Top Freshman Prospects to Watch Early

It can be hard to know where each freshman stands in the rankings because this is the year that everyone is on a different playing field. It usually depends on what school they go to. For the big AAAA schools it can be hard to crack the starting lineup; if you attend a smaller school, you could be the superstar your freshman year. When AAU comes around, we get to see them compete against kids their own age. Like I stated before, you have freshman like [player_tooltip player_id="252379" first="Addison" last="Mack"] of Minnehaha Academy, who is a young vet, that just finished her third year playing varsity.  As well as girls like [player_tooltip player_id="296523" first="Kendall" last="McGee"] of Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and [player_tooltip player_id="205298" first="Jordan" last="Ode"] of Maple Grove who have come in and made a huge impact. The following freshmen are on the path to becoming elite basketball players and have the potential to play at the Division 1 level. This AAU season will be huge for them. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="212489" first="Sophie" last="Hawkinson"] - combo guard, North Tartan 2025 Nike</strong> Hawkinson is a top 10 prospect in the state and has continued to raise her stock. The 5’8 combo guard plays on arguably one of the top teams in the state at Wayzata and performed well for her first year on varsity. She played in every game and started almost half the of them, averaging 9 points. Sophie had the privilege of playing alongside the #2 senior and Gopher commit [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"], along with four other potential Division 1 players. Hawkinson’s role was to knock down threes and play great defense. With the freshman on a roll, look for her to have one of her best AAU seasons yet. She will play on the Nike circuit where she will have to prove herself against some of the best in the nation. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="296527" first="Aneisha" last="Scott"] - point guard, The City</strong> Scott (top photo) had a big high school season playing with DeLqSalle helping the team go 22-7 and earn a bid in the section finals where they lost to Como Park by 3. The freshman played behind two senior standouts [player_tooltip player_id="12747" first="Savannah" last="White"] (Wisconsin) and [player_tooltip player_id="12736" first="Sydney" last="Runsewe"] (Quincy) and held her own. The point guard plays beyond her height and is just scratching the surface. She averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds. With her freshman year under her belt look for the Scott to have a dominant AAU season with The City. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="258599" first="Keagan" last="McVicker"] - combo guard, Fury 2025 UAA</strong> McVicker started in every game and was a key aspect of the team. She was the second leading scorer for Hastings and played alongside senior [player_tooltip player_id="57921" first="Lilly" last="Nuytten"]. The combo guard proved she was strong on both ends of the floor being able to score and defend. She averaged 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds on the season. This year the combo guard will be playing on Minnesota Fury’s top team again, which plays the Under Armour circuit. She will have to hold her own as she competes against some of the best in the country. Look for McVicker to have a breakout AAU season and come next year she will be the go-to person for Hastings as Nuytten moves on to play at Mankato State. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="330743" first="Abby" last="Hoselton"] - power forward, North Tartan 2025 Nike</strong> The 5’11 forward came off the bench for the Knights this year, but she got a lot of experience playing alongside the #1 junior [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] and playing under her sister, junior <strong>Lauren Hoselton</strong>. She may not fill up the stat sheet, but Abby was indeed an important contributor to STMA’s successful season and State Tournament run. The freshman has great size, and a high ceiling. Look for her to take on a bigger role this AAU season being one of the biggest and tallest on the team she will need to control the paint.