of the top prospects in her class, has already received interest from several other Division I programs.

The 6-foot-1 forward has been playing basketball since she was six years old and has garnered attention for her athleticism, versatility, and ability to play multiple positions. She currently attends the Hammond School in Columbia, South Carolina, where she has been a standout player for the past few years.

Despite being only in eighth grade, McQueen has already played against some of the top competition in the country, including in Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). She has also been invited to participate in USA Basketball's junior national team camps.

Alabama's offer to McQueen is an example of the trend of colleges extending scholarship offers to younger and younger players. While some have criticized this trend as putting too much pressure on young athletes, others argue that it allows colleges to identify and recruit top talent early on.

It remains to be seen where McQueen will ultimately decide to attend college, but with several years of high school basketball still ahead of her, she has plenty of time to make that decision. In the meantime, she will continue to attract attention from some of the top programs in the country.