“SHE’S A FRESHMAN!”
“She’s a freshman!” It’s one of the best student-section chants in basketball. It means the girl lighting you up right now is going to be a pain in your neck for the next four years. Check out the Class of 2025 Watchlist here.
I think most of the state knows three of the biggest names in the class,
Sienna Betts
Sienna
Betts
6'5" | PF
Grandview | 2025
State
CO
, Grandview;
Tianna Chambers
Tianna
Chambers
6'0" | CG
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
, Cherry Creek; and
Quinn VanSickle
Quinn
VanSickle
5'8" | CG
Valor Christian | 2025
State
CO
, Valor Christian. So, who are some of the other high-impact freshmen who are contributing for top Colorado programs?
Olivia Campbell
Olivia
Campbell
5'8" | PG
Fruita Monument | 2025
State
CO
– Pine Creek
The 6’2″ “little” sister to 5’11” junior,
Brynae Stewart
Brynae
Stewart
5'11" | SG
Pine Creek | 2023
State
CO
(leading scorer with 14.1 PPG and 2.4 SPG), is a name you’ll be seeing a lot of in the coming years. Brooklyn is scoring, developing her outside shot, and crushing the boards (13.5 PPG, 13.7 RPG). Coach Jubic sees limitless potential in this budding star.
LeeKaya Burke-Perryman LeeKaya Burke-Perryman 5'3" | PG Pine Creek | 2025 State CO – Pine Creek
Stewart isn’t the only freshman turning heads for 9-4 Pine Creek. One of her best friends, Burke-Perryman, runs the show as the point guard and has court vision and awareness that make the whole team better. She’s scoring 12.8 a game with 3.8 assists and only 2.2 turnovers a game.
Avery Alcaraz
Avery
Alcaraz
5'8" | SG
Fort Collins | 2025
State
CO
– Fort Collins
Alcaraz has drained more threes than any freshman in Colorado (34-89, 38%). She stood out at a Power 2 Play fall showcase and she’s fitting right in for a 9-3 Fort Collins team on the rise, leading the team with 11.9 PPG.
Ryanne Bahnsen-Price
Ryanne
Bahnsen-Price
6'0" | SG
Roosevelt | 2025
State
CO
– Roosevelt
The 10-2 Roughriders have speed, size, and skills as they rocket up the 4A rankings. Their roster, led in scoring by players in grades 9, 10, 10, 9, and 10, respectively, says they’re a year or two away but their play on the court says their time is now. Bahnsen-Price (12.1 PPG, 3.2 SPG, 40% three-point shooting) jumped over from Erie at the start of the season and the six-foot guard could be the final piece of a Longs Peak championship formula. The matchup against Thompson Valley next week will likely determine the league.
Reyleigh Hess – Roosevelt
Hess has some size at 5’11” but she adds so much sizzle to the Roughriders’ game. At 9.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 3.2 SPG, she does it all and she’s the assist leader of the entire league as a freshman.
Alexandra Eschmeyer
Alexandra
Eschmeyer
6'5" | SF
Peak To Peak | 2025
State
CO
– Peak to Peak
The daughter of Big 10 basketball legends, Evan and Kristina (Divjak) Eschmeyer, this 6’4″ standout is getting better by the week helping Peak to Peak to a 7-3 start. She’s at 17.2 PPG and 11.3 RPG to this point. I’m excited to see how she does against top-ten 3A opponent, Lutheran, later this week.
Gianna Smith
Gianna
Smith
5'9" | CG
Arapahoe | 2025
State
CO
– Arapahoe
When the watchlist is ranked later this spring, expect to see Smith in the top 10 of the class. Arapahoe (9-3) is so deep and Smith is already the team’s third leading scorer (8.8 PPG). She’s hit an eye-popping 40% of her three-point attempts for the 5th ranked Warriors.
A’Neya Chambers
A’Neya
Chambers
5'10" | CG
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
– Cherry Creek
I mentioned Cherry Creek’s ensemble of talented freshmen last week.
Tianna Chambers
Tianna
Chambers
6'0" | CG
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
is putting up 11.6 PPG,
A’Neya Chambers
A’Neya
Chambers
5'10" | CG
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
has 7.7 PPG, and
Braelynn Barnett
Braelynn
Barnett
6'1" | SF
Cherry Creek | 2025
State
CO
adds 6.9 PPG.
Darby Haley – Mead
There are a lot of reasons the Mavericks have jumped into the top 3 teams in 4A and the energy they get from Haley is one of them. Her threes-and-layups formula has led to an impressive efficiency of 1.5 points-per-shot (7.2 PPG, 36% behind the arc, 77% on FTs).
Paige Ryser Paige Ryser CG Cheyenne Wells | 2025 State CO – Cheyenne Wells
There’s a freshman making waves in 1A who’s helped the Tigers get off to a 7-1 start. She’s put up 13.8 PPG with 4.6 SPG.
Yamoni Perez Yamoni Perez 5'7" | CG Eaglecrest | 2025 State CO – Smoky Hill
You might not think of Smoky Hill as a high end team but with the arrival of Perez, the 8-4 Buffaloes have won as many games this year as they have the last three years combined. Her 18.3 PPG lead the state in the class of ’25. She scored 39 against Mountain Range hitting six of ten from deep.
