Updating the college commitments on National Signing Day

There are plenty of big days for players who are trying to carve a path to college basketball, but some are bigger than others. Even in the midst of a global pandemic and so much uncertainty about the high school season ahead, some ceremonial milestones are still taking place including the pomp and circumstance of National Signing Day. Wednesday marked the first day that athletes could sign their binding letters of intent to play college basketball and other sports. We tend to focus on verbal commitments, but signing your name on the dotted line makes it official. I was at Roseville High School early Wednesday to celebrate with , a St. Paul product and Prep Girls Hoops Top 10 prospect who has committed to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. I have known Tamia since she was in the 6th grade. She played travel ball with my daughter Ally, and later they were teammates at Highland Park High School. I’m happy when any kid achieves their goals, but Tamia’s journey is special. As the daughter of an East African refugee who has worked extremely hard to build a life for her children in this country, Tamia’s story is the American Dream personified. Never mind the basketball, when she walks across the stage in 2025 with a college diploma we’ll all smile widely. I'm proud to be part of the circle of people that has helped her get to this point.

Becker teammates [player_tooltip player_id="2122" first="Julia" last="Bengtson"] (Eastern Illinois) and [player_tooltip player_id="29532" first="Megan" last="Gamble"] (Concordia-St. Paul) signed NLIs.

With so many kids putting pen to paper today it seems like a logical time to update our college commitments list. When we last offered up an update at the end of July there had been 40 commitments made public. Today that number has more than doubled and is headed north of 90. Just this morning there were two more as Coon Rapids teammates (Bemidji State) and (Gustavus) announced their choices. Since our last update, eight more players have committed at the Division I level. That brings the current total to 32, including nine players signing with high-major programs. That compares to 20 total DI kids in the class of 2020. Since July another 15 players have announced their intentions to play DII basketball, bringing the total to 30. In addition, we know of six NAIA commitments, five to junior colleges and more than 20 to Division III programs. Here are the DI and DII additions since our last update: DIVISION I

Ashlynn Bigelow Ashlynn Bigelow 5'9" | G Kasson-Mantorville | 2021 MN – guard, Kasson-Mantorville (Army)
Gionna Carr Gionna Carr 5'9" | CG Stillwater | 2021 State MN – guard, Stillwater (Tennessee State)
Ivory Finley Ivory Finley 5'8" | CG Rosemount | 2021 State MN – guard, Rosemount (UMass-Lowell)
Sophie Haydon Sophie Haydon 6'2" | PF Minnetonka | 2021 State MN – forward, Minnetonka (George Washington)
Jade Hill Jade Hill 5'8" | PG Mpls. South | 2021 State MN – guard, Minneapolis South (St. Thomas)
Paige Kindseth Paige Kindseth 5'10" | CG Farmington | 2021 State MN – guard, Farmington (Presbyterian)
Erika Lane Erika Lane 5'8" | CG Brainerd | 2021 State MN – guard, Brainerd (North Dakota)
Macy Smith Macy Smith 5'10" | CG Spring Lake Park | 2021 State MN – guard, Spring Lake Park (Cal State-Northridge)

DIVISION II

Faith Alberts Faith Alberts 6'0" | PF Parkers Prairie | 2021 State MN – forward, Parkers Prairie (Concordia-St. Paul)
Destinee Bursch Destinee Bursch 5'9" | CG Eden Prairie | 2021 State MN – guard, Eden Prairie (MSU-Mankato)
Maya Fitzpatrick Maya Fitzpatrick 5'10" | SG Champlin Park | 2021 State MN – guard, Champlin Park (Wayne State)
Megan Gamble Megan Gamble 5'10" | SF Becker | 2021 State MN – forward, Becker (Concordia-St. Paul)
Ella Giorgi Ella Giorgi 6'2" | PF Coon Rapids | 2021 State MN – forward, Coon Rapids (Bemidji State)
Natalie Holte Natalie Holte 5'6" | PG Shakopee | 2021 State MN – guard, Shakopee (Black Hills State)
Mackenzie Jones – forward, Willmar (Southwest Minn. State)
Alissa Knight Alissa Knight 5'11" | F Belgrade-Bruton-Elrosa | 2021 MN – forward, Belgrade-Bruton-Elrosa (MSU-Moorhead)
Morgan Krumwiede Morgan Krumwiede 5'10" | SF Burnsville | 2021 State MN – forward, Burnsville (MSU-Mankato)
Katie Leisen Katie Leisen 5'11" | SF Eden Prairie | 2021 State MN – forward, Eden Prairie (Augustana)
Lily Peterson Lily Peterson 5'4" | PG Crosby-Ironton | 2021 State MN – guard, Crosby-Ironton (South Dakota Mines)
Marissa Radtke Marissa Radtke 5'6" | SG Lester Prairie | 2021 State MN – guard, Lester Prairie (Northern State)
Elly Schmitz Elly Schmitz 5'11" | SF Hermantown | 2021 State MN – forward, Hermantown (Sioux Falls)
Gina Stefferud Gina Stefferud 5'10" | PF Champlin Park | 2021 State MN – forward, Champlin Park (Minot State)
Caela Tighe Caela Tighe 6'0" | SF Big Lake | 2021 State MN – wing, Big Lake (Concordia-St. Paul)

There are just five players in the current Top 50 rankings for the Class of 2021 who have yet to announce a commitment. The most promising of these would be top-20 forward of Holy Angels, who is the highest-ranked prospect still on the board. We have yet to see an announcement from forwards of Robbinsdale Cooper, of Minnetonka or of Edina. of Hill-Murray has made a verbal commitment and is expected to make her choice public shortly. Juniors & Sophomores Echoing a trend we are seeing all around the country, the Class of 2022 seems eager to make early commitments this year. That’s not surprising given the NCAA’s decision to grant current players an additional year of eligibility along with the general uncertainty in the country right now. As a result we have seen six elite prospects from Minnesota’s junior class announce their choices already and more are getting close to a decision announcement. These are the committed 2022s:

#4 Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN – forward, Chaska (Fury 2022 UAA) to Minnesota
#5 Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN – forward, Eden Prairie (North Tartan EYBL) to Minnesota
#7 Ellie Buzzelle Ellie Buzzelle 5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022 State #60 Nation MN – guard, Rogers (Fury 2022 UAA) to Grand Canyon
#8 Callin Hake Callin Hake 5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022 State #64 Nation MN – guard, Chanhassen (Fury 2022 UAA) to Nebraska
#10 Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN – guard, Minnetonka (Stars 2022 Nilsen) to Alabama-Birmingham
#14 Ellie Colbeck Ellie Colbeck 5'9" | PG Fergus Falls | 2022 State MN – guard, Fergus Falls (North Tartan EYBL) to South Dakota State

In addition, twin sisters and of Hawley (ND Flight) have verballed to Division II Montana State-Billings, and we had our first commitment this past week from the Class of 2023. That would be guard of Grand Rapids (Minnesota Stars Hersch), who will join her sister at North Dakota State. Did we miss someone you know? Our commitments list is based on player announcements via social media, as well information from college and high school coaches. We may have missed a few. If you know of a player who has made a college commitment please send me a direct message via Twitter (@gmachoops) or email (gmachoops@gmail.com) and we will add them to our lists. Top photo: Tamia Ugass Tamia Ugass 6'3" | C Roseville | 2021 State MN of Roseville (left) with her mom Khali.