Freshman Showcase All Stars: 3rd Team & Honorable Mentions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had a number of goals going into the Prep Girls Hoops Freshman Showcase, the first of which was to identify new talent – the fresh faces we weren't aware of prior to the event who could make an impact in the Class of 2026. The other was to see if six months worth of evaluating the top talent in the Class had yielded accurate assessments. In other words, would the premier prospects meet our expectations? The answer on Sunday at Hopkins was a resounding ‘Yes!' That's why there are so many familiar faces on our Showcase All-Star Teams. The best prospects were the top performers. Here are the five athletes chosen as Third Team Showcase All-Stars and 10 more who earned Honorable Mention Status.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63291738b6e4e","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["252383"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":506958,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"There have been a lot of words written about Wright, including yesterday's fine analysis by our colleague Rudy Ruffin. That's not surprising given her status as one of the premier talents in the Class of 2026. Everyone talks about Lanelle's skill set, which is prodigious and the product of one of the best work ethics we have ever seen. There's also plenty of conversation about how she can execute an offense at a very high level. But the one thing we cannot forget is how great a defender she is. Lanelle's pressure defense is special. She wraps up opposing ball handlers of all sizes and descriptions. She puts severe pressure on opponents, gets tips and deflections in large numbers, and forces turnovers with regularity. Sunday was a rare opportunity to see Lanelle compete within her own age group and it was obvious where she stands in relation to most of the Class of 2026.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["362575"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":506969,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Big bodies are always in short supply, so it's no earth-shattering revelation that kids with size and skill are going to draw plenty of scrutiny early and often. That's certainly the case with Oakland who has already made a major impact at the varsity level and at the highest rungs on the AAU ladder with the Minnesota Fury's elite UAA squad. On Sunday we saw Callie go up against the best in the Class of 2026 and she made it clear she is one of the best power forwards among the state's best 9th graders. The lefty is a force down low at both ends of the floor. She's strong and physical and has the size, strength and sense of anticipation that makes her a great rebounder on either offense or defense. Oakland handles the ball well for her size, can knock down jump shots consistently and has nice touch around the basket. Is she the best big in the Class? Time will tell. She's certainly making a compelling case for herself.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["498663"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":506970,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Madison is having a great run right now. After toiling in the shadows for most of the summer, Ohm has emerged in recent weeks as a serious prospect to be reckoned with in Minnesota's freshmen class. She impressed the heck out of us at AAU tryouts in August. Last week at the Minnesota Rise Fall League in Mankato she was very good. And on Sunday at the Showcase the Rochester-based athlete was once again generating a lot of buzz. Many in attendance had not seen her play before. Based on their comments during the event, and texts and messages we have received since, Ohm left a very positive impression while going up against some elite opposition. She's long and athletic, with big strides, an exceptionally good sense of timing and pacing, and an elusive quality on offense that's difficult to describe but easy to love. Stay tuned. This kid is going to be good.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["478366"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":506976,"_player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Riley is on a roll! Entering the summer we knew Ang had potential. We had seen it in limited appearances on the Rosemount varsity. We just didn't know exactly how much potential. Well the sharpshooter lit it up all summer for Crossfire. It seemed like she was the leading scorer in her division almost every week. Fast forward to AAU tryouts and Riley kept it rolling, earning a spot for next season on North Tartan's top 2026 unit. That's a great accomplishment in and of itself. On Sunday it was more of the same. Ang is clearly one of the very best catch-and-shoot guards in the Class. Give her a second, and a little bit of space, and Riley is going to bury it time after time after time. She can do much more than shoot, however. Ang is quicker than she looks, gets to the hoop on a regular basis, and makes nice decisions, playing the game with intelligence and maturity. The fact that she's from Rosemount tells you all you need to know about her defense.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["502561"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":506977,"_player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"We're planning on writing about the biggest stock risers at the PGH Freshman Showcase at some point this week, so things might be getting somewhat redundant here. Apologies in advance for that. The way Marta played on Sunday, however, it's clear to me that she did more to improve her recruiting stock and ranking potential than any other player at the event. At 6'2 she's got the size and length everyone is looking for. For us, though, it is the rapid improvement that has us sitting up and taking notice. Her skill development, improved coordination and enhanced aggressiveness has soared since last spring thanks to a terrific summer with Starks Elite. Last week our colleague Tony Ragulen included Forsline in his look at potential breakout players in the upcoming high school season. On Sunday Marta made him look pretty smart – which, by the way, he is!","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":507038,"width":768,"height":512,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/09/Ava-Meierotto-action.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-507038" width="768" height="512"/><figcaption><em>[player_tooltip player_id='502542' first='Ava' last='Meierotto'] of Duluth Marshall</em></figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><li>[player_tooltip player_id='502582' first='Nadia' last='Bretton'] – 5'6 guard, Rochester Lourdes</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='455051' first='Vivian' last='Carter'] – 6'0 forward, Holy Angels</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='502544' first='Lola' last='Lundquist'] – 5'1 guard, Blue Earth</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='502542' first='Ava' last='Meierotto'] – 5'5 guard, Duluth Marshall</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'] – 5'9 guard/forward, Fairmont</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='472446' first='Amaya' last='Penn'] – 5'4 guard, St. Croix Lutheran</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='502552' first='Sophia' last='Perry'] – 5'10 guard, Lakeville North</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='339214' first='Jayci' last='Rath'] – 6'2 forward, Stewartville</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='478376' first='Anna' last='Saari'] – 5'2 guard, Duluth Marshal</li><li>[player_tooltip player_id='502568' first='Willa' last='Waytashek'] – 5'4 guard, Princeton</li></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->