Mid-majors flock to Minnesota with scholarships in hand

I was sitting next to a new Division I mid-major coach Sept. 24 at the North Tartan Regional Skills Checkout in Chaska. A refugee from the men's game, he told me it was his first scouting trip to Minnesota. "I heard there are a lot of great kids here," he said. "I found out this morning that it's true." Indeed. North Tartan's showcase last weekend was outstanding. The talent level was high, the intensity was higher. Gerard Coury, Tara Starks and the rest of the coaches were pushing the kids hard, and plenty of college coaches were watching. Certainly there were a number of high Division I prospects present but the D-I talent pool was really deep, too. What the new guy is just figuring out is common knowledge to plenty of mid-major folks, coaches like Glenn Rigney of Division I Lehigh and the folks from Montana State, who are loading up on Minnesota kids. Rigney spends so much time here recruiting North Tartan kids that he should probably rent an apartment. He was on the sidelines again Sunday, looking to lure another high-end Minnesota prospect to Pennsylvania. Lehigh's Minnesota gold rush began in 2016 when top 20 prospect Hanna Hedstrom of Minnetonka signed on. Joining this year's freshmen class is 6'2" center Mariah Sexe of East Ridge. Next fall it will be point guard Megan Walker (#6) of Minnetonka and forward Emma Grothaus (#9) of Mahtomedi. Who will be next? We hear that one of Minnesota's best 2019s has been to Lehigh for a visit recently and she was very, very good on Sunday. Hanson is emerging at St. Michael-Albertville There were a lot of great performances on Sunday. I only saw the 2019s and 2020s because I had this other basketball engagement to get to – game one of the WNBA finals. Among those two classes, the one athlete who really stood out was guard Jadyn Hanson of St. Micheal-Albertville. Hanson has been considered a fine prospect for a long time but has been largely overshadowed at STMA by some really high-profile players like 2017 #1 Rae Johnson, who is now at Iowa State. This just might be her breakout year. Jadyn is ranked #51 in the class of 2019. Last month at the Sweet 16 tournament at St. Ben's, Hanson's performance was outstanding. Last Sunday at the showcase, her impressive play continued. She was aggressive offensively, repeatedly driving to the basket and finishing through contact. She was tenacious on defense, making life difficult for everyone she covered. She showed excellent ball handling skills, was really good one on one, and always plays with plenty of swagger. Jadyn is a fun player to watch, full of energy, and always working. If the new guy from the mid-major was paying attention, he probably made some notes about the dynamic guard from North Tartan. Juniors who impressed on Sunday <ul> <li>Ashley Schindele is a solidly-built 5'11" forward from Kimball and Minnesota Fury Gold. She hit some nice pull-up jumpers and looked really comfortable among Minnesota's elite. Schindele, ranked 80th in the class, has quality skills and is quite versatile. Coaches say she has a high basketball IQ, and she can score from almost anywhere on the court.</li> <li>Megan Baer is a 5'10" forward from Apple Valley (North Tartan 2019 EYBL). She was very physical down low, demonstrated great strength and at times played much bigger than her height. Baer (#99) defends hard and effectively. She has largely relied on her mid-range jumper in the past, but is getting more versatile as her game matures.</li> <li>Frannie Hottinger is a 6'1" forward from Cretin-Derham Hall and North Tartan 2019 EYBL. What can we say about Hottinger that we haven't already said? She has worked her way up the ratings over the past couple of years to #16 in the class. Frannie is a terrific Division I prospect and her phone is no doubt ringing.</li> <li>Abby Johnson is a 6'1" forward from Eden Prairie and Fury 2019 Blue. Much like Hottinger, Johnson (#22) has shown steady improvement, building on tremendous natural ability. Johnson got off to a slow start on Sunday but kept working her tail off in every drill. By the end of the session, she was among the day's best performers.</li> </ul> Sophomores who caught our eye <ul> <li>Annika Stewart is a 6'3" post from North Dakota who transferred to Wayzata. As if Kallie Theisen, the #1 player in the class of 2019, isn't already a handful for the Trojans' opponents, they will now have to grapple with another high-quality big. Stewart was impressive both inside and outside this summer for the Dakota Drillers. Stewart has outstanding range for a big and is a high-percentage three-point shooter. To be honest, Stewart wasn't quite as impressive Sunday but it's all there and she's only a sophomore. If she makes it to a big-time program, Annika won't be the first in her family to do it. Sister Hannah is a junior at Iowa.</li> <li>A pair of players from Fury 2020 Gold did some nice things, demonstrating plenty of improvement and growing maturity. Kate Burns is 6'1" post from East Ridge who saw limited playing time behind Sexe as a freshman. She has really filled out over the past few months and played a much more physical brand of ball on Sunday. Ranked #80 in the class, Burns will move up the charts if she can continue that trend this winter. Burns' Fury teammate Clarice LeBow of Woodbury is a prospect who has largely been under the radar to date, but on Sunday the 2020 guard looked to have taken her game up a notch or two. Her work ethic is excellent and her versatile skill set is developing nicely. Look for LeBow on the 2020 list when the rankings are updated next spring.</li> <li>5'10" sophomore Zoe Velde (#77) of Pipestone, who played for North Tartan 9 West this summer, had a nice showcase. She runs the Arrows' offense with confidence and poise, usually making the right plays and passes at the right time. She is also a quality perimeter defender. I really liked what I saw.</li> <li>From the Department of Usual Suspects, Alyssa Ustby of Rochester Lourdes (#7 in 2020) was impressive as always. Does she ever have a bad day? Not that I've seen.</li> </ul>