Governors Challenge: 2027 Stock-Rising MD/VA Guards

The 2025 Governors Challenge is in the books and over the course of the next few days, the notebook will be emptied out as I took in over 65 games in the span of five days. There's plenty to get to, but this article will highlight the stock-rising guards of MD/VA who helped boost their stock with their showings.    Gray remains one of the more undervalued guard in the DMV 2027 class and there's a real argument that he belongs in the highest tier of impact backcourt defenders. His relentless pursuit of the ball combined with his lateral quickness, active hands and ability to initiate contact without fouling to make opposing ball-handlers all go into what makes him a plus defender despite his size. That same mindset translates to the offensive side as he looks to expose any slight driving lane that presents itself and can slip his way to the rim for finishes through contact. Gray did a nice job in transition of reading the situation and if needed, would stop on a dime for a pull-up with nice balance. The combo guard averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 steals and 2.5 assists as Bethel finished 1-1.     Douglas has established himself as one of the better catch-and-shoot two-guards 2027 VA class. The 6-foot-1 southpaw has smooth mechanics from three and the sort of confidence that allows him to rattle off 2-to-3 straight once he sees his first shot drop. It was a mixture of rim attacks in transition or nice lifts in the half court to free himself up for clean looks as he converted six three's in the two games. Douglas averaged 16 points per game as Potomac finished 1-1 with a loss to Salesianum (DE) and a win over Elizabeth (NJ).     Needle-moving trip for McGlone as he showed of an array of improvements within his game that will have him high on our radar as the season progresses. The 6-foot-2 guard is a threat to score it from all three levels and puts pressure on the defense as he's constantly in attack mode. Even when he doesn't have the ball, McGlone is looking to hunt the perfect situation to crash the offensive glass for put-back dunks as he did day one. SMCA would claim its bracket championship and McGlone, along side another guard we will highlight, was the leader averaging 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists per game.     While McGlone can touch the stat sheet in a handful of ways, Hughley took on more of the scoring role particularly in their bracket championship game against Seneca Valley (MD). He's a well-rounded bucket-getter as he showed by getting to his spots and finishing with 23 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three. He did a nice job throughout his two games touching the paint with two feet, making defenders pay for delayed closeouts beyond the arc and pushing the tempo on run-outs where he makes the right read as a scorer or distributor.     Robinson was a new face for me and was a great pleasure to watch shoot the basketball. This Queen Anne's (MD) team has a few other threats in the backcourt who can do damage off the dribble, which makes life easier for Robinson to camp in the corners to fade out beyond the arc on fast breaks for spot-ups. He converted with nice efficiency and proved to be a great energizer off the bench as he averaged 17 points per game and buried six three's between his two showings.

The 2025 Governors Challenge is in the books and over the course of the next few days, the notebook will be emptied out as I took in over 65 games in the span of five days. There's plenty to get to, but this article will highlight the stock-rising guards of MD/VA who helped boost their stock with their showings.