Who were the biggest stock risers at Summer Jam?

All [player_tooltip player_id="109139" first="Mackenzie" last="Schweim"] needed was an opportunity to prove herself against better competition. Isn’t that what AAU basketball is all about? On Sunday, Schweim did exactly that at Summer Jam in Shakopee when the big guard from Mankato East went head-to-head against some of the best players in the state while leading Minnesota Stars Nilsen to an impressive win in the championship game of the top 10th grade division. For that performance, and a weekend of overall excellence, Kenzie leads our list of the Prep Girls Hoops biggest stock risers of the tournament. Over the past few years, during a varsity career that stretches all the way back to the 7th grade, Schweim has proven that she is one of the best prospects in Southern Minnesota. During the summer she plied her trade with Minnesota Nice, which generally plays a modest schedule. Both of those situations laid the groundwork for this summer when Kenzie and her Mankato East teammate [player_tooltip player_id="109122" first="Lexi" last="Karge"] decided to step it up a notch and join the Stars’ top team. The results have been outstanding. Since the AAU season finally commenced in late June, Kenzie has proven that she is a solid Division 1 prospect. On Sunday she took it up another notch as the Stars faced Metro Stars Starks in the 2022 title contest. She went up against [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] of Hopkins, a high major prospect ranked #3 in the class and one of the best guards around. She also guarded big forward [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] of Hopkins, the #3 player in the class of 2023. Schweim proved she could handle the speed, double teams and consistent defensive pressure that the Metro Stars can inflict on ball handlers. Both Battle and Woodson had very good weekends, as well, leading their team to a successful summer season debut, but one possession after another Kenzie made it clear that she could hang with the best. Schweim is an excellent ball handler with a great sense of timing who controls the tempo of the game with her eyes up and head on a swivel. She has plenty of strength and at 5’10 she has the necessary length to compete at a high level. We’ve seen that over the past four years against some pretty good players. Now we have seen it against the best. Currently ranked #28 in the class, it is now clear that Mackenzie is a top-20 prospect. Here are a few other college-bound players who did a nice job of raising their stock at Summer Jam. [player_tooltip player_id="109140" first="Ari" last="Gordon"] – guard, Metro Stars Starks 2022 (Maple Grove) Ari is one of the low-key stars of the 2022 class, but this weekend her play was in the spotlight for the Metro Stars. Tara Starks’ team boasts an array of highbrow players, from the aforementioned Battle and Woodson to [player_tooltip player_id="108348" first="Nunu" last="Agara"], [player_tooltip player_id="57915" first="Alayna" last="Contreras"], [player_tooltip player_id="30162" first="Mikayla" last="Aumer"] and more, but Gordon’s contributions this weekend were every bit as important as the marque attractions. Gordon’s calling card is defense. The 5’9 guard has proved that in high school ball at Maple Grove against top 4A competition. This weekend Ari showed us marked improvement in her offensive game, as well, as she garnered a ton of playing time and delivered at a consistently high level. Gordon is ranked #41 in the class of 2022 and continues to trend in the right direction. [player_tooltip player_id="148342" first="Juliana" last="Ewald"] – guard, Minnesota Stars 2023 Knight (Pillager) Juliana is a compact, 5’5 guard who led her high school team in scoring as a freshman at just under 15 points per game, including a pair of 20+ point performances against talented guards [player_tooltip player_id="57132" first="Lily" last="Peterson"] of Crosby-Ironton and [player_tooltip player_id="109156" first="Natalie" last="Mikrot"] of Moose Lake-Willow River. Stars Knight was in the top 2023 division at Summer Jam where they went 2-2. We watched Juliana on Sunday against North Tartan 2023 Elite, which boasts at least two, perhaps three or more D1 candidates. The Stars dug themselves a hole in that one but it was Ewald who sparked a comeback. She has quick feet, nice handles, is a very good distributor and a terrific outside shooter who recorded 55 threes during the high school season. Ewald goes consistently hard and has a bit of a sharp edge to her game. She is currently ranked #75 in the 2023 class. This weekend she made her case to move up. [player_tooltip player_id="186116" first="Ella" last="Hopkins"] – forward, Southern Minnesota Fury 2023 (Rochester Lourdes) At 6’2 with very long arms and the ability to get up and down the floor at a reasonable pace, it’s not difficult to predict that there is some type of college basketball in the future for Ella. At what level she is able to compete remains to be seen, but based on what we saw at Summer Jam I’d say she’s a strong candidate for a scholarship-level program. Hopkins is currently ranked #79 in the 2023 class and has a game that’s not all that different from 2023 #46 [player_tooltip player_id="108336" first="Audrey" last="Kormann"] of Maple Grove. Ella is a solid shot blocker and disruptive defender whose length is a real weapon. She is a smooth shooter who can consistently knock it down from distance. Ella has definitely made progress in the paint, as well, but has not quite embraced the more physical aspects of the game just yet. That will come. With [player_tooltip player_id="1917" first="Alyssa" last="Ustby"] off to North Carolina the door is about to open wide for Ella to take a big step up. [player_tooltip player_id="147443" first="Lizzie" last="Holder"] – forward, North Tartan 2022 Elite (Stillwater) Much like Hopkins, Holder has been waiting patiently in the wings for the graduation of a strong player ahead of her in [player_tooltip player_id="28784" first="Liza" last="Karlen"], now of Marquette. Except in Lizzie’s case there were three quality bigs occupying the preferred spots in the lineup. Now they have all graduated. Trust us when we tell you that Lizzie’s time has come. The 6’1 forward has already moved up 15 places in the class of 2022 rankings this year to #57. With her high-quality AAU play of late, she will continue to trend in a positive direction. This summer Holder has shown us that she is faster, quicker, more mobile and substantially more athletic than we had been led to believe in her limited varsity appearances. The impact Holder has had for North Tartan is palpable. Matt Pryor’s new squad got off to a slow start, losing its first three games in a row. Now the team has reeled off 13 consecutive victories, capturing titles in its last two tournaments. Holder is a very big reason why. Top photo: Matt Nilsen’s Minnesota Stars captured the top 2022 title at Summer Jam. [player_tooltip player_id="109139" first="Mackenzie" last="Schweim"] (front row, second from left) was among the Stars’ top performers.