Jeff Walz Louisville vs. Ole Miss Sweet 16, 3-24-2023 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

Imari Berry Signs With Cards

Mark BlankenbakerApril 23, 2024

University of Louisville head coach Jeff Walz and his staff continue to add to the incoming freshman class and they received another top-notch commitment in guard Imari Berry. The Clarksville, Tenn. native originally committed to Clemson in the fall and ended up choosing the Cardinals over Kentucky and North Carolina after re-opening her commitment in March.

“We are thrilled to add Imari to our outstanding recruiting class,” said Walz. “She has worked tirelessly on her craft and brings a flair to the game with her innate ability to share the basketball as well as score at all three levels. Her finishing package is electric and the best compliment I can give her is that she elevates the performance of her teammates around her.”

Berry is a five-star prospect ranked No. 19 overall and is the highest-ranked player from the state of Tennessee by espnW HoopGurlz. Berry joins a class that has three other players ranked in the Top-100 by ESPN. She joins Mackenly Randolph (No. 23 overall), Tajianna Roberts (No. 24 overall) and Izela Arenas (No. 88 overall).

Berry joined Mackenly Randolph being named a McDonald’s All-American in January and played in the All-American game in Houston this past month. Berry is the 18th McDonald’s All-American signed by Walz during his tenure at Louisville. This is the first time since the 2020 recruiting class that the Cardinals had two or more McDonald’s All-Americans in the same class.

Berry had an illustrious high school career at Clarksville High School and it was capped by being named Tennessee Class 4A Ms. Basketball during her senior season. Berry was the first ever player from Clarksville to win the award. She was a finalist for the award during her sophomore and junior seasons. Berry was also named the Tennessee Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year.

In her senior season at Clarksville, she led the Wildcats to an undefeated regular season and the second-straight trip to the Class 4-A TSSAA state tournament. Berry averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 steals, and 2.8 assists as a senior.

In her junior year, she averaged 26.1 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals per game. She set a school record for a single-season points total (836) and was named The Leaf-Chronicle girls basketball player of the year. She guided Clarksville to a 27-5 record and a trip to the Class 4-A TSSAA state tournament, the first appearance for the school since 2017.

Berry joins a class that already contains Randolph, Arenas, Roberts, Anaya Hardy and Isla Juffermans.