(File Photo of Quaker Valley High School)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Leetsdale, PA) Quaker Valley High School senior basketball forward Mimi Thiero signed on Wednesday in Leetsdale to commit to playing women’s basketball at the University of Maryland, located in College Park, Maryland. Thiero is the highest ranked Pennsylvania prospect in the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 rankings at 42nd overall and the second highest prospect in Pennsylvania according to 24/7 Sports. Thiero had more than fifty offers from NCAA Division I schools. Thiero continues the basketball legacy of her older brother, Adou, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers at #36 overall in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft and played for Naismith Hall of Fame coach and Moon Township native John Calipari at both the University of Kentucky and the University of Arkansas. Thiero also continues the basketball legacy of her parents, Almamy and Mariam, as Almamy played under Calipari for most of his career in college basketball at Memphis University and Mariam was drafted by the Washington Mystics at #33 overall in the third round of the 2006 WNBA Draft after being an NAIA first-team all-American at Oklahoma City University.