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There once was a time during elite guard Bella Flemings’ AAU career where SA Finest founder, head coach and program director Ray Caldwell would pause practice to give her notes on her ball-handling skills.

“I always used to stop practice and say, ‘Bella, you need to get more shifty,’” Caldwell told the Herald-Leader. “And she’s bought in. She’s been so highly recruited and heralded since a young age where she doesn’t have to be coachable like a lot of these young women, but she embraces the coaching.”

Flemings, now the No. 11 national prospect in the class of 2026, spent — and still spends — a considerable amount of time focusing on her handle, practicing 20-30 minutes a day with her trainer and putting the work in at the gym with her younger sisters.

The 6-foot combo guard, who Caldwell called the “vocal leader” of San Antonio, Texas-based SA Finest, is always looking for ways to improve her game. Whether it be listening to what Division I coaches want to see, or taking the opportunity to help run De’Aaron Fox’s youth camp in Sacramento, Flemings understands the value of learning wherever she can.

At last weekend’s Girls’ Under Armour Association Session II showcase, Flemings demonstrated in front of a crowded NCAA coaches’ section that included Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks and associate head coach Lindsey Hicks why she’s every bit deserving of the hype that’s followed her for years now.

When watching Flemings — who eclipsed 1,000 career points as a sophomore at Brennan High School (San Antonio) in February — the first thing that stands out is how well she shoots the ball. Against top competition, with an audience of esteemed coaches, in transition, from all over the court, Flemings is always prepared to hit big shots. Caldwell said Flemings’ shooting, combined with her size and strength, will continue to bring her success as her career progresses.

“It translates to every level, every conference,” Caldwell said. “Bella can shoot the ball from the volleyball line.”

A sharpshooter no doubt, but it mattered to Flemings that she expanded past a great jump shot; her offensive bag is anything but limited.

“I’ve been trying to get to the rim more to get to the free-throw line,” Flemings said. “Because that’s what separates me. I feel like most people that are shooters, they just shoot. I can score from all three levels.”

Defensively, Flemings makes a concerted effort to communicate — a pillar of SA Finest culture, which has also produced players like 2022 WNBA Draft lottery pick NaLyssa Smith (Indiana Fever), Duke junior Ashlon Jackson and Virginia Tech redshirt sophomore Carleigh Wenzel. Flemings said her goal is always to fly around and get rebounds and deflections, talk a lot and “do anything I can do to get extra plays.”

Caldwell said Flemings made it a goal to become an effective defender around the floor, knowing that standard is expected at the next level.

“She’s really taken it upon herself to really try to guard multiple positions,” Caldwell said. “Which is some feedback some college coaches gave her, is ‘can you guard multiple positions, multiple sides of the floor in multiple possessions?’ She does. She’s bought in, and I’m very, very proud of her right now.”

SA Finest’s social media posted that Flemings, who holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina and Oregon, among others, received a UK offer near the end of June. Flemings said she spoke on the phone with Brooks, “just talking,” about a variety of things, including how he loved her game. When asked about what stood out about Brooks, Flemings spoke to representation in coaching.

“I feel like there’s not a lot of Black head coaches,” Flemings said. “I feel like that’s something that stands out to me the most.”

Flemings, one of five siblings, is very close with her family. All of her siblings play basketball, including 2025 five-star point guard Kingston, who is rated as the No. 21 national boys prospect in the class of 2025 (No. 1 in Texas, No. 4 point guard) by the 247Sports Composite. In terms of what she’s looking for in a college program, Flemings hopes to find a school that prioritizes a culture of family.

“I have a really big family, so a family feel,” Flemings said. “That’s the most important thing to me. A family feel and having a good relationship with the whole coaching staff, and also seeing how I fit into the style of play.”

Flemings has visited a few schools in her home state, but plans to be “taking my visits next year when (Kingston’s) already gone.”

This year has already been busy for Flemings, who’s wrapping up her third season playing with SA Finest’s 17U team. She helped Brennan to a 32-3 record and a Texas 6A state semifinal appearance while averaging 16.3 points on 40% shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game en route to being named a Naismith Girls’ High School Underclassmen All-America Honorable Mention.

She participated in WNBA All-Star and Olympian Breanna Stewart’s inaugural Stewie 30 Elite Camp in March, and served as a coach at the annual De’Aaron Fox Basketball Camp in June.

Fox, who is married to Caldwell’s daughter Recee, invited Flemings and fellow Texas stars Jacy Abii (No. 3 in 2026) and SA Finest teammate LA Sneed (No. 26 in 2025) to help run the camp and work out with himself and Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks.

“We have three 25 top players here that are helping run the camp,” Fox, the former University of Kentucky star and Texas native, told media at the event. “... They’re in the same position that my wife was in, that her sister was in, and I kind of just wanted them to be able to obviously get their face out here, and obviously we see the new surge in women’s basketball in the media that I guess is covering it now.”

Caldwell said Flemings, the daughter of Shayla, a nurse, and Dee, a firefighter, has a “servant spirit.”

“She donates her time to causes like Habitat for Humanity,” Caldwell said. “We had a player named Rian Forestier, who’s over at USC, who provides shoes to underprivileged kids. Bella uses her influence in that community (around San Antonio) to help generate funds, so those kids in underprivileged communities can have basketball shoes and get introduced to this terrific game. That’s what she’s always done.”

That being said, helping out at the camp and working with kids on the sport she loves was right in Flemings’ wheelhouse.

“(Recee) wanted me and LA to go out there to coach, get exposure,” Flemings said. “We got to work out with De’Aaron. We got to coach, LA was a ref. I actually love coaching. I love connecting with little kids, it was amazing.”

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