2023 rankings update: Meet the 25 newcomers

I have heard her described as a ‘beast’ and a ‘bulldog’ – perhaps ‘bulldozer’ might be apt, as well – but whatever adjectives you want to use to talk about St. Michael-Albertville sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="220824" first="Piper" last="Carlson"] one thing is certain: She is now a legitimate candidate to play college basketball. The big forward from the Metro Stars is also the highest-ranked newcomer in the Prep Girls Hoops 2023 prospect rankings. Carlson has been knocking at the door for some time. Truth be told, we dropped the ball back in June when we failed to include her the last time we updated the rankings, which are a reflection of a player’s potential to play college basketball rather than a rating of their current performance. Piper was on the evaluation list but somehow got left on the cutting room floor. I hate it when that happens, but it does occur from time to time when dealing with more than 600 candidates for inclusion over the four grades Prep Girls Hoops does rankings on. Regardless, the 5’11 Carlson now enters the 2023 chart at #61. As you can probably deduce from the above ‘b’ words, Carlson is a hard-nosed forward who isn’t afraid to take or make contact. Although she’s unlikely to finesse you with a fancy bit of ball handling or blow by you with blinding speed, Piper is going to get to the rim one way or another. She is a terrific rebounder who won’t give up on a play. And her motor? It is never on idle. Carlson has made steady improvements over time and earned the respect of STMA coach Kent Hamre, who loves what she brings to the Knights’ lineup where she is likely to play a big role this year. <img class="alignnone wp-image-221780" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/11/Alex-McGeehan_Ella-Wolff-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="246" /> Piper is one of 25 new players added to the Class of 2023 rankings, but she certainly not the only one who made a sizeable impact this year. In fact, after Carlson, the next-highest rated newcomers this time around first grabbed our attention precisely because of their size, which is always a major factor in making it into the prospect rankings for the first time. Coming in at #74 is 6’2 forward [player_tooltip player_id="220825" first="Alex" last="McGeehan"] (photo left) of Totino-Grace while 6’1 forward [player_tooltip player_id="220826" first="Ella" last="Wolff"] (photo right) of Minnetonka enters the list at #82. Similar to the development pattern we saw from the great [player_tooltip player_id="1712" first="Frannie" last="Hottinger"] – the impressive 2019 power forward from Cretin-Derham Hall who now plays at Lehigh – McGeehan has had a remarkable growth spurt over the past year and is now constructed pretty much the way you'd prototype a college forward. She has a nice frame and long arms, with no shortage of power and strength. Alex is still growing into her body and has a long way to go before you could call her game polished. But the potential? It is vast! The improvement she showed over the summer was palpable, and Alex has only gotten better this fall at showcases and in fall league play. Worst case scenario, McGeehan now projects as a solid D2 candidate. With continued skill development she may end up in the top 50 or higher, the neighborhood where D1 coaches come calling. The selection of Wolff is a long-term play, as well. She, too, is tall but is probably best described as lean and lanky. She hasn’t played a ton of varsity basketball yet and may not get there this winter, either. Ella is in a Skippers program that has some dominant forwards, including 2021 top 50 [player_tooltip player_id="13055" first="Sophie" last="Haydon"], who has committed to George Washington, and 2024 #3 [player_tooltip player_id="178260" first="Emma" last="Dasovich"], who already has D1 offers. In fact Wolff’s body type is very similar to Haydon, and the game she is developing bears a lot of resemblance. Sophie has proved to be a bit of a late bloomer and that may turn out to be the case for Wolff, as well. In other words we might be waiting a good while for Ella’s time in the spotlight but one gets the sense that it will happen eventually. Wolff came out of the MBA program and played this AAU summer with 43 Hoops. Now she is with Fury 2023 Premier where she joins McGeehan, who came over from FBC North. Here is the complete list of newcomers to the 2023 rankings: <ul> <li>#61 – [player_tooltip player_id="220824" first="Piper" last="Carlson"] – 5’11 forward, St. Michael-Albertville (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#74 – [player_tooltip player_id="220825" first="Alex" last="McGeehan"] – 6’2 forward, Totino-Grace (Fury 2023 Premier)</li> <li>#82 – [player_tooltip player_id="220826" first="Ella" last="Wolff"] – 6’1 forward, Minnetonka (Fury 2023 Premier)</li> <li>#84 – [player_tooltip player_id="220827" first="Annika" last="Anderson"] – 5’9 guard, Eden Prairie (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#91 – [player_tooltip player_id="220828" first="Tootie" last="Cade (Lewis)"] – 5’10 forward, Minnetonka (Minnesota Elite)</li> <li>#92 – [player_tooltip player_id="220829" first="Aubrey" last="Akervik"] – 5’11 guard, Byron (Stars DeSart)</li> <li>#97 – [player_tooltip player_id="220830" first="Isa" last="Nelson"] – 5’9 guard, Edina (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#101 – [player_tooltip player_id="220831" first="Paige" last="Klug"] – 5’10 guard, Caledonia (North Tartan SE 2022)</li> <li>#102 – [player_tooltip player_id="220832" first="Jordan" last="Munson"] – 5’8 guard, Tracy Area (Southwest Slam)</li> <li>#103 – [player_tooltip player_id="220833" first="Sonya" last="Potthoff"] – 5’8 guard, Mahtomedi (North Tartan Elite)</li> <li>#107 – [player_tooltip player_id="220834" first="Paige" last="Ford"] – 5’9 guard, Randolph (SM Fury 2023)</li> <li>#110 – [player_tooltip player_id="220835" first="Taylor" last="Hill"] – 5’8 guard, Rochester Mayo (Air Minnesota)</li> <li>#113 – [player_tooltip player_id="220836" first="Julia" last="Wagner"] – 6’0 forward, St. Michael-Albertville (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#114 – [player_tooltip player_id="220837" first="Maraya" last="Wiltrout"] – 6’0 forward, Cambridge-Isanti (MN Comets)</li> <li>#115 – [player_tooltip player_id="220838" first="Evelyn" last="Wiltrout"] – 6’1 forward, Cambridge-Isanti (MN Comets)</li> <li>#116 – [player_tooltip player_id="220839" first="Bryn" last="Nesvold"] – 5’8 guard, New Ulm (MN Rise)</li> <li>#117 – [player_tooltip player_id="220840" first="Saniah" last="Howard-Reynolds"] – 5’5 guard, Columbia Heights (43 Hoops)</li> <li>#118 – [player_tooltip player_id="220841" first="Lauren" last="Rott"] – 6’0 forward, Plainview-Elgin-Millville (North Tartan SE)</li> <li>#119 – [player_tooltip player_id="220842" first="Jordan" last="Anderson"] – 5’11 forward, Buffalo (Comets Elite)</li> <li>#120 – [player_tooltip player_id="220843" first="Avery" last="Templin"] – 5’7 guard, Sartell (Central MN Swish)</li> <li>#121 – [player_tooltip player_id="220844" first="Achsah" last="Dawson"] – 5’10 forward, Maple Grove</li> <li>#122 – [player_tooltip player_id="220845" first="Molly" last="Garber"] – 5’10 forward, Blaine (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#123 – [player_tooltip player_id="220846" first="Mya" last="Morris"] – 5’4 guard, Perham (West Central United)</li> <li>#124 – [player_tooltip player_id="220847" first="Kylie" last="Bamlett"] – 5’11 guard, Eden Prairie (Metro Stars)</li> <li>#125 – [player_tooltip player_id="220848" first="Samantha" last="Paulson"] – 6’0 forward, Zimmerman (Comets Elite)</li> </ul> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="220824" first="Piper" last="Carlson"] of St. Michael-Albertville and the Metro Stars is the highest-ranked newcomer.</em></span> &nbsp;