Recruiting Update: More than 100 college commitments

Yesterday across Minnesota student athletes sat down at their respective schools for a little ceremonial flick of the pen as they made their college commitments official by signing a National Letter of Intent. Most of the girls basketball players involved had already made their commitments public weeks or even months ago. In fact, according to the numbers we have been able to put together, there are more than 90 Minnesota seniors who have said ‘yes’ to a collegiate opportunity. That’s up nearly 40 percent since we last brought you up to speed on college commitments during the first week of October. Here’s a rundown on where we are at. So far in the senior class there are 20 Division 1 commitments, 35 in D2, 9 to NAIA schools, 7 players going the JUCO route, and 19 players have made commitments to play D3 ball, a number that will increase substantially over the next couple of months.

[player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"], [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"], [player_tooltip player_id="12732" first="Nia" last="Holloway"], [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] (left to right)

HIGH MAJORS Led by Hopkins post (Arizona), nine players have committed to high-major Division 1 schools, including the big four who have chosen to stay home and play for the University of Minnesota: (Wayzata), (Hopkins), (Chaska) and (Eden Prairie). Joining those four in the Big 10 are of Rochester John Marshall (Indiana), of Chanhassen (Nebraska) and of DeLaSalle (Wisconsin). of Stillwater will play at Colorado of the PAC 12.

MID MAJORS Every year the Summit League grabs its share of the top Minnesota prospects, and why not? It includes some of the best mid-major programs in the country (South Dakota & South Dakota State), two North Dakota schools (UND & NDSU) with a lot of Minnesota connections, and a number of other attractive options for D1 play that isn’t too far from home. The addition of the home-town University of St. Thomas to the D1 circuit means the numbers will probably grow even more. Four Minnesota seniors have committed to Summit League schools: of Fergus Falls and of Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s (SDSU), of Cambridge-Isanti (UND) and of Stillwater (St. Thomas). Other Minnesota seniors who have committed at the mid-major level include:

Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka (Creighton, NE)
Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN of Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmingham)
Ellie Buzzelle Ellie Buzzelle 5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022 State #60 Nation MN of Rogers (Grand Canyon, AZ)
Lily Fandre Lily Fandre 6'2" | SF Eagan | 2022 State MN of Eagan (Lehigh, PA)
Katie Hurt Katie Hurt 6'0" | SF Roch. John Marshall | 2022 State MN of Rochester John Marshall (Lehigh, PA)
Kaylynn Asberry Kaylynn Asberry 5'5" | PG Como Park | 2022 State MN of St. Paul Como Park (Saint Peters, NJ)
Lily Niebuhr Lily Niebuhr 6'3" | PF Chaska | 2022 State MN of Chaska (Indiana State)

DIVISION 2 Much as the Summit League serves the role of primary D1 destination for Minnesota kids, the Northern Sun League is the de facto D2 stopping-off point. With programs in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Nebraska, it represents an option that is within reasonable travelling distance and it is one of the strongest, most competitive Division 2 circuits in the country. The big winner in the Northern Sun in the Class of 2022 is, without a doubt, Minnesota State-Mankato. Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse, associate head coach Amy Sander and assistant Janay Morton deserve a ton of credit for landing not one, not two, not three, not four but five of the top 50 in the Prep Girls Hoops 2022 prospect rankings. Although many D2 programs have certainly benefited from the COVID-related rulings that diminished the number of Division 1 opportunities available, the Mavs certainly took advantage of the unique circumstances. The 5 new Mavericks are:

#24 Mackenzie Schweim Mackenzie Schweim 5'10" | PG Mankato East | 2022 State MN – point guard, Mankato East
#29 Natalie Bremer Natalie Bremer 5'11" | CG Lake City | 2022 State MN – combo guard, Lake City
#34 Lilly Nuytten Lilly Nuytten 6'1" | PF Hastings | 2022 State MN – power forward, Hastings
#41 Hannah Herzig Hannah Herzig 6'0" | CG Totino Grace | 2022 State MN – guard/wing, Totino-Grace
#42 Ava Stier Ava Stier 5'10" | PF Waconia | 2022 State MN – forward, Waconia

That, by any estimation, is a homerun recruiting class. The other NSIC programs who did well with the 2022s included:

Concordia St. Paul – Ally Schultz Ally Schultz 6'0" | CG Lakeville South | 2022 State MN (Lakeville South), Ella Campbell Ella Campbell 5'10" | CG Edina | 2022 State MN (Edina), Leah Dengerud Leah Dengerud 5'9" | SF Totino Grace | 2022 State MN (Totino-Grace) and Lauren Feddema Lauren Feddema 5'9" | CG Buffalo | 2022 State MN (Buffalo)
UM-Duluth – Lexi Karge Lexi Karge 6'2" | PF Mankato East | 2022 State MN (Mankato East), Myra Moorjani Myra Moorjani 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN (Eden Prairie)
Southwest Minnesota State – Audrey Swanson Audrey Swanson 5'11" | SF Waconia | 2022 State MN (Waconia), Zoie Centers Zoie Centers 5'5" | PG Mahtomedi | 2022 State MN (Mahtomedi), Maddie Thorfinnson Maddie Thorfinnson 6'1" | SF Minnewaska | 2022 State MN (Minnewaska) and Rian Aune Rian Aune 5'7" | CG Virginia | 2022 State MN (Virginia)

Other notable Top 50 prospects who ended up in Division 2 included (Quincy, IL), (Mary, ND), (Sioux Falls, SD), (Tampa, FL), (UM-Crookston), (Augustana, SD), (Quincy, IL), (Missouri Western), (Winona State) and (Colorado Christian).

CLASS OF 2023 Of course seniors aren’t the only ones to have already announced their college commitments. Sophomore of Sleepy Eye recently became the first member of the Class of 2024 to commit early when she verballed to D2 Southwest Minnesota State. So far 16 juniors from the Class of 2023 have said ‘yes’ – 11 of them in D1, four in D2 and one to Division 3. There are two high major commits in of Hopkins (Stanford) and of Chaska (Colorado). The other early D1 commits are as follows:

Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN of Becker (UW-Green Bay)
Molly Lenz Molly Lenz 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN of Eden Prairie (Illinois State)
Clara Glad Clara Glad 6'0" | SF Rogers | 2023 State MN of Rogers (California-Davis)
Sophi Hall Sophi Hall 6'1" | CG Holy Family | 2023 State MN of Holy Family (Providence)
Ella Johnson Ella Johnson 6'2" | SF Elk River | 2023 State MN of Elk River (Montana State)
Taryn Hamling Taryn Hamling 5'9" | PG Grand Rapids | 2023 State MN of Grand Rapids (North Dakota State)
Zoey Washington Zoey Washington 5'9" | CG St. Croix Lutheran | 2023 State MN of St. Croix Lutheran (St. Thomas)
Sophie Lahti Sophie Lahti 6'1" | SF Pine City | 2023 State MN of Pine City (UW-Green Bay)
Avery Koenen Avery Koenen 6'3" | SF Montevideo | 2023 State MN of Montevideo (North Dakota State)

The early Division 2 commits are of Becker (Michigan Tech), of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (Southwest Minnesota State), of GFW (Southwest Minnesota State) and of Trace-Milroy-Balaton (Augustana). WHO’S NEXT? One question still to be answered is where of Como Park will end up. The #16-rated senior is still searching for the right opportunity. We’re told she has offers but is still working through the recruiting process. The other Top 50 seniors who have yet to sign include #38 (Maple Grove), #40 (Minnehaha Academy), #48 (Hill-Murray) and #49 (Champlin Park). Stay tuned! Top photo: Lily Fandre Lily Fandre 6'2" | SF Eagan | 2022 State MN of Eagan and Maddie James Maddie James 6'0" | SG Princeton | 2022 State MN of Princeton are both headed to the next level.