One of the more interesting programs to watch heading into the 2027 girls grassroots basketball season may be coming out of Jacksonville, Florida.

Duval Elite.

Under co-founder and director Kayla “Coach O” Oxenrider, Duval Elite has developed from a Jacksonville-based program into an increasingly recognizable name on the girls basketball landscape.

Now success creates a different type of question.

What comes next?

Duval Elite competed within the Select Events Power 24 ecosystem in 2026 and has publicly promoted Power 24 as part of its spring and summer plans.

But heading toward another grassroots season, Duval Elite finds itself in an interesting position.

The program has options.

Does Coach O remain independent and continue building through Power 24?

Does Duval Elite deepen its relationship with Select Events?

Or has the program reached the point where a direct shoe-circuit opportunity becomes the logical next step?

Nothing has been publicly announced.

But Duval Elite has become a program worth watching.

Coach O Brings a College Basketball Background

Part of what separates Duval Elite begins with the woman running it.

Oxenrider isn't simply an AAU coach.

She played college basketball.

She coached college basketball.

She recruited college basketball players.

And she has spent years developing relationships inside the game.

At Bloomsburg University, Oxenrider was a four-year starter who finished her career with 1,327 points while helping the program compile an 88-29 record.

She earned All-PSAC honors twice and helped Bloomsburg reach consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

Her playing career eventually transitioned into coaching.

Oxenrider coached at Albright College, Saint Francis, Austin Peay and eventually the University of North Florida.

At Austin Peay, she served as recruiting coordinator before being promoted to associate head coach.

At North Florida, she spent five seasons working within a Division I program in the same city where she would eventually build Duval Elite.

Jacksonville became more than another coaching stop.

It became the foundation for what came next.

Relationships Have Become Part of the Duval Elite Brand

One of Coach O's biggest strengths throughout her college coaching career was recruiting.

Recruiting is ultimately about relationships.

Can a coach connect with a player?

Can that coach connect with the family?

Can she communicate a vision?

Can she maintain trust when things aren't going perfectly?

Those same questions matter in grassroots basketball.

And Duval Elite has increasingly developed a reputation as a program where players have genuine relationships with the people coaching them.

That matters more than ever.

The best young players have options.

They can change programs.

They can travel farther.

They can join nationally recognized organizations.

They can chase different circuits.

Keeping talent requires more than exposure.

Players have to believe in the person leading them.

Jacksonville Gives Duval Elite an Opportunity

There is also geography working in Duval Elite's favor.

Jacksonville and the surrounding North Florida region produce basketball talent.

But Florida's girls grassroots landscape has historically included powerful organizations throughout South Florida, Central Florida and other major markets.

Duval Elite has an opportunity to own something specific.

Jacksonville.

Instead of every elite North Florida player believing she has to leave the region to find national-level grassroots basketball, Duval Elite can provide another pathway.

That makes the program valuable.

And the stronger its younger teams become, the stronger that position gets.

Power 24 Helped Provide the Platform

Select Events has been an important piece of Duval Elite's rise.

Power 24 gives programs national competition while placing players in front of college coaches.

Select Events says every Division I program attended at least one Select 40 or Power 24 league event in 2025, including every power-conference school.

That is significant exposure.

For a growing independent program, there is obvious value in being able to retain your own identity while still competing on a national stage.

Duval Elite doesn't have to become someone else's affiliate.

It can remain Duval Elite.

That independence has value.

But Does Duval Elite Still Need to Stay Independent?

That is where the 2027 question becomes interesting.

There is a difference between remaining independent because you have no other options and remaining independent because you believe it is the best option.

Duval Elite is increasingly moving toward the second category.

As the program grows, so does its leverage.

The organization has a respected director.

It has a desirable geographic footprint.

It has college coaching connections.

It has younger talent coming through the pipeline.

And it has already demonstrated that it can compete inside a national grassroots environment.

That makes Duval Elite increasingly attractive.

Staying With Power 24 Makes Plenty of Sense

There is a strong argument for changing absolutely nothing.

Power 24 already provides Duval Elite with many of the things a shoe circuit would provide.

National competition.

Live-period exposure.

Major events.

College coaches.

Recognizable opponents.

A championship structure.

And perhaps most importantly, independence.

Coach O controls Duval Elite.

She controls the culture.

She controls the brand.

She controls the direction of the organization.

That freedom shouldn't be underestimated.

But Shoe Circuits Offer Something Different

There is also a reason programs want direct shoe affiliations.

Nike EYBL.

Under Armour GUAA.

New Balance Lady P32.

Those names carry weight in girls grassroots basketball.

A direct shoe relationship can potentially bring product, financial support, national branding, exclusive events and another level of visibility.

For the right organization, it can accelerate growth.

And Duval Elite is reaching the type of stage where those possibilities become more realistic.

The question isn't whether wearing another logo would look good.

The question is whether the partnership would materially improve what Coach O has already built.

Under Armour Would Be an Interesting Fit

Under Armour's GUAA circuit represents one possible type of move.

GUAA has established programs across the country and a recognizable national championship structure.

For Duval Elite, entering that environment would immediately connect Jacksonville to another major girls basketball ecosystem.

It would also provide a clearly defined shoe-circuit identity.

But Coach O would have to determine whether the benefits outweigh what she currently has with Select Events.

Because joining a shoe circuit isn't automatically an upgrade simply because a shoe company is involved.

Fit matters.

New Balance Is Another Possible Direction

New Balance has become increasingly aggressive in grassroots basketball through Lady P32.

That circuit has provided another national option in a landscape historically dominated by Nike and Under Armour.

For a growing organization like Duval Elite, New Balance could represent the type of opportunity where the program maintains more of its emerging identity while gaining the benefits of direct shoe backing.

Again, there is no indication that Duval Elite has made that decision.

That's exactly why the situation is worth watching.

Select Events Has Its Own Momentum

There is also another factor.

Select Events itself continues growing.

Power 24 and Select 40 have become increasingly relevant parts of girls grassroots basketball, particularly because they create an environment where different brands and independent programs can coexist.

That makes staying increasingly attractive.

Duval Elite doesn't necessarily need to leave Power 24 to become nationally relevant.

It may be able to become nationally relevant through Power 24.

Those are two very different things.

Coach O Can Afford to Be Selective

This may ultimately be Duval Elite's biggest advantage.

There doesn't appear to be a need to rush.

The program isn't searching for somewhere to play.

It already has a platform.

It isn't trying to establish credibility from scratch.

Coach O already has a legitimate basketball résumé.

It isn't trying to prove Jacksonville has talent.

The players are already there.

That means any move should have to clearly improve the situation.

Better exposure.

Better resources.

Better opportunities for players.

Better long-term stability.

If it doesn't provide those things, why move?

The Players Have to Come First

Grassroots basketball can become obsessed with logos.

But the ultimate measurement should be much simpler.

What gives the players the best opportunity?

If Power 24 continues putting Duval Elite athletes in front of the right college coaches, providing high-level competition and allowing Coach O to build her own program, staying makes sense.

If a shoe company presents an opportunity that significantly increases resources, exposure and player development, moving makes sense.

The logo itself shouldn't make the decision.

The opportunity should.

2027 Could Tell Us What Duval Elite Wants to Become

That's what makes this upcoming season so important.

Duval Elite isn't simply choosing a schedule.

It may eventually be choosing its long-term identity.

Does Coach O want to build one of the strongest independent girls basketball brands in Florida?

Does she see Duval Elite becoming one of the cornerstone programs inside Power 24?

Or does the next phase involve joining one of the major shoe-company ecosystems?

Those decisions can shape a program for years.

The Best Position Is Having Options

For Coach O, this is a good problem.

Duval Elite doesn't have to chase relevance.

It has built enough of its own that people are beginning to pay attention.

And in grassroots basketball, attention creates opportunity.

The 2027 season could bring a change.

It could also bring the decision to stay exactly where they are.

Either way, the important part is that Duval Elite is increasingly in a position to choose.

From a former Division I college coach building relationships with players in Jacksonville to a program competing nationally and developing multiple age groups, Coach O has created something with value.

Now comes the next decision.

Stay independent and continue the Power 24 climb?

Strengthen the Select Events relationship?

Or make the jump if the right shoe-circuit opportunity arrives?

Duval Elite has not publicly announced a change.

But heading toward 2027, don't be surprised if Coach O and Duval Elite become one of the more interesting programs to watch in the girls grassroots basketball offseason.

Because sometimes the biggest sign that a program has arrived isn't the circuit it plays on.

It's having multiple places that want it.