AAU Week 3: Feeling the Heat in Forest Lake

Young. Younger. Youngest. That seems to be the theme so far less than a month into the 2022 season. We’re always looking for new prospects, of course, but we find ourselves going younger and younger all the time. These pre-high school girls are just so, so good now that it boggles the mind. That was certainly the case in Week #3 at the Minnesota Heat’s Battle for Mom. Here’s some of what we saw on Saturday in Forest Lake. <strong>CHECKING OUT SOME 2027s</strong> Last week we told you about some high-profile 7th graders – [player_tooltip player_id="377583" first="Mya" last="Wilson"], <strong>Pressley Watkins</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="377584" first="Ava" last="Cupito"] of 43 Hoops Elite – who are nearly certain to be among the very best prospects in the Class of 2027. This week’s precocious youngsters might not quite be on that same plane just yet but they aren’t far off. Two, in particular, caught our eye: <strong>Morgan Mathiowetz – guard, Minnesota Rise 2027 Reinhart</strong> If the name rings a bell that’s because Morgan is the younger sister of 2022 Miss Basketball finalist [player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"], who carved a spot in the history books at Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s and is now headed to South Dakota State University. Morgan might be tiny today but it doesn’t take long to see that she has the potential to be everything her sister is and more. Yes, those are high expectations to put on the shoulders of a 5-foot-something guard who has barely got her feet wet on varsity, but this kid is going to be a player. Her superior ball-handling skills, exceptional acceleration, elite-level quickness and outstanding court vision really set her apart. The kid has a natural feel for the game and can execute at pace as well as anyone we’ve seen among the 2027s. She doesn’t have the size and length of Wilson, Watkins and Cupito – yet – but she’s got pretty much everything else. <strong>Jordyn Carpenter – guard, Minnesota Rise 2027 Reinhart</strong> The 5’4 guard is the daughter of former Rochester Mayo head coach Ryan Carpenter, who is currently a college assistant at the University of Jamestown. Not surprisingly, she plays like many a coach’s kid – with intelligence, poise and an advanced understanding of the game acquired from practically growing up in the gym. Carpenter doesn’t quite have the natural athleticism that Mathiowetz has but she’s certainly got a healthy dose of everything else. Her ability to see the floor is exceptional, and she knows where to find her teammates and when get them the ball. Crafty is the word that comes to mind. Perhaps clever. We love how she moves with and without the basketball, but without a doubt her most prized asset at the moment is her ability to drain it from distance. She is a truly great three-point shooter, not just for her age but for any age. This Rise team includes three more “little” sisters, too: <strong>Payton Schnell</strong> of Byron (sister of Gustavus commit [player_tooltip player_id="109185" first="Rylie" last="Schnell"]), <strong>Kylie Southworth</strong> of St. Peter (sister of Top 40 freshman [player_tooltip player_id="208187" first="Annika" last="Southworth"]), and <strong>Mamie Luft</strong> of Kerkoven-Murdock-Sunburg (sister of Top 30 freshman [player_tooltip player_id="296522" first="Madelynn" last="Luft"]). We’ll circle back with more on those three and the rest of the Reinhart squad in the future. <strong>TWO MORE 2027s OF NOTE</strong> <strong>Jaliyah Diggs – point guard, E1T1 Queens</strong> The little guard from Park Center (photo top right) reminds us a lot of [player_tooltip player_id="296527" first="Aneisha" last="Scott"], the Top 30 freshman from DeLaSalle, although Scott no longer wears the signature sports goggles that were her trademark until recently. Jaliyah has nice handles and quick feet, a helpful combo that enables her to dust defenders one-on-one and get to the rim from both the right and left side of the court even when giving up a lot of size to her opponent. She elevates very well, which proved valuable Saturday both on her way to the hoop and defending on the perimeter. She’s got excellent court vision and demonstrated a nice balance between distribution and attack mode. <strong>Lyric Burrell – wing, E1T1 Queens</strong> The lengthy wing from Maple Grove (photo top left) is all arms and legs at the moment but it’s not difficult to see where those God-given gifts are going to take this young lady in the not-too-distant future. She has tremendous natural athleticism and an enormous wingspan. Put her on the perimeter and she can fill enough space for two defenders. OK, not quite, but you get the point. In the game we saw Saturday Lyric was matched up against big 2026 [player_tooltip player_id="412736" first="Romo" last="Smith"] of Mankato West, who we told you about last week at the Midwest Kickoff. Even giving up age, size, strength and experience, Burrell more than held her own. We loved her focus, commitment to defense and desire to learn. Coach Mo of Hospitality House fame has been sourcing amazing talent for a long time now and Jaliyah and Lyric have got next. <strong>DID YOU SAY 2028?</strong> I can assure you we had no plans to watch 2028s on Saturday. Then we saw the top Minnesota Fury 6th graders were participating in 8th grade competition. Not surprisingly the squad, coached by veteran Fury leaders Tim Peper and Matt Froehle, is a very talented group. They went 2-1 on the day playing two years up. In addition to three standout imports from Wisconsin – <strong>Eva Englebert</strong> of River Falls, <strong>Jadyn Mataczynski</strong> of Hudson and <strong>Ava Hoitomt</strong> of Eau Claire – the team is led by a trio from the younger sisters club. That would be 5’11 <strong>Natalie Heyer</strong> of Chaska (sister of Minnesota commit [player_tooltip player_id="12714" first="Mallory" last="Heyer"] &amp; ranked 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="302310" first="Aubrey" last="Heyer"]); 5’10 11-year-old <strong>Logan Miller</strong> of Andover ([player_tooltip player_id="215970" first="Morgan" last="Miller"]) and 5’8 <strong>Piper Ohnstad</strong> of Lakeville South ([player_tooltip player_id="178270" first="Finley" last="Ohnstad"]), who has one of the highest-revving motors of any player in the state. This kid just goes and goes and goes. One other player to keep an eye on is lefty guard <strong>Ashna Ramlall</strong> of Rosemount, a superior shooter who also has two more sisters on the way up, as well. We may need a family tree graphic or Ancestry.com account to keep track of all these DNA links. <img class="alignnone wp-image-416567 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Ajiem_2025_Austin-scaled-e1650327774932-276x300.jpg" alt="" width="276" height="300" /> <strong>PLAYER TO WATCH</strong> <strong>Ajiem Agwa – 2025 guard, Air Minnesota</strong> If you watched Austin at the high school state tournament you may have caught a glimpse of Ajiem. The 5’7 guard gained more and more playing time as the season progressed and is now in the driver’s seat for a starting spot following the graduation of twin sisters [player_tooltip player_id="57959" first="Hope" last="Dudycha"] and [player_tooltip player_id="109176" first="Emma" last="Dudycha"], who are off to UM-Crookston in the fall. Austin coach Eric Zoske is very high on the possibilities for Agwa, who can get to the rim and score in bunches as a result. She had multiple JV halves this winter in which she recorded 24 points or more. Her jump shot is improving, too, which will add another weapon to the cache. The part of the game that Ajiem really stood out in was on defense where her quickness, lateral movement and explosiveness caused all manner of havoc in the Big 9. She had a huge game in the section final and another in the consolation championship game at State. Air Minnesota’s 2025 team as a whole was very impressive. There’s a pair of 6-foot post players you’ll definitely want to see: <strong>Carmen Kadlec</strong> of Rochester Century and <strong>Lexie Klecker</strong> of Owatonna. We’ll circle back on these two and some of their teammates later in the season. Kudos to club director Heidi Sonju who keeps finding good talent and creating opportunities for them to grow their games by competing on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit. The club’s improvement top to bottom, year over year, is obvious. [caption id="attachment_416565" align="alignnone" width="400"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Crossfire-Blue-Star-2023-crop-1782x1171-1650327569.png"><img class="wp-image-416565" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/04/Crossfire-Blue-Star-2023-crop-1782x1171-1650327569-300x197.png" alt="" width="400" height="263" /></a> Photo: <a href="https://x.com/CoachPete2328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>[/caption] <strong>A 2023 TEAM TO SEE</strong> <strong>Crossfire Blue Star 2023</strong> is an intriguing collection of players from a wide variety of sources. We have been hearing a lot about them leading up to the season because coach Pete Kuehnel has been promoting the heck out of his players via Twitter. We watched them in the flesh on Saturday and there is definitely some notable next-level talent on the roster. Crossfire’s floor leader is no stranger: 2023 point guard [player_tooltip player_id="302269" first="Jada" last="Bierschbach"] of Rocori, a warrior on the floor if there ever was one. She’s really gritty, plays fast and can light up the scoreboard. She’s join by <strong>Lakesha Thomas</strong>, a long 5’10 wing from North St. Paul who is quickly emerging as a factor in the Class of 2023. [player_tooltip player_id="350107" first="Britta" last="DeMar"] of Elk River is a 5’8 combo guard who can score and defend at a high level. Big [player_tooltip player_id="302268" first="Jordan" last="McMahon"] of St. Louis Park missed the game we watched Saturday but we love her physical presence and how she plays with a healthy helping of sandpaper. 6-foot [player_tooltip player_id="389636" first="Madeline" last="Guetzkow"] is coming off an impressive state-tournament run with Mayer Lutheran and is emerging as a hidden gem among the incoming seniors. Add in underappreciated guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339145" first="Daysia" last="Simmons"]</strong> of St. Michael-Albertville, <strong>Alicia Hatlestad</strong> of Mound-Westonka, <strong>Olivia Hanson</strong> of Monticello, <strong>Danica Martin</strong> of Mayer Lutheran and tenacious competitor <strong>Ellie Kuehnel</strong> of Wayzata and you have a hungry group eager to prove themselves. This team is all about defense and determination. They pressed early and often to build a quick 20-point cushion in their opening game on Saturday and never looked back. This is a collection of parts that is well worth watching for anyone who appreciates players that do more than just put up points and make highlight tapes.