SD Class A State Tournament - 1st-4th Place Finishers

The St. Thomas More Cavaliers and the Hamlin Chargers met in the State A Tournament Championship game at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota. St. Thomas More won by a score of 52-30. Let’s look at who the tournament MVP was and breakdown the rosters of the 1st-4th place finishing teams. Tournament MVP - [player_tooltip player_id="154266" first="Reese" last="Ross"] [player_tooltip player_id="154266" first="Reese" last="Ross"] was relentless and determined in the state tournament, earning her State A Tournament MVP honors. She was spectacular on both ends of the court. She averaged an easy double-double with 22.7 ppg. and a whopping 14.0 rpg. She was second in the tournament in scoring and ended up as the top rebounder in the tournament. She was tough to contain and had a monster state championship game with a 25 point, 13 rebound, 3 steal, and 4 block stat line. Ross was getting to the hoop fairly easily with her length and long-striding first-step prowess. She was making steals, rebounds, and blocks - and quickly pushing the ball up-court on her own. She handled the ball quite often and was effective in getting to her spots in the lane - near the hoop. To put it simply, Reese was a playmaker in all aspects of the game. State A Champions - St. Thomas More Cavaliers The Cavaliers have some solid pieces around Ross. 2022 5’10 forward [player_tooltip player_id="150836" first="Mairin" last="Duffy"], is a great compliment to Ross that can play inside and shoot it from three. She led the team in threes made with five in the tournament. She had a 8.3 ppg. average in the tournament, which was second behind Ross. [player_tooltip player_id="154264" first="Jada" last="Mollman"] is a 2023 forward that deserves praise for More winning the tournament. She had a crucial 11 points in the game, and got those early to give More some momentum. The remaining contributors consist of a solid set of guards. Guards with average size, but they play with solid ball skills and IQ and decision making with the ball. They played their roles well for them to take home the trophy. [player_tooltip player_id="268719" first="Gabby" last="Robbins"] and [player_tooltip player_id="389355" first="Makenna" last="Jacobson"] are similar guards that handled their roles well, taking care of the ball and playing sound defense. [player_tooltip player_id="343332" first="Sloane" last="Keszler"], a 2025 guard, who has gotten varsity minutes, is a prospect to watch. She’s rostered on SD Attack, according to their website. She competed in the PGH Dakotas Top 250, and she faired well. She should take a nice step forward next season. 2nd Place - Hamlin Hamlin has been the state A runner-up two seasons in a row now. They’re a fairly young team, that will bring back their main pieces next season. They are led inside by 2023 prospect, [player_tooltip player_id="100476" first="Kamryn" last="Wadsworth"]. Wadsworth has committed to D2 University of Sioux Falls. Shes the team’s leading scorer and go-to player. She’s tough as nails on the inside and can step out and shoot the ball. A very strong frame and elite playing strength. She will move her opponent with leverage and strength. 2026 prospect, [player_tooltip player_id="375704" first="Addison" last="Neuendorf"], showed that she belongs. She didn’t produce a ton of points in the state tournament, but she can control the pace and has another gear and quickness to her. She comes from a basketball family and you can see it in her play. She was a leading assister in the tournament with 10 total. A surprising rebounder for her size, as she pulled down 5.3 per game. She plays for SD Attack in the offseason. This state tournament did wonders for her development and trajectory moving forward. A breakout performer for Hamlin was Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="375711" first="Brooklyn" last="Brandriet"]. The lefty guard shot the three extremely well, going for 9-22 for 40.9%. She was especially crucial in the West Central win, where she shot 5-7 from deep for 17 points. [player_tooltip player_id="246488" first="Ally" last="Abraham"] is another key piece for Hamlin. She’s an inside-outside prospect that has a strong build and an aggressive play-style. She loves to push her opponents around and use her build. She stepped beyond the arc and hit four threes in the tournament. Led the team in minutes, scoring 9.3 and 5.7 boards per game. 3rd Place - West Central West Central is stocked with talent, but 5’3 Senior guard, [player_tooltip player_id="14247" first="Rylee" last="Haldeman"] makes them go. She’s a top athlete in terms of quickness and movement in the state. She’ll be using those quick feet to play D1 soccer at University of South Dakota. In the tournament, Rylee was aggressive in trying to score with 50 attempts and scoring 47 points. Her defensive pressure and ability to turn the offense over might be West Central’s biggest strength and advantage over Wagner. Haldeman had 10 steals in three games. [player_tooltip player_id="99757" first="Tabor" last="Teel"] is a long, six-foot guard, that is versatile and can do a little bit of everything. She has good skills for her length. Showed a great hesitation move and extended finish with her right hand in the 3rd place game. Has good speed handling the ball in the open court. Tabor had a great tournament scoring 13.0 per game and was a battler with the bigs for 8.3 rpg. Another key stat was her ability to draw contact, making an impressive 17 free throws out of 22 attempts. She is a college prospect with her size and skill, who remains uncommitted by my understanding. 5’9 Senior guard/forward, [player_tooltip player_id="99764" first="Addy" last="Kramer"] has an athletic and strong build. Moves well and with confidence in her abilities and frame. Has the ability to score with power in the paint and is also lethal behind the three-point line. Addy had a huge 3rd quarter in the 3rd place game, scoring 9 points. Finished with 20 points in the game. Addy is a 2022 Dakota Wesleyan commit. West Central was a Senior-lead team, that will most likely be in rebuild-mode in the next couple seasons. 4th Place - Wagner 6’0 2026 guard/wing, [player_tooltip player_id="377192" first="Ashlyn" last="Koupal"] is a future stud prospect in the state. She didn’t just stand out there and be tentative because she’s an 8th grader. She was aggressive and handled the ball against pressure quite often as well. She was aggressive from deep and hit seven threes in the tournament. Has a smooth and soft jumper. She brought down 6.0 rpg. with her superb length. She was the 2nd leading scorer for Wagner with a 11.3 scoring average. Koupal is a sure-fire D1 prospect that programs will be competing for. [player_tooltip player_id="100469" first="Emma" last="Yost"] is the toughness and inside force for Wagner. She played with high effort and energy - rebounding and scoring inside at a high level. After I view all of the games, we’ll have a All-Tourney teams, and you can bet Yost will find herself on the 1st team. She was a beast, with 15 offensive rebounds and averaged 12.7 in the tournament. She was 54% from the field for nearly 15 ppg. I would expect her to sign with a Division 2 program, even though she may be slightly undersized. But her effort, toughness, and motor make up for that. [player_tooltip player_id="342163" first="Shalayne" last="Nagel"] is another prospect for Wagner that can play at the next level. She’s a long 5’11 guard/wing with some ball skills and has no problem playing hard and giving full effort. Nagel is highly effective in the mid-range area and that’s where she gets a lot of her points. Also, has the ability to shoot the three, like the majority of the Wagner rotation. She averaged 10 ppg. and fought for 5.0 rpg. She, along with nearly the entire stacked Wagner roster, plays with SD Attack. Another college prospect for Wagner is [player_tooltip player_id="182476" first="Macy" last="Koupal"]. She’s an aggressive threat from deep and is a strong-bodied player that makes plays. Another prospect that gives consistent effort that pulled down 8 boards and scored 9.3 per game. Not majorly skilled off-the-dribble, but does a good job taking care of the ball and making great decisions with it. More of a spot-up three-point shooter than someone who’s going to create their own three-point opportunities. [player_tooltip player_id="304527" first="Lydia" last="Yost"] was an X-factor in Wagner coming back to beat Red Cloud in the opening round, after being down a sizable margin. She hit three timely three-pointers for 9 points. She’ll be an important guard for Wagner in their continued future success. Wagner has a very bright future and will be competing for state championships in the years to come. As on-demand games become available on SDPB, I will be watching and be covering all three classes, somewhat similar to this post - breaking down the rosters. There may be a delay, but the plan is to hit on every team.