Six future Boilermakers named McDonald's All-American Game nominees
The annual McDonald's All-American Game is still months away, but the organization announced its nominees for the premiere all-star exhibition for high school prospects, including six future Boilermakers.
Four-star forward Kanon Catchings, four-star guard Gicarri Harris and three-star center Daniel Jacobsen were all a part of the initial list of nominees for the boys side. On the girls side, Jordyn Poole, Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear were all named nominees as well.
Catchings is the most likely of the bunch to wind up suiting up for the game, being the 32nd ranked overall player in the class, according to Rivals. The Brownsburg, Indiana, turned Overtime Elite prospect has been successful at his new home in Georgia. Catchings is averaging 13.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and one assist per game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. He is Purdue's highest-rated prospect and the crown jewel of Matt Painter's class.
Gicarri Harris is the most recent addition to the class, rounding out the group of six future Boilermakers coming to West Lafayette next season. The Georgia native has been stellar for Grayson High School, recently winning Most Outstanding Player in the Chick-fil-a Classic.
The final member of the men's class to be named a nominee was center Daniel Jacobsen, who is playing with Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. The 7'2" big man has averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in just under 19 minutes per game.
Moving to Katie Gearlds' incoming recruiting haul, all three members of the class were named nominees, starting with highly-touted guard Jordyn Poole. The Fort Wayne native is averaging 17.1 points and 4.9 assists for her Fort Wayne Snider team that is poised to make a state championship run. Poole has vaulted up the list for the 2024 Indiana Miss Basketball award with a recent hot stretch.
Forwards Kendall Puryear and Lana McCarthy were also included on the list. Puryear just reached 1,000 points for her career and is averaging 19.3 points to go along with 13.0 rebounds per game. McCarthy is averaging just north of 12 points per game, but also eclipsed 1,000 career points and was named the New Hampshire Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year.