AAU Week 2: News and notes at the Midwest Kickoff

The 2022 AAU season saw us ease into action with a modest, manageable tournament on the first weekend in April. That was Week #1. Then came the Midwest Kickoff Classic, a gargantuan event with well over 200 teams playing in 29 girls divisions at three sites. Added to the mix this year was an affiliation with the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit that turned the tournament into a spectacle. We’ve had plenty of coverage from our PGH colleagues already with more to come throughout the week. Right now let’s recap AAU Week #2 with a look at some of the top squads we witnessed. <strong>5 TEAMS TO WATCH</strong> Even with limited practice time, and some coaches struggling to remember their players’ names (never mind running complicated stuff), there were some really good performances at the Midwest Kickoff Classic. I spent the weekend at Bloomington Jefferson which seemed to offer the most bang for the buck from an evaluator’s perspective, but even there I didn’t see everyone who excelled. I did see Minnesota Fury 2025 UAA win a title but missed out on division championships by Minnesota Diamond Elite 2024, Minnesota Stars Hill 2026, Metro Stars 2024 and more. Among the more than 30 teams I did watch play at least one game, here are five squads that really stood out. <img class="alignnone wp-image-413249" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Liv-McGill-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="225" /> <strong>Metro Stars 2023 Pryor</strong> – Without a doubt the most impressive group of the weekend over the course of three games. Now coached by Matt Pryor of Minnehaha Academy, the Metro Stars top group scored impressive wins over Fury 2024 UAA, North Tartan 2023 Elite and Cy Select 2023 from Iowa. Their big three was nothing short of outstanding as the Hopkins trio of Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"], Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id="108348" first="Nunu" last="Agara"] and 2024 #2 [player_tooltip player_id="178269" first="Liv" last="McGill"] lit it up all weekend. Nunu’s 30-point performance against North Tartan was particularly impressive, as was McGill’s pressure defense which is always worth the price of admission. The supporting cast is intriguing, too, including newcomers [player_tooltip player_id="339129" first="Ja’Kahla" last="Craft"] of St. Michael-Albertville, [player_tooltip player_id="108331" first="Nicole" last="Lillard"] of Champlin Park and [player_tooltip player_id="178274" first="Amy" last="Thompson"] of Stillwater. <img class="alignnone wp-image-413250" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Tessa-Johnson-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="225" /> <strong>North Tartan 2023 EYBL</strong> – Much like last year at this event, North Tartan split duties between teams at the older ages meaning we only got to see the best incoming seniors play once. It was a memorable performance, however, as North Tartan’s EYBL circuit juniors steamrolled Cy Select on Saturday morning by a score of 55-31. That shouldn’t be surprising given the fact that the team has four of Minnesota’s top 10 2023 prospects in #1 [player_tooltip player_id="108299" first="Tessa" last="Johnson"] of St. Micheal-Albertville, #5 [player_tooltip player_id="108302" first="Molly" last="Lenz"] of Eden Prairie (Illinois State), #6 [player_tooltip player_id="108306" first="Kennedy" last="Klick"] of Maple Grove and #10 [player_tooltip player_id="108300" first="Clara" last="Glad"] of Rogers (UC-Davis). They also have #14 [player_tooltip player_id="108309" first="Ella" last="Johnson"] of Elk River along with three standout imports in North Dakota #1 <strong>Logan Nissley</strong> of Bismarck (Nebraska) and #12 <strong>Maya Metcalf</strong> of Fargo along with South Dakota #2 <strong>Reese Ross</strong> of Rapid City. It’s a formidable group and they were in fine form early. <img class="alignnone wp-image-413240" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Abigail-OReilly-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="221" height="221" /> <strong>Minnesota Rise 2023 Wolfe</strong> – Gustavus assistant coach Dan Wolfe always manages to put together a good group of Southern Minnesota seniors on behalf of the Minnesota Rise. This year’s team features seven players in the Prep Girls Hoops 2023 Top 100, including #49, Southwest Minnesota State commit [player_tooltip player_id="108342" first="Allison" last="Milbrandt"] of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, and #51 [player_tooltip player_id="148319" first="Olivia" last="Harazin"] of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial. [player_tooltip player_id="148326" first="Brynn" last="Busse"] of Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop had an outstanding weekend as did [player_tooltip player_id="302260" first="Tori" last="Miller"] of Goodhue and [player_tooltip player_id="148324" first="Peyton" last="Stevermer"] of Mankato East, who was a state tournament standout in Class 3A. The real eye-opener, however, was 6’2 power forward [player_tooltip player_id="302273" first="Abigail" last="O’Reilly"] of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, a new addition to the group. O’Reilly is one of the most improved players in the state since last summer and her rather substantial inside presence is a game-changer for the Rise. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Fury-2026-Blue-crop-1519x998-1649806906.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-413204" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Fury-2026-Blue-crop-1519x998-1649806906-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>Minnesota Fury 2026 Blue</strong> – We have become accustomed to seeing big-time talent suiting up on the top teams for the Fury over the years and this year’s group of elite 8th graders is no different. The squad, coached by Maddie Wolkow and Blake Nicols, captured the 2026 Red Division with wins over Team Iowa, a strong Minnesota Stars Nilsen group, and 43 Hoops 2027 Elite (see below). The Fury has a nice combination of skilled, athletic guards along with some size and presence up front. Point guard <strong>Abbie Pietila</strong> of Delano had a very nice weekend. So did dynamic guard <strong>Addi Schneider</strong>, who is long and athletic and is always on the attack. She could be the next big thing at Chaska and that’s saying something. <strong>Aubree Hultman</strong> of Forest Lake and <strong>Maria Radabaugh</strong> of Totino-Grace were also very good. Power forward [player_tooltip player_id="362575" first="Callie" last="Oakland"] of St. Croix Lutheran and lengthy forward <strong>Vivian Carter</strong> of Holy Angels are high-level prospects with plenty of tools. There are some really good 2026 teams but this is definitely one of the best. [caption id="attachment_413197" align="alignnone" width="217"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-413197" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/43-Hoops-7th-Elite-217x300.png" alt="" width="217" height="300" /> Photo: <a href="https://x.com/JodiGunderson2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>[/caption] <strong>43 Hoops 2027 Elite</strong> – We have been well aware of some of the incredible individual talent on Demondi Johnson’s 7th grade squad, a group that has been turning heads for a good while now. This weekend, however, was our first extended look at the sum of the parts. There are not enough superlatives to describe just how much potential this group has. Yesterday we told you about <strong>Pressley Watkins</strong> of Orono, and we’ve written plenty all winter about varsity standouts [player_tooltip player_id="377583" first="Mya" last="Wilson"] of Mahtomedi and [player_tooltip player_id="377584" first="Ava" last="Cupito"] of Minnehaha Academy. We watched crafty <strong>Jazmin Daing</strong> do great work at the PGH Fall Exclusive last year. Now we’ve had a closer look at <strong>Alivia Bell</strong> of Winona, big <strong>Erma Walker</strong> of Hopkins and <strong>Kaelyn Bjorklund</strong> of Lakeville South. The list goes on. If Coach Johnson can keep this squad together long term like he did with his excellent 2021 group there’s no telling just how good they can be. <strong>Welcome back</strong> The early weeks of the AAU season are a reunion of sorts as we get to watch kids up close who we haven’t seen for some time, including those who have been sidelined by injury. That was the case this weekend as two players returned to action after missing a year with ACL injuries. <img class="alignnone wp-image-413208" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Allison-Milbrandt_MN-Rise-scaled-crop-2560x1681-1649807095-e1649809987362-277x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="244" /> As we mentioned, [player_tooltip player_id="108342" first="Allison" last="Milbrandt"] of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (photo above) has already committed to Southwest Minnesota State. The top 50 junior is a 5’11 guard who has been blessed with length, speed and athleticism and, we are pleased to report, all of that appeared to be in tact as Milbrandt took to the floor for her first game in 51 weeks. She moved well (no knee brace), needed very little acclimation time, and was making an impact in short order. SMSU head coach Tom Webb was in the house and he had to be pleased by what he saw. <img class="alignnone wp-image-413239" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Daviney-Dreckman-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="224" height="224" /> The same was true for [player_tooltip player_id="215987" first="Daviney" last="Dreckman"] of New Ulm, a Top 75 sophomore who is playing for the Minnesota Rise 2024s coached by Bethany Lutheran assistant Emma Purfeerst. Daviney emerged on the scene in junior high as a physically mature, skillfully advanced player with speed and athleticism to spare. We were eager to see how she looked in her first weekend back, as well, and the verdict was good. Really good. So good that Dreckman earned a big PGH Top Performer shoutout from our colleague Mason Asher and looked right at home once again. <strong>On the sidelines</strong> While Milbrandt and Dreckman were back in action at the Midwest Kickoff, many were not. On our way into the gym we spotted 2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id="304905" first="Mattea" last="Henry"] of East Ridge on the sidelines for Minnesota Stars Bjorgaard. She’s in a boot courtesy of a stress fracture in her foot. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="304914" first="Taylor" last="Klement"] of Stewartville remains sidelined for Southern Minnesota Fury, still rehabbing an ACL injury that kept her out of the Tigers’ lineup all winter. Top 10 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="215953" first="Marisa" last="Frost"] of Minnesota Fury 2024 UAA could only watch, as well, as the Centennial guard nursed a minor ankle injury that kept her out of action. It’s not serious, though, and she’ll likely be back as soon as this week. Unfortunately, the Fury lost their main attraction on Saturday as 2024 #1 [player_tooltip player_id="177728" first="Olivia" last="Olson"] suffered a foot injury. She had an MRI done on Tuesday and was waiting on the verdict at dinner time. With Team USA duties coming up shortly let’s hope Olivia will be up and running ASAP.