Powell attended Medford Tech, Trenton Catholic, and the South Kent School for high school, playing at the varsity level all four years of his high school career. He averaged 25 points per game and 3 rebounds per game at South Kent and averaged 17 points as a junior and 18.5 points as a sophomore at Trenton Catholic. Powell played AAU basketball for NJ Playaz under head coach Jimmy Salmon averaging over 18 points. He was also a participant in the Nike EYBL Peach Jam where he averaged 19.8 points. Powell also scored 17 points in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game and was the winner of the 2015 Big Strick Classic 3-point contest. He also participated in the 2016 National High SchoolThree-Point Contest, held in Houston the weekend of the NCAA Final Four.
College career
As a sophomore, he was named to the Big East All-Academic team. He was also named the conference Most Improved Player. In the 2018-19 season, Powell finished second in the Big East Conference in scoring with a 23.1 point average. He had eight games of 30 or better, including a season-high 40 against Grand Canyon and 31 against Providence. After losing 4 seniors from the previous year, Powell was ready to take the reins on his team, saying, “Last year, we rode Angel and I watched Angel go through it. Learning from the seniors and watching what they went through, now it’s on me. I am definitely ready for it. I’m built for it. My coaching staff believes in me and most of all my teammates believe in me.” In one of his most impressive performances, Powell scored 31 points against Big East rival Butler at the Prudential Center on January 9, 2019. After the game, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard joked about Powell's performance, saying “We’ve kept it real simple — get the ball to Myles and get out of the way... That’s a special play call towards the end of the game.” During the season, Powell received national attention as a part of the Wooden Award mid season watch list.. Powell leads the Pirates in scoring At the close of the season, Powell was named first-team All-Big East and won the Haggerty Award as the top college player in the New York City metro area. Entering his senior season, Powell was named a preseason first-team All-American by the Associated Press and was named preseason Big East Player of the Year. In his second game of the season, against Stony Brook, Powell suffered a serious ankle injury. Even though suffering the injury, he proceeded to play in the next game vs. #3 Michigan State and scored a game-high 37 points, though the Pirates fell 76–73. On December 14, Powell suffered a concussion during a loss to Rutgers and was ruled out indefinitely. He returned after missing two games and had 27 points, five rebounds, and five steals in a 74–66 win over DePaul on December 30. On January 15, 2020, Powell scored 29 points in a 78–70 win over fifth-ranked Butler. On January 18, 2020, Powell surpassed the 2,000 point milestone, becoming the fifth player in school history to pass the mark. At the conclusion of the regular season, Powell was selected first-team All-Big East for the second consecutive season. Powell averaged 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. At the close of his senior season, Powell was named Big East Player of the Year and won the Jerry West Award. He also became the Pirates' first consensus first-team All-American since 1953 and became the first player in school history to win the Haggerty Award twice.
