Conference Preview: CIML-Iowa

For the next few weeks, we will be touching on each conference in the state. These will include last year’s standings, this year’s projected standings, team breakdown, preseason player of the year, and first and second teams. These articles will be the next 43 in the series of 70 season previews which will take us right into my preseason polls. Tomorrow, I will have the CIML-Metro conference preview. <hr /> 2018-19 Standings Southeast Polk (7-0) Waukee (4-2) Mason City (6-4) Valley (5-5) Marshalltown (1-6) Fort Dodge (1-9) Projected 2019-20 Standings Valley Southeast Polk Waukee Mason City Marshalltown Fort Dodge For some reason, the conference W/L is very messed up on Quik Stats from last year, but regardless I think that Valley takes the crown. Despite losing a high major prospect, they return a ton of talent. The top four teams in this conference will be down this year as it is tough to replace all the talent they lost. I wouldn't be surprised in the least with those four top teams being in any order at the end of the year. I have to pick one, so I am going with Valley because of their depth. You could make an argument for any team in this top spot. Regardless of who wins the conference, the Grace Larkin-Katie Dinnebier-Grace Plummer-Jada Williams battles will be fantastic. Team Breakdowns Valley: While Valley does lose their top two scorers from a year ago, this is a group that will be deeper than most others in the conference. Seniors Alex Honnold and Grace Plummer are going to be key players for this group. Their leadership will be what pushes them to the top. Juniors Hayley Chappell and Anna Bernhard will have to provide more this season and they have two very improved players with senior Maggie Hall and sophomore Meredith Rieker. They have a solid freshman group coming in as well which will magnify their depth. Many think Valley will be down, and while they won't be nearly as good as last season, they are reloading. Southeast Polk: Southeast Polk lost three of their top five scorers from a season ago but do return the top-ranked player in the 2021 class. Junior Grace Larkins scored 20.7 points a game last season and will be back to lead the team once again. Fellow junior Rylie Kruse will also look to push Southeast Polk forward and take some of the scoring off of Larkins. Players such as senior Jessica Stuart, juniors Kadence Williams and Jaycie Elliott, and sophomore Brooke Woodyard are all going to have to step up and play well this season if Southeast Polk wants to run the table again. Waukee: Waukee loses three very key players from a year ago but they have one of the top guard groups in the state. Junior Katie Dinnebier will lead this team this year and she will be 100% healthy a year after scoring 12.9 points a game not at 100%. The twin duo of juniors Lindsey and Peyton Kelderman will be key for Waukee this year. This is a junior heavy group that will also get contributions from Megan Earney, Taryn Reitsma, and sophomores Abigail Jones and Reagan Bartholomew. It will be a guard-heavy group this year for Waukee. Mason City: I don't think Mason City can win the conference but I can see them anywhere from 2-4 at the end of the year. They have a very good senior group with Anna Deets, Jaeda Whitner, Sami Miller , and Ali Rood which will provide them some stability throughout after losing Megan Meyer to Iowa. Jada Williams is going to be a true threat as she comes into her sophomore campaign and I expect big things from these five players. They are going to be able to drill some teams on their schedule with the outside shot and if they are falling, Mason City can beat anyone. Marshalltown: Marshalltown will be better this season but I don't think that they'll be able to reach the tier of the four teams above them. Seniors Erica Johnson and Madi Finch are two players who are going to lead this group. You'll have both of them lead the team night in and night out with scoring the ball. Fellow seniors Gabby Himes and Emma Younkin will provide some much-needed help this year as will junior Kyra Feldman. A ton of seniors makes Marshalltown's season a make or break year if they want to make noise. Fort Dodge: Fort Dodge is a young team and will likely look to contend the next few years. They have talent, just not enough proven talent to contend quite yet this season. Sophomore Tory Bennett and Cheyenne Miller-Hameed are two players who will do the bulk of the scoring once again. These two will be heavily relied on to lead the team while others will pitch in. Juniors Tristin Doster and Jebreauna Clark will bolster the group with leadership while sophomores Jalen Adams and Aleaha Pommer will look to step-up scoring the ball this season. All-CIML-Iowa First Team Anna Deets (Mason City, 5'8 SG, 2020) Deets is going to lead Mason City this upcoming year as a senior. She is a solid two-guard who can shoot it and defend. As a leader, Deets will have a lot of responsibilities but she will certainly be able to handle them. Deets is one of the best shooters in the state. Committed to Western Illinois. Katie Dinnebier (Waukee, 5'7 PG, 2021) Dinnebier was choice 1B for the preseason player of the year. She is going to have a really, really good season this upcoming year and will be among one of the top players in the state regardless of class. She's going to set the tone early and often for this group at Waukee. Committed to Drake. Grace Plummer (Valley, 5'11 SF, 2020) Plummer is a really solid two-way player from the wing. She's a lot more athletic than she seems and has the ability to blow by you on the drive. She can also shoot the ball over you if you give her too much room. She'll have a much bigger role this year for Valley and thrive. Committed to New Jersey Institute of Technology. Alex Honnold (Valley, 5'10 PF, 2020) Honnold is a quiet but very solid post player. She is a very solid rebounder, she's smart with the ball, and she can score on the inside. Last season she was a quiet part of Valley's success but this year I think she'll transform into a true leader and a double-double threat each night. Jada Williams (Mason City, 5'9 PG, 2022) Williams is going to explode onto the scene this upcoming season. She is going to be a huge reason if Mason City ends up winning the conference. She's a very quick guard who can push the pace but also slow it down. One of the top 2022 players in the state, Williams is going to be a stalwart on this list for the next three years. All-CIML-Iowa Second Team Erica Johnson (Marshalltown, 5'7 SF, 2020) Johnson is an underrated player because her high school team isn't very good. She's a high motor wing who likes to play on the inside of the perimeter quite a bit. She's going to be a player that leads Marshalltown this season. They will win as many games and Johnson leads them to. Rylie Kruse (Southeast Polk, 5'10 SF, 2021) Kruse is a very solid wing who is going to get a lot of attention this upcoming season. With Larkins carrying the load, Kruse is going to find herself open quite a bit. One of the top off-the-catch shooters in the state will get a ton of opportunities. Her play this year will be determined by how much she's developed putting the ball on the floor. Meredith Rieker (Valley, 5'10 SG, 2022) Rieker was one of the most surprising players this past year. She's going to be a player who might shoulder a lot of scoring this year if teams look to take away the Honnold/Plummer duo. She's a very good player but might not show that this season statistically. Jaeda Whitner (Mason City, 5'4 PG, 2020) Despite being a small guard, Whitner finds herself on this list. She is a very tough competitor and has a ton of speed to her game. She can score the ball really well for her size and is unafraid to take the ball into the paint. Look for Whitner to have another really good season for Mason City. Lindsey and Peyton Kelderman (Waukee, 5'6 G, 2021) The Kelderman twins are so identical that I had to put both on here. They can both play on or off the ball with great success. Both of them also have the ability to shoot it and defend at an ultra-high level. Look for them to supplement Dinnebier this year and be a very good safety valve. These two also play the game so hard. Preseason Player of the Year Grace Larkins (Southeast Polk, 5'10 SF, 2021) After leading Southeast Polk in scoring last season Larkins is going to do it again. She's going to be the most important player in the conference because of how badly her team needs her. If Southeast Polk didn't have Larkins they would be a team that sits around .500 this year, but with Larkins it's a team that has a chance at 18-20 wins. Look for her to be the most dominating player in the conference. Five Questions For The Year How will the loss of multiple high major players affect each team? Does anyone have the depth to hang with Valley? Does that depth matter, or will a team with a "star" come out on top? Will Marshalltown be able to hang with those top four this season? Who do you think will win the conference? Let me know on <a href="https://x.com/MasonHAsher">Twitter</a>!