Top-rated player from Class of 2026 leaves Montverde Academy after one season to return to native Ohio.
MaxPreps National Junior of the Year
Saniyah Hall announced via Instagram this weekend that she is transferring to
SPIRE Academy (Geneva, Ohio) after spending one season at
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). She was recently hailed as the top high school player regardless of class.
Hall, an Ohio native who led
Laurel (Shaker Heights, Ohio) to a Division II runner-up finish in 2023, helped Montverde to a 26-2 record in her lone season in Florida. She averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.8 steals for the Eagles.
Iowa, South Carolina, UCLA, UConn and USC are among the college powers that have extended offers to Hall.
MaxPreps National Junior of the Year Saniyah Hall announced on Instagram this weekend that she's transferring to Spire Academy after spending one season at Montverde Academy. The top-rated player regardless of class returns to Ohio after playing her first two seasons at Laurel. (FILE PHOTO: Julie L. Brown)
Hall's departure from Montverde isn't completely unexpected. Head coach Matt Shewmake left the program for an assistant coaching job at Grand Canyon University. Montverde Academy recently named former Dr. Phillips frontman Anthony Jones as the new coach.
Hall was recently named to the USA Basketball U19 squad along with fellow MaxPreps All-Americans
Jazzy Davidson,
Sienna Betts,
Jerzy Robinson and
Emilee Skinner.
She is the second high-profile name from Montverde Academy to come to Spire Academy in the offseason. Kevin Boyle, the longtime boys coach who helped the Eagles to dominate the academy basketball landscape over the past decade, was named the boys coach in March.
Under Boyle's leadership, Montverde has been recognized as a national champion by MaxPreps in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024. The coaching legend won 91 percent of his games during his 14 seasons with the program, guiding them to a record of 363-33.
