Who knew what would happen? When the NCAA added an extra year of eligibility for all current players due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, college basketball recruiting was thrown into the unknown. We knew it was going to impact the Class of 2022 in a big way, and it has. We just didn’t know how big the impact would be. The trickle down effects are definitely there but it hasn’t been quite as bad as was predicted, at least not in Minnesota. Heading into the school year about 50 Minnesota players give or take have announced their college commitments. That’s pretty good given the circumstances.
The latest commitments came over the weekend when two more kids decided to play junior college ball at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City – Kiera AlbersKieraAlbers
5'3" | PG Maple Grove | 2022StateMN
of Maple Grove and MBA Cordes and Keiara AndersonKeiaraAnderson
5'9" | CG St. Cloud Apollo | 2022StateMN
of St. Cloud Apollo and the Minnesota Comets. Among the 51 players committed there are 19 who verballed to Division 1 programs (including eight high majors), 25 to Division 2 and six to Division 3, NAIA or junior college schools. There was one more D1 commit, but Nevaeh HughesNevaehHughes
6'1" | SF White Bear Lake | 2022StateMN
of White Bear Lake (43 Hoops) reopened her recruiting following a coaching change at Canisius.
The latest D1 commits include #16-ranked Lizzie HolderLizzieHolder
6'1" | PF Stillwater | 2022StateMN
of Stillwater (Minnesota Fury 2022 UAA) who verballed to Colorado of the PAC 12 Conference, #13 Savannah WhiteSavannahWhite
6'1" | SG DeLaSalle | 2022StateMN
of DeLaSalle (FBC Real) who said ‘yes’ to Wisconsin, and #23 Kaylynn AsberryKaylynnAsberry
5'5" | PG Como Park | 2022StateMN
of St. Paul Como Park (FBC Real) who signed with St. Peter’s in New Jersey. Among the recent D2 commits are #15 Lexi KargeLexiKarge
6'2" | PF Mankato East | 2022StateMN
of Mankato East (Minnesota Stars Nilsen) to UM-Duluth, #29 Natalie BremerNatalieBremer
5'11" | CG Lake City | 2022StateMN
of Lake City (Wisconsin Playmakers) to MSU-Mankato, and #44 Paige PeasleePaigePeaslee
6'0" | PF North Branch | 2022StateMN
of North Branch (Minnesota Heat) to Winona State.
The Division 3 commits are always the last to happen, primarily because the top athletes are waiting to see if they can land a spot at a higher level and because there are no scholarships involved so there are a lot of financial and academic considerations to be dealt with. The top D3 commit so far is #73 Rose WilleRoseWille
5'8" | SG Farmington | 2022StateMN
of Farmington (Fury 2022 Premier) who recently verballed to UW-Stout while the first NAIA commit is Alicia BatesAliciaBates
5'6" | CG Champlin Park | 2022StateMN
of Champlin Park (43 Hoops) who verballed to Briar Cliff in Iowa.
Clearly the extra year is having an impact. A number of players who would have had opportunities to play at the Division 1 level have opted to go D2 because the openings have been limited. That, in turn, is pushing others down to D3 because the scholarship-level openings just aren’t there. By our estimation, there are still two or three players who could land a D1 roster spot before it’s all said and done for the Class of 2022, or will eventually get there via the JUCO route. That group could potentially include #17 Ronnie PorterRonniePorter
5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022StateMN
of St. Paul Como Park (FBC Real), #21 Alayna ContrerasAlaynaContreras
5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2022StateMN
of Hopkins (Metro Stars 3SSB) and #32 Myra MoorjaniMyraMoorjani
5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022StateMN
of Eden Prairie (North Tartan). For comparison’s sake, in the Class of 2021 there were 32 D1 commitments; in 2020 it was 22 (including two who got there via JUCO ball); in 2019 there were 26.
There are actually two more Division 1 commits we should mention – the first two players to verbal from the Class of 2023. The first was #17 Taryn HamlingTarynHamling
5'9" | PG Grand Rapids | 2023StateMN
of Grand Rapids and Minnesota Stars Hersch who verballed to North Dakota State earlier this year. Most recently #23 Zoey WashingtonZoeyWashington
5'9" | CG St. Croix Lutheran | 2023StateMN
(Minnesota Fury), formerly of Mahtomedi and now at St. Croix Lutheran, said ‘yes’ to the University of St. Thomas.
Here’s a rundown on all of the commitments that have been made public to date.
HIGH MAJOR D1