- May 28, 2026
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There’s a long line of athletes Amanda Boswell has worked with across 17-plus years in coaching. Along the way, 80 to 90 of them have gone on to the college level, she said.
Some of those names are more recognizable than others. Only one, though, holds distinction as the greatest in Cardinal Mooney girls basketball history.
Kali Barrett is that one.
When Barrett moved to Florida in 2019, Boswell was one of her first coaches on the travel ball circuit. The then-eighth grader soaked up what knowledge she could when they crossed paths.
Barrett eventually helped Cardinal Mooney to the FHSAA Class 3A state title in 2025, and that season, became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,632 points.
For nearly a month, Boswell has served as the Cougars’ new coach, getting familiar with the former stomping grounds of one of her most successful students. She was hired April 30 and represents the program’s first female coach since at least 2005-06, per MaxPreps.
It also marks her first head-coaching role at the high-school level. And it’s not just any run-of-the-mill program she’ll make her debut with.
Cardinal Mooney has set a higher standard than most over the last half-decade.
“I wanted to be with a school where it was about the full picture and not only about one thing — whether academics or athletics,” Boswell said. “Being able to coach high-level girls, develop them and get them ready for the next level of college was really what attracted me most.”
Cardinal Mooney had appeared in five consecutive state title games entering last season, but after losing four of five starters, that streak snapped. The squad lost its most games since 2017-18.
The Cougars barely finished above .500 with a 16-14 record. They failed to win the district 3A-8 title and were ultimately stopped in the 3A-2 regional semifinals.
When 2026-27 gets underway, Boswell will be the Cougars’ third coach in three seasons. Marlon Williams stepped down after 2024-25 and was succeeded by assistant Cortney Sawyer.
Boswell inherits a team which returns its top two scorers in rising senior guards Jayla Griffin and Jadyn Watts, who averaged 15.7 and 14.9 points per game, respectively.
“It’s not only about the talent. I've seen a lot of talented teams lose,” Boswell said. “It's about the discipline (and) it's about the standards that I hold in practice every single day. If we can meet that standard and we can play hard and do all the little things on the court, we will win.”
Alexandria, Virginia, is her hometown. Her love for basketball began there at 6 years old and has only blossomed throughout the decades since.
She eventually competed for Mount Vernon High School and graduated in 2006. As a player, her game was elite enough to earn offers from NCAA Division I programs.
Moving on to the collegiate level was, indeed, her goal — that is, until a career-ending injury prevented her from doing so.
“Through that heartbreak, I went directly into coaching, and I have been coaching ever since,” Boswell said. “It’s a huge, huge part of my life. It's built me into the person I am.”
She moved to Florida at 30 years old and has been heavily involved in travel basketball during the seven years since.
That avenue afforded her the opportunity to work with athletes who have high aspirations in the sport. For a time, it was a gratifying process to be a part of.
But as months turned into years, the travel basketball landscape changed around her. Boswell felt that not enough time was allotted for practice and that too much of an emphasis was put on tournament play.
She found herself attracted to the high school level — an environment that would better suit her style of coaching. Cardinal Mooney had an opening.
“I wanted to be involved with my girls more on a daily basis,” Boswell said. “For high school basketball, we're with them five or six days a week, and that's where I knew that I could impact the girls the most. I didn't just want to show up to tournaments and play a couple of games.”
Two players she won’t be working with are Talia Busser and Charlie Scibelli. The Cougars lost both guards to graduation. Busser, with a third-best 8.7 points per game in 2025-26, was the only remaining piece from the program’s title-winning starting five.
Griffin and Watts, though, are Div. I prospects, having picked up their most recent offers from Florida A&M on May 21 and Lehigh on May 20, respectively.
In consideration of the players she’s losing, the players she’s returning and the players she’s welcoming in, Boswell believes her team will win more than people might expect.
“My goal is to go to states, and we can definitely do that,” Boswell said. “We are going to step out there and really, really surprise some people.”
She’s already taken the time to meet with each of her players. Those meetings gave her the chance to tell them what she’s all about and learn their individual goals.
Next season won’t begin until November, but the Cougars can start summer workouts as early as June 1. That will be the first date they gather together as one.
That’s when the work formally starts for Boswell in the house that Barrett built.
“I’m trying to give them everything I have in my brain and in my heart," Boswell said. "To help them get to whatever their goal is."
