Rankings update: Who are the best available 2022s?

The past 12 months have been anything but normal when it comes to the recruitment of college basketball players. With the NCAA granting seniors an extra season, and athletes having the unprecedented opportunity to transfer without sitting out a year, things are very, very different for incoming seniors in Minnesota’s Class of 2022. It is becoming clear that there will be far fewer spots available this year at the Division 1 level than there have been in previous seasons – perhaps 19 or 20 versus more than 30 in the class of 2021. The situation has amplified the urgency to make college decisions sooner rather than later, and that’s exactly what the 2022s have been doing. A recent flurry of announcements has raised the number of Division 1 commitments to 17 – 7 at the high-major level and 10 at mid-major. Among those making their choice public in recent days is #3 [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] of Hopkins (Minnesota), #8 [player_tooltip player_id="12727" first="Kiani" last="Lockett"] of Minnetonka (Creighton), #14 [player_tooltip player_id="30174" first="Lily" last="Fandre"] of Eagan (Lehigh), #19 [player_tooltip player_id="57928" first="Amber" last="Scalia"] of Stillwater (St. Thomas), and #20 [player_tooltip player_id="30162" first="Mikayla" last="Aumer"] of Cambridge-Isanti (North Dakota). As of this week a total of 18 players have made public verbal commitments at the D2 level. Recent announcements include #26 [player_tooltip player_id="57917" first="Ally" last="Schultz"] of Lakeville South (Concordia-St. Paul), #27 [player_tooltip player_id="30146" first="Maddie" last="James"] of Princeton (Mary), and #29 [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] of Lake City (MSU-Mankato). With all of these great prospects now off the board, who are the top 2022s still available? Here are some to consider. For ease of scouting we have organized them by AAU team. <strong>FBC Real 2022</strong> If you are looking for top-shelf talent FBC Real might be a good place to start. The team boasts the most-recruited player in Minnesota in this class,  #1-ranked [player_tooltip player_id="12712" first="Maya" last="Nnaji"]. Now that she has announced her commitment to Arizona, the team still has four top-25 prospects still available, which is more than any other AAU club in the state. The list includes lengthy guard #13 [player_tooltip player_id="12747" first="Savannah" last="White"] and sharpshooter #25 [player_tooltip player_id="12736" first="Sydney" last="Runsewe"] of DeLaSalle along with a pair of talented guards from St. Paul Como Park in #17 [player_tooltip player_id="57914" first="Ronnie" last="Porter"] and #23 [player_tooltip player_id="57908" first="Kaylynn" last="Asberry"]. Also available is forward [player_tooltip player_id="109167" first="London" last="Salberg-Thornton"], a top-100 prospect from Hopkins. London has always played on very deep teams, both in AAU and in high school, so her assets have often been overshadowed, but the big forward is strong, skilled and experienced. FBC is no stranger to producing top talent. Their 2021 team had Nebraska commit [player_tooltip player_id="2100" first="Kendall" last="Coley"], Wisconsin recruit [player_tooltip player_id="109753" first="Sacia" last="Vanderpool"] and NIACC commit [player_tooltip player_id="109760" first="Takara" last="Mason"]. <strong>Metro Stars 2022 3SSB</strong> The 2020 AAU state champions are loaded, although many of their top players aren’t part of the 2022 class, including 2023s [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"], [player_tooltip player_id="108348" first="Nunu" last="Agara"], and [player_tooltip player_id="108320" first="Kelly" last="Boyle"] of Hopkins, plus [player_tooltip player_id="108308" first="Savanna" last="Jones"] of Eden Prairie. 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id="178269" first="Liv" last="McGill"] and 2025 forward/wing [player_tooltip player_id="252387" first="Aaliyah" last="Crump"] are also from Hopkins. Battle and Aumer are both Metro Stars, as well, but with them off the board that leaves #21 [player_tooltip player_id="57915" first="Alayna" last="Contreras"] of Hopkins as the best available prospect along with #38 [player_tooltip player_id="109140" first="Ari" last="Gordon"] of Maple Grove. <strong>Minnesota Fury 2022 UAA</strong> Six players from the Fury have already made Division 1 commitments: #4 [player_tooltip player_id="12714" first="Mallory" last="Heyer"] (Minnesota), #6 [player_tooltip player_id="12722" first="Lilly" last="Meister"] (Indiana), #7 [player_tooltip player_id="12720" first="Callin" last="Hake"] (Nebraska), #11 [player_tooltip player_id="12718" first="Ellie" last="Buzzelle"] (Grand Canyon), #18 [player_tooltip player_id="30143" first="Katie" last="Hurt"] (Lehigh) and #19 [player_tooltip player_id="57928" first="Amber" last="Scalia"] (St. Thomas). The four remaining players also deserve serious scholarship consideration. #16 [player_tooltip player_id="147443" first="Lizzie" last="Holder"] of Stillwater offers length and athleticism, #31 [player_tooltip player_id="109124" first="Emma" last="Miller"] of St. Michael-Albertville is one of the quickest players in the state, #34 [player_tooltip player_id="12749" first="Champ" last="Danso"] delivers a big presence on the inside, and #47 [player_tooltip player_id="109127" first="Nicole" last="Bowlin"] is one of the state’s premier passers. These Fury players are battle-tested, with a long history of winning under pressure and a solid commitment to playing team basketball. <strong>North Tartan EYBL</strong> North Tartan’s top juniors captured an AAU State Championship, which is not surprising given the strength of their roster. Every Minnesota senior-to-be on the squad has already made a college commitment. That would include #2 [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] and #5 [player_tooltip player_id="12732" first="Nia" last="Holloway"] to Minnesota, #8 [player_tooltip player_id="12727" first="Kiani" last="Lockett"] to Creighton, #9 [player_tooltip player_id="30148" first="Ellie" last="Colbeck"] and #12 [player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] to South Dakota State, #14 [player_tooltip player_id="30174" first="Lily" last="Fandre"] to Lehigh, and #36 [player_tooltip player_id="57921" first="Lilly" last="Nuytten"] to MSU-Mankato. #22 [player_tooltip player_id="57945" first="Britt" last="Carlson"] committed to Texas Tech for volleyball. <strong>Minnesota Stars Nilsen</strong> The Stars have had six college commitments to date: Division 1 signee #10 [player_tooltip player_id="57907" first="Desiree" last="Ware"] of Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmington) along with D2 commits #24 [player_tooltip player_id="109139" first="Mackenzie" last="Schweim"] (MSU-Mankato), #26 [player_tooltip player_id="57917" first="Ally" last="Schultz"] (Concordia-St. Paul), #27 [player_tooltip player_id="30146" first="Maddie" last="James"] (Mary),  #30 [player_tooltip player_id="30163" first="Adeline" last="Kent"] (Tampa) and #35 [player_tooltip player_id="30159" first="Ella" last="Campbell"] (Concordia-St. Paul). That leaves #15 [player_tooltip player_id="109122" first="Lexi" last="Karge"] (Mankato East), #28 [player_tooltip player_id="109132" first="Tayah" last="Leenderts"] (Rosemount), #41 [player_tooltip player_id="109145" first="Hannah" last="Herzig"] (Totino-Grace) and #52 [player_tooltip player_id="57929" first="Jocelyn" last="Plonski"] (Eagan), who is still recovering from a torn ACL. <em>(*6/26 update [player_tooltip player_id="109132" first="Tayah" last="Leenderts"] committed to Sioux Falls.)</em> <strong>North Tartan Elite</strong> North Tartan’s so-called “second team” has a history of graduating quality players – former Minnesota Miss Basketball and current Bradley standout <strong>Gabi Haack</strong>, for example – and this year’s group has very good prospects, too. The only player to commit so far is #33 [player_tooltip player_id="109125" first="CJ" last="Adamson"] of Rochester Lourdes, who verballed to Augustana. Two of the best prospects returned this past weekend at the Summer Jam after being out since last summer with ACL injuries. #32 [player_tooltip player_id="12745" first="Myra" last="Moorjani"] of Eden Prairie and #40 [player_tooltip player_id="109134" first="Charita" last="Lewis"] of Minnehaha Academy. Others to consider would include forward #55 [player_tooltip player_id="109153" first="Mya" last="Shones"] of Lake City, forward #60 [player_tooltip player_id="109128" first="Telia" last="Graham"] of Minnehaha Academy, and guard [player_tooltip player_id="109162" first="Lauren" last="Feddema"] of Buffalo, ranked #69 and holding D2 offers. <strong>Minnesota Fury Premier</strong> This edition of the Fury has had two commitments to date: #39 [player_tooltip player_id="109141" first="Kassie" last="Caron"] of Holy Angels has verballed to Missouri Western while #58 [player_tooltip player_id="109171" first="Zoie" last="Centers"] of Mahtomedi has signed on with Southwest Minnesota State. Both #71 [player_tooltip player_id="147458" first="Kyla" last="Overskei"] of Maple Grove and #73 [player_tooltip player_id="147445" first="Rose" last="Wille"] of Farmington are drawing plenty of interest. We think [player_tooltip player_id="109158" first="Greta" last="Krieger"] of Forest Lake is a player to be seen, along with 6’6 center [player_tooltip player_id="109166" first="Jessica" last="Heir"] of Chaska, who could be a classic late blooming big. <strong>Minnesota Stars Bjorgaard</strong> Three players from Chris Bjorgaard’s squad have already signed on the dotted line, a group that includes #37 [player_tooltip player_id="109148" first="Audrey" last="Swanson"] of Waconia (Southwest Minnesota State), #42 [player_tooltip player_id="109135" first="Ava" last="Stier"] of Waconia (MSU-Mankato) and #51 [player_tooltip player_id="57936" first="Kaila" last="Youngs"] of Orono (MSU-Moorhead). A pair of scholarship-level prospects are still available in #45 [player_tooltip player_id="109138" first="Leah" last="Dengerud"] of Totino-Grace and #64 [player_tooltip player_id="223912" first="Jenny" last="Ntambwe"] of Coon Rapids. Two more quality players still on the table are #84 [player_tooltip player_id="223913" first="Taryn" last="Frazer"] of Cass Lake-Bena and #86 [player_tooltip player_id="109182" first="Camille" last="Cummings"] of Centennial. <strong>43 Hoops Elite</strong> Forward [player_tooltip player_id="147451" first="Nevaeh" last="Hughes"] of White Bear Lake, ranked #61, recently made a Division 1 commitment to Canisius College in Buffalo NY while guard Mikaela Counce (#57) of Champlin Park verballed to Livingstone College in North Carolina. Coach Liv Antilla’s team has some really nice college prospects still available. That would include top-50 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="109126" first="Dorothy" last="Stotts"] (#46), a tough-as-nails point guard from Edina, along with high-motor forward [player_tooltip player_id="30186" first="Cloey" last="Dmytruk"] (#65) of St. Paul Como Park, crafty guard [player_tooltip player_id="109155" first="Alicia" last="Bates"] (#79) of Champlin Park, and giant post [player_tooltip player_id="109203" first="Lily" last="Niebuhr"] (#95) of Chaska. <strong>Other available AAU players to ponder</strong> <ul> <li>#44 [player_tooltip player_id="109144" first="Paige" last="Peaslee"] – forward, Minnesota Heat (North Branch)</li> <li>#49 [player_tooltip player_id="57930" first="Amelia" last="Valentino"] – guard, Metro Stars Voight (Champlin Park)</li> <li>#50 [player_tooltip player_id="109130" first="Selam" last="Maher"] – guard, Suns Blue Star (Hopkins)</li> <li>#54 [player_tooltip player_id="109142" first="Lilly" last="Meincke"] – guard, Wisconsin Playmakers (Lake City)</li> <li>#59 [player_tooltip player_id="109163" first="Taya" last="Jeffrey"] – guard, Southern Minn. Fury (Albert Lea)</li> <li>#62 [player_tooltip player_id="109137" first="Tori" last="Ratz"] – guard, Minnesota Rise (Fergus Falls)</li> <li>#63 [player_tooltip player_id="147450" first="Grace" last="Massaquoi"] – forward, MN Diamond Elite (Holy Angels)</li> <li>#70 [player_tooltip player_id="57963" first="Maria" last="Counts"] – forward, Metro Stars Voight (Providence Academy)</li> <li>#72 [player_tooltip player_id="147457" first="Kora" last="Forsline"] – forward, Playmakers (Mesabi East)</li> </ul>