Midwest Kickoff Classic: 5 players who raised their stock

There's no time like the present to raise your stock as a college basketball prospect. Plenty of athletes did just that at the Midwest Kickoff Classic this past weekend, wasting no time getting their 2022 AAU season off and running just they way you'd want to at the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit affiliated event. Here are 5 stock raisers who stood out. – Metro Stars 2025 The 5'7 guard from Eden Prairie (top photo) was kind of overshadowed last summer on a North Tartan squad loaded with high-profile talent, but the crafty freshman shouldn't take a back seat to anyone. Now she's part of a retooled Metro Stars 2025 team coached by Alexis Garcia of Hopkins that includes six players in the 2025 Top 50: #25 (Prior Lake), #27 (St. Anthony Village), #32 (Providence Academy), #38 (North Branch), #39 (Wayzata), and #43 (Fridley). This group looks like an excellent fit for Jordan, who is a high-skill, super-smooth backcourt prospect with nice vision, a solid understanding of the tasks at hand, and the ability to attack the basket off the bounce any time it strikes her fancy. Yes, that first step is notable as many a stranded defender would attest. Vanessa is currently ranked #55 in the class and this weekend she was trending up once again.

– Fury 2025 Blue The best of the Minnesota Fury 9th graders are a formidable group that is loaded with high-end prospects, including seven in the Class of 2025's Top 25. We certainly saw all of the great stuff that , , and others did this weekend. Among the squad's top performers at the Midwest Kickoff was Hoof, a 5'5 guard from Lester Prairie who is one of the quickest, most energetic, most impactful players in the class. Her defensive intensity is a site to behold, and her ability to turn all of those tips and steals and deflections into Fury points at the other end of the floor is impressive. This was a breakout year for Addison. She scored 567 points for the Bulldogs while recording 155 steals, 123 deflections, 118 rebounds and 80 assists. Those are some heady numbers for a freshman, which is why Hoof earned All-Conference honors in the Minnesota River Conference, and she's just getting started. Hoof is currently ranked #65 in the class and rising.

– North Tartan 2024 Elite Everyone develops at their own pace. Some players burst out of the gate and make a big splash early; others take a good long while to put all of the pieces together. As much as we'd like Reed to realize her true potential in the here and now, the 6'2 forward from Minnetonka would fall into the latter category. But what Sidney showed once again this weekend is just how good she can really be. Reed scored inside and out, she shot it well, rebounded well, defended well. New North Tartan Elite coach Scott Lauinger of Bethel University was suitably impressed. Reed started the high school season playing mostly JV minutes, but with the Skippers' ship traversing some rough waters mid-season she became a mainstay on varsity. Her confidence improved and the results did, too. Now Sidney is off to a great start to the AAU season. Currently ranked #30 in the Class of 2024, Reed has all of the physical tools to make it to a very high level after high school. Make no mistake, we're still bullish on Miss Reed and you should be, too.

– North Tartan 2024 Elite Grace and Sidney are teammates at Minnetonka and now they are united again at North Tartan. Hamdorf is a 5'9 guard with a stocky, athletic build. She is deceptively quick, sneaky strong and has more than enough skill to make a major impact at the next level. What Hamdorf also brings to the party are a whole lot of really good intangibles. She is a versatile contributor who can make an impact at both ends of the floor and everywhere in between. She has quickly emerged as a team leader for Lauinger's squad, a quiet presence who can be counted on to bring energy, competitiveness, and a no-nonsense approach to the job at hand. She can also shoot the basketball. Hamdorf was in the short rotation at Minnetonka this winter, making 20 appearances and averaging about 5 points per game. Like Reed, her contributions escalated in the home stretch of the season during which she earned a 14-place rise in the Class of 2024 prospect rankings to #73. Based on this weekend's play she is still trending in a northerly direction.

– Metro Stars 2024 Thanks to an incredible compete level, the 5'8 guard from Eagan hardly ever has a sub-par game. The #43-rated prospect in the Class of 2024 is a talented athlete who can go head to head with anyone anywhere and more than hold her own. This winter she led a big resurgence for the Wildcats who won 18 games, earning first-team All-Conference honors in the highly-regarded South Suburban circuit. This weekend Buslee was at it again and new Metro Stars 2024 coach Leah Szabala of Crown College, a veteran of Division 1 competition at the University of North Dakota, was singing Drew's praises. “She was fantastic – definitely a scholarship-level player,” Szabala said. “She is ultra-competitive and impacts the game on both ends of the court. She can score and distribute at a high level. She is explosive in transition and a real playmaker. She's tough as nails and so scrappy defensively.” We couldn't agree more.