3A Breakout Players

Many players had great summers with their clubs and a solid fall league with their high school teams. Here are some under the radar players who are poised to become major contributors this season in 3A. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263616" first="Maeve" last="Salveson"] - 2024 - St. Mary’s</strong> St. Mary’s is loaded again and Maeve figures to be a key part of their championship pursuit. She was second on her team in 3P% last season coming in at 34% with 32 makes. Teammates [player_tooltip player_id="117701" first="Ellie" last="Hartman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="329339" first="Payton" last="Kutz"] will command a lot of attention this season, which will make Maeve a great breakout candidate. She had a strong freshman year averaging 12.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 2.5 apg. Look for her to increase in all areas and continue to be a focal point of this talented powerhouse. <strong>Alex May - 2024 - Colorado Academy</strong> Alex turned in an impressive freshman campaign and expects to take another huge step this upcoming season. She averaged an impressive 8.8 ppg and 9 rpg for this young Mustangs team. She is poised to increase her numbers and average a double-double. Alex stands at 5’-10" and has a long frame that is a matchup problem on both ends of the floor. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="329372" first="Nikki" last="McSpadden"] - 2024 - Lutheran</strong> The Lions made it all of the way to the championship game of 3A before falling short to Platte Valley. Lutheran will look to make another run at the championship this season with McSpadden being a key piece. She was 3rd on her team last season in 3-point attempts and shot an impressive 31% from deep. She will get more open looks this season and will look to improve on her 6.4 ppg and 2.4 rpg from last season. Nikki took care of the ball as a freshman only averaging 1.6 tpg. She rises to the occasion and plays her best when the stakes are high. She averaged 10.5 ppg in the playoffs last season while shooting 53% from the field. <strong>Jalyssa Maker - 2023 - Sterling</strong> Jalyssa will become a focal point of the Tigers this season. They graduate six seniors and five of them averaged over 19 minutes per game. Jalyssa is a lengthy 5'-10" Junior who led her team in points (7.3 ppg) and rebounds (6.9 rpg). She will be expected to take on a major role this season alongside teammate Emerie Rios (Senior). Jalyssa's strength is her ability to finish around the rim and get to the free-throw line. Look for her to improve at the free-throw as she continues to draw more fouls. <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Jonae Harris - 2024 - Englewood</strong> Jonae is a focal point of the Pirate's young core that featured six freshman and five sophomores last season. She averaged 8 ppg and 10.8 rpg. She averaged the 4th most rebounds per game in all of 3A and averaged the 3rd most rebounds per game by a freshman in all classes of Colorado. She finished out last season with some monster performances pulling down 14, 13, 17, 14, and 10 rebounds in her last five games. Look for Jonae to improve her scoring as she gets more comfortable around the rim and increases her field-goal percentage from 36% last season. She is joined by fellow freshman Jaliyah Mora, who gives the Pirates a solid young core to build around the next three seasons.