Prospect Spotlight: Abby Mackenthun (2019)

It can be difficult to get your name out while playing for a smaller school outside of the metro area. But Norwood Young America’s Abby Mackenthun has done just that with her play throughout her high school career.

At 5’11”, Mackenthun is plenty tall and long for the point guard position. She has good range, and her size allows her to dominate smaller defenders inside. “One of my strengths is being able to turn the corner to get to the rim,” she said. “I also pride myself in my defense getting steals every opportunity I see.” She told Prep Girls Hoops that she has been working on her ball handling, and is focused on procuring a quicker release on her jumper.

Mackenthun spent this past summer playing with the Minnesota Suns on their Curt Kietzer coached 2019 team. Suns Kietzer had a deep roster that included Mackenthun, Navy commit Mimi Schrader (Wayzata), and Abbey McDonald (Hibbing), among others. Mackenthun’s versatility played a major role in the Suns’ success, which included an impressive 5th place finish at the Minnesota AAU State Championship tournament.

“Playing with the Minnesota Suns has been an amazing experience,” Mackenthun said. “I made many new friends and had a lot of fun.”

Looking ahead to this winter, Mackenthun will be asked to do a lot during her senior campaign at Norwood Young America. The Raiders are coming off of a 23-3 season, as well as an appearance in the class AA state semi-final game. But NYA is forced to move on without talented 2018 graduates Bren Fox (UM-Crookston), Kali Grimm (New Hampshire), and Sam Miller. Mackenthun was the 2nd leading scorer on last year’s team, averaging just under 12 PPG. Abby is up to the challenge, and told us she’s looking forward to taking on a bigger leadership role this season.

Norwood Young America’s rich winning tradition makes Mackenthun’s team goals pretty straight-forward. “My fellow seniors and I hope to keep NYA’s seven-year year streak of consecutive conference titles alive…and get back to the state tournament.”

Mackenthun has drawn interest from college coaches across divisions, including a long list of Division 3 schools throughout the Midwest. She’s keeping her options open, but said that she hopes to make her college decision before the basketball season starts. When asked what will ultimately help her make that decision, she said, “I want a school that has strong academics and a good reputation because as of now I am undecided what my major will be. I also want to be able to play on a team that has great teamwork and a good coaching staff.”

Abby Mackenthun is a proven winner that will make a college program very happy next year. But in the meantime Abby and her NYA teammates have unfinished business. Mackenthun and the Raiders will be a team to watch in class AA again this year, and November can’t come soon enough!

Both in-story photos are courtesy of the Star Tribune