5-star athlete Kate Harpring reveals words of wisdom from Tennessee legend Candace Parker on NIL era 

Kate Harpring, the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2026 (according to On3's Industry Rankings) and daughter of former NBA star Matt Harpring, will enter her senior year at Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 5-foot-10 point guard also made an appearance in a YouTube video posted by No Cap Space WBB on Tuesday and talked about her conversation with the three-time WNBA Champion Candace Parker at the women's national championship game.

"I went to the women's national championship game, um and I actually stayed in the Adidas suite, and so I talked with them for a while and Candace for a while too," Harpring said. "So, it was cool just to be one of the best in the game. Um, just to talk to her and stuff like she's just a normal person. Like it's cool to just have that like experience, right?" (Timestamp: 3:48 onwards)

She revealed the advice she received from Parker.

"Yeah, she was just like saying, like, just do what you want to do, like balance it, it'll be there," Harpring added. "Like, you get what you want, like you’re getting the money and everything, just keep the main thing playing basketball. That's what's getting you to where you are. So, just keep doing that." (Timestamp: 4:20 onwards)

In the Adidas 3SSB Girls Spring Session 1 and 2, Kate Harpring represented Southeast All Stars and averaged 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.4 blocks and converted 1.1 3-pointers per game.

One of her best games came in the 67-57 win against Meta Hoops on May 17, where she scored 32 points, including two 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and stole the ball twice.

She led the Marist Eagles to a 29-3 record and a 16-0 record in the Georgia Section, Georgia AAAA Region 5 Basketball League, where they finished at the top. However, the team was knocked out in the Final Four of the GHSA state title after a 54-43 loss against Creekside on March 1.

---

Tough competition between three programs to land Kate Harpring

The Class of 2026 recruit is the No. 1 point guard and player in Georgia. She has received interest from top programs, including Vanderbilt Commodores, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Duke Blue Devils.

However, there is tough competition between three programs. Vanderbilt has a 28.1% chance of landing Harpring, followed by Iowa Hawkeyes with a 24.6% prediction and UCLA Bruins with a 21.1% probability.

Harpring still has another year to decide on her collegiate career.