While games haven’t been played for quite some time, there is one more thing left to do before we can officially say the 2024 high school sports fall season is officially over.
It’s time to announce the 2024 Providence Journal All-State teams.
No one covered more high school sports this fall than The Providence Journal, which allowed us to see all of Rhode Island’s best athletes. That’s the fun part of the job. The difficult part is picking our First and Second Team athletes in their respective sport.
Some sports are easier than others. Cross Country and Girls Tennis hold individual championships and selections were made prioritizing performance at their respective RIIL final events.
Selections for team-based sports require more conversation. Athletes were selected based on in-person evaluations, statistics, conversations with various sport sources, postseason performance and other factors, including the coaches’ postseason awards.
Teams were selected positionally. There is only one goalie in soccer and field hockey and one quarterback in football and our All-State teams reflect the positions you would see on the field or court. It can lead to difficult decisions – especially at ‘premier’ positions – but we believe it’s important to honor all the positions, not just a select few.
Our goal is to try and put as much work and effort into our selections as the athletes we’ve chosen put into their respective sport.
So while putting together The Providence Journal All-State teams can be tough, it’s nothing compared to what these athletes have done to get to this level and we’re happy to honor the best Rhode Island has to offer.
Barker played only one season of singles for the Rams, but made the most of it. The 2023 doubles champ stepped into the singles lineup for her senior season and had little problem adjusting. She was dominant at the No. 3 spot for La Salle, winning big matches all season — including a key win against Barrington in the state championship match. Her first singles state tourney went well as she won her first-round match before falling to Ponaganset All-Stater Julianna Steere.
After earning second-team All-Division honors as a freshman, Cameron had quite the leap in her sophomore year. Playing atop the Skippers’ order, Cameron quickly established herself as one of the state’s top players. In her state tournament debut, Cameron grabbed wins in the first two rounds before falling to East Greenwich’s Ellie Coker-Dodman. Cameron will be a player to watch next fall.
Clark simply followed one of the most dominant seasons the state’s ever seen with another performance for the books. Clark wasted little time in beating her opponents this season, going undefeated and dropping only 26 games following a 6-4, 7-6 win in her first match of 2024. Clark’s powerful and precise performance in the state tournament was jaw dropping and her 6-1, 6-1 win made her the first Rebel to win back to back girls singles titles with a threepeat on the horizon.
The rise from casual doubles player to All-Stater has been impressive to watch. Coker-Dodman opened her junior season by putting a scare into South Kingstown champ Alexa Clark, then proceeded to take care of business atop the Avengers’ ladder. A quarterfinalist as a sophomore, Coker-Dodman went a step further in her junior season before falling to Clark in the semifinals of the state singles tourney.
She was one of the best players in Rhode Island her first two seasons, but finally got the change to show it this fall. After electing to play for the Townies’ boys team in the spring, Ellison made the switch to girls tennis and dominated Division II. She won the D-II qualifying tourney with ease, then went on a run in her state singles tournament debut, getting to the quarterfinals before getting bounced by South Kingstown’s Alexa Clark.
Koczera-Kasem ends her career with the Eagles the same way it started — as a first-team All-Stater. The senior, who won the state doubles crown her freshman year, makes her fourth appearance on the first team and second as a first-team singles player and it’s not hard to see why. Koczera-Kasem was an anchor atop the lineup for Barrington, helping the Eagles reach the state final, and earned a trip to the semifinals of the state singles tournament before losing in three sets.
Presciutti’s promise showed during her sophomore season when she earned second-team All-State honors. But an injury ended her junior year before it started. Back on the court last fall, the senior was spectacular for the Rams and was a key to their 11th straight state title win. In the RIIL singles championship tournament, Presciutti was terrific, coming away with a clutch three-set win in the semifinals before getting beat in the championship match.
After back-to-back appearances as a second-team All-Stater, Rochelle earned herself a spot on the first team with her play last fall. Rochelle has been a steady performer for the Vikings throughout her career and her senior season was no different. One of the top players in Division II, Rochelle grabbed a win in the first round of the state singles tournament before losing a three-setter to East Greenwich’s Ellie Coker-Dodman.
It was a breakthough season for Royce, who did everything necessary to make her debut as an All-Stater. The sophomore showed off her talents all season at No. 1 for the Bulldogs, helping them to a 15-1 season that ended with a Division II title. Royce also won her first match at the RIIL state singles championship, and followed that with an upset win in the Round of 16 before falling in the quarterfinals. Expect more to come from Royce in the next two seasons.
Steere’s already impressive start to her career got even better in her sophomore season as she remained on the road to becoming the best player in school history. Steere, a first-team All-Stater last fall, continued to own the top spot for the Chieftains and prove that she was one of Rhode Island’s best. In the state singles tourney, Steere earned a repeat trip to the quarterfinals, where she dropped a tough match to eventual runner-up Bianca Presciutti.
Haxton and Roye couldn’t quite snatch the top doubles spot on their own team, but it didn’t stop them from being the best in the state. The duo went undefeated at No. 2 for La Salle, helping the team win another state title. They earned the All-State spot thanks to their impressive run in the state doubles tournament that ended with an upset of Barrington’s top seeded team, becoming what is believed to be the first No. 2 team to win the title.
Alexis Besio, East Greenwich, Senior
Brooke Caffrey, Narragansett, Senior
Lincy Chen, Lincoln School, Sophomore
Kaylin Flynn, Cranston West, Junior
Lily Goodwin, Bay View, Sophomore
Ambujam Lohman, Narragansett, Junior
Mia Renzulli, Prout, Senior
Tess Ruhren, South Kingstown, Sophomore
Sadie Spector, Barrington, Senior
Claire Xie, Providence Country Day, Sophomore
Addy Friedman, Barrington, Junior
Jasmine Malik, Barrington, Senior
