AAU All Stars: Class of 2021 selections & MVP Paige Meyer

I remember the first time I saw [player_tooltip player_id="109739" first="Paige" last="Meyer"] play, and as I stood slack-jawed at the end of the court at Bloomington Kennedy Activity Center the only word I could manage to muster at that moment was ‘Wow!’ Over and over I said it, out loud and to myself, and we have been wowed ever since by the 5’6 point guard from Albany and Minnesota Comets Elite. Paige has had some terrific summers and she capped it off this season with another series of stellar performances on behalf of the Comets. For these efforts we are pleased to name the South Dakota State University commit as our AAU Class of 2021 Most Valuable Player. Over the years we have watched the Comets Elite squad evolve into an impressive machine. Built around Meyer and Becker combo guard [player_tooltip player_id="2122" first="Julia" last="Bengtson"] (Eastern Illinois), coach Matt Hoelscher’s team has a slew of next-level performers from Becker, including [player_tooltip player_id="29532" first="Megan" last="Gamble"] (Concordia-St. Paul), [player_tooltip player_id="109774" first="Courtney" last="Nuest"], and [player_tooltip player_id="109797" first="Alayna" last="Lindquist"]. This year they added [player_tooltip player_id="109747" first="Faith" last="Alberts"] of Parker’s Prairie and [player_tooltip player_id="109768" first="Annika" last="Richardson"] of Northfield to the mix. On a couple of weekends, however, Nuest and Bengtson were absent and the Comets had to compete with just six players. One of those six was Meyer, the #14-ranked player in the class of 2021, and she carried the mail as she usually does. Meyer is super-skilled and very intelligent, but it is her grit and physicality and will to win that really stands out. Paige has overcome the doubters, silenced the critics, carried her high school team to the state tournament and been the key player in countless AAU victories. It has been a pleasure watching her compete and we have enjoyed every minute of it. <strong>2021 ALL STAR TEAMS</strong> For this summer season we have chosen first, second and third all-star teams and added a fourth unit of honorable mentions. The selections are based on the player’s graduation year, not the level they played at in 2020. That’s why you won’t find such standout performers as [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] (St. Michael-Albertville) and [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] (Wayzata) of North Tartan, or [player_tooltip player_id="12727" first="Kiani" last="Lockett"] (Minnetonka) of FBC North, included in the 2021 selections. They’ll show up among the members of their own graduating classes. We have also eliminated players not from Minnesota, which leaves out <strong>Maty Wilke</strong> (Wisconsin), <strong>Haleigh Timmer</strong> (South Dakota) and <strong>Logan Nissley</strong> (North Dakota) of North Tartan. Congrats to all of the selections! <strong>FIRST TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109739" first="Paige" last="Meyer"] – Comets 2021 Elite (Albany) (South Dakota State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109738" first="Alexis" last="Pratt"] – Fury 2021 UAA (Stillwater) (Omaha)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="13045" first="Sophie" last="Hart"] – Fury 2021 UAA (Farmington) (North Carolina State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57081" first="Jordyn" last="Lamker"] – Stars 2021 Hersch (Maple Grove) (St. Thomas)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="6431" first="Anna" last="Miller"] – North Tartan 2021 (Rochester Mayo) (Drake)</li> </ul> <strong>SECOND TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="2098" first="Katie" last="Borowicz"] – Stars 2021 Hersch (Roseau) (Minnesota)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="2100" first="Kendall" last="Coley"] – FBC North 2021 (St. Louis Park) (Nebraska)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="2126" first="Gianna" last="Kneepkens"] – Fury 2021 UAA (Duluth Marshall) (Utah)</li> <li><strong>Ashlyn Bigelow</strong> – Southern Minnesota Fury (Kasson-Mantorville)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109802" first="Briana" last="Stoltzman"] – Rise 2021 Wolfe (Mankato West) (Southwest Minnesota State)</li> </ul> <strong>THIRD TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109735" first="Jade" last="Hill"] – Fury 2021 UAA (Minneapolis South)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="29547" first="Ivory" last="Finley"] – 43 Hoops Johnson (Rosemount) (UMASS-Lowell)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109748" first="Ivane" last="Tensaie"] – North Tartan Elite (Concordia Academy)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="29532" first="Megan" last="Gamble"] – Comets 2021 Elite (Becker) (Concordia-St. Paul)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57110" first="Morgan" last="Krumwiede"] – Fury 2021 Yellow (Burnsville) (MSU-Mankato)</li> </ul> <strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109765" first="Morgan" last="Kelly"] – Rise 2021 Wolfe (St. Peter) (Gustavus)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="130031" first="Macy" last="Smith"] – Fury 2021 Yellow (Spring Lake Park)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109737" first="Tamia" last="Ugass"] – Stars 2021 Hersch (Roseville) (Louisiana State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109756" first="Peyton" last="Blandin"] – North Tartan 2021 Elite (Farmington) (Southwest Minnesota State)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109752" first="Miah" last="Monahan"] – Fury 2021 UAA (Glencoe-Silver Lake) (Eastern Illinois)</li> </ul> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Top photo: Comets 2021 Elite was led by South Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id="109739" first="Paige" last="Meyer"] (#21, bottom right) of Albany.</em></span>