Intriguing prospects at the MN Rise Invite League

It seems like there are several clusters of great girls basketball in the state of Minnesota. Certainly the Western suburbs of the Twin Cities have the deepest talent pool by a wide margin. Southeastern Minnesota has long been known as a great source of next-level players, too. Now you can add the Mankato-centric South Central part of the state. That trend has been emerging over the past two or three summers. It was certainly obvious on Sunday at Bethany Lutheran College where the Minnesota Rise Invite League was in action.   Many of the top performers on Sunday are names we have become very familiar with, including MSU-Mankato commit [player_tooltip player_id='178267' first='Rhyan' last='Holmgren'] of St. Peter, St. Cloud State commit [player_tooltip player_id='302273' first='Abigail' last='O'Reilly'] of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Northwestern (Iowa) commit [player_tooltip player_id='339166' first='Savannah' last='Schlueter'] of Hutchinson, Briar Cliff commit [player_tooltip player_id='186143' first='Hannah' last='Stark'] of Yellow Medicine East along with great prospects like [player_tooltip player_id='304895' first='Macy' last='Birkholz'] of Mankato East, [player_tooltip player_id='280354' first='Tucker' last='Downs'] of Mankato West, [player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'] of Fairmont and [player_tooltip player_id='339175' first='Brooklyn' last='Lewis'] of New Ulm. There were also a few fresh faces that caught our attention at the event, which features not only players from the Rise but invitees from the region who happen to play for other AAU clubs.   Here are a few intriguing prospects we liked on Sunday.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/09/Madison-Ohm-scaled-e1663082911975-857x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-499332" width="214" height="256" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='498663' first='Madison' last='Ohm'] – 2026 guard, Rochester Century   We covered Madison (photo above) for the first time this summer at the North Tartan Meltdown where she was very good. She impressed again at AAU tryouts in August. Ohm, who elected to join the Rise's impressive 2026 squad for next season, was very good again on Sunday. At 5'9 with really nice length, Ohm is just so deceptive. She has mastered the art of changing speed for maximum advantage, and time after time she lulled defenders to sleep before slipping past them to score at the rim. That sense of timing is something that's really difficult to teach. She has light feet, plenty of speed, and a solid skill set. Ohm once again made the case that she should be included in the Prep Girls Hoops Freshmen 50 that will be announced at the end of the month.   [player_tooltip player_id='1194474' first='Reese' last='Drake'] – 2026 point guard, Marshall   Like most of the players we've seen who come out of coach Dan Westby's Marshall Tigers program, Reese is fundamentally sound, plays with poise and patience, and is all about the team-first approach to the game of basketball. Reese is just 5'5 at the moment and not terribly physically imposing. That's OK because her game is more about brains than brawn. She runs the floor with her eyes up which helps make her an excellent distributor who has the ability to locate open teammates and get them the ball in a timely manner. Drake isn't uber-quick but she gets around the floor with plenty of pace and she makes very, very few mistakes. Drake will play for the Rise in 2023.   [player_tooltip player_id='498662' first='Jadyn' last='Kor'] – 2026 guard, Pipestone   Jadyn showed us a ton of potential on Sunday. At 5'8 she has nice length with a solid frame and plenty of athleticism. Those attributes offer players a nice foundation on which to build, plus she's got that certain ease of movement and first-step explosiveness we see from great athletes. Jadyn runs the floor well, uses her body to gain position on defenders, and can guard multiple positions effectively. Jadyn will join the Rise next summer, coming over from South Dakota Network. She is the younger sister of [player_tooltip player_id='339203' first='Aubrea' last='Kor'], a senior at Pipestone who we have scouted over the past few seasons. Kor is now working on the next steps in her development which include shooting more consistently from distance.   [player_tooltip player_id='498657' first='Aubrey' last='Steffl'] – 2027 guard, Cedar Mountain   Sunday's play featured two divisions – the 10th-11th-12th graders in one and the 9th graders in the other. Steffl (top photo) is only an 8th grader but with a few athletes missing the session Aubrey was a fill-in. Let's just say the 5'5 point guard made the most of her opportunity. In fact, Steffl was one of the very best players in the gym. She shares the backcourt on the strong Rise 2027 squad with elite talent [player_tooltip player_id='498658' first='Morgan' last='Mathiowetz'] of Sleepy Eye-St. Mary's. What a combination they will be going forward! Steffl has really quick feet with substantial explosiveness and athleticism. Her skill set is well-developed and she has the ball on a string at all times. Audrey plays with just enough swagger, and has the presence on the court that every great point guard owns. We loved her sense of timing and ability to pick apart of the defense with poise and patience. Although she's pretty small right now we think Steffl is going to make a very big splash down the road.   OTHERS WHO IMPRESSED   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/09/Addison-Hoof-crop-1244x817-1662991690-e1662991721175.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-498673" width="197" height="263" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='396435' first='Addison' last='Hoof'] - 2025 guard, Lester Prairie   Addie showed her stuff all summer with the Minnesota Fury's top 2025 UAA team. That fact alone should tell you what kind of player Hoof (photo above) is. The 5'5 guard from Lester Prairie was the quickest kid in the gym on Sunday. Her straight-line speed was giving defenders fits and she was able to blow by all of them when we watched. Addison is a strong defender with great lateral movement who can lock up ball handlers of all sizes and descriptions. Who knows if she'll go to college for track or basketball. Either way she's going to be a difference maker.   Rylie Cother – 2025 guard, Jackson County Central   The 5'9 guard showed us much more on Sunday than we have seen from her in the past. Rylie was far more aggressive, particularly on defense. We loved her work on the perimeter. With good length and fairly quick hands, Cother was able to get a paw on the ball in the passing lanes on several occasions to grab a steal and score in transition. Offensively she showed more assertiveness, as well. We also liked her 360-degree spin move in the lane and finish with the left hand which was executed on the fly and with great precision. JCC plays the game with a ton of pace and it's obvious that Cother is comfortable with at speed. Look for her to make more noise next summer.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/F6A5BD39-3F2E-4747-8CAC-28A6508E882A-scaled-e1663083709370-512x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-285560" width="128" height="256" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='302259' first='Brianna' last='Simpson'] – 2023 guard, Marshall   Simpson is a hard-nosed guard with a ton of strength, athleticism and physical presence. She certainly showed that on Sunday, going head-to-head with [player_tooltip player_id='304895' first='Macy' last='Birkholz'] who plays the game in much the same way. At 5'8 she's not super tall but the combination of speed and strength allows her to get to the rim with high frequency. We haven't seen her shoot the ball a whole lot, most likely because she hasn't had to. Bri isn't exactly cut from the same mold as most players at Marshall but she has shown consistently that she can excel within Westby's system and express herself individually, as well. Simpson has also been a star in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA that will come in handy when it comes time to sort through the ins and outs of finding a spot on a roster and some scholarship dollars at the next level. Currently ranked in the Prep Girls Hoops 2023 Top 100, Brianna has the potential to move up during her senior year.

It seems like there are several clusters of great girls basketball in the state of Minnesota. Certainly the Western suburbs of the Twin Cities have the deepest talent pool by a wide margin. Southeastern Minnesota has long been known as a great source of next-level players, too. Now you can add the Mankato-centric South Central part of the state. That trend has been emerging over the past two or three summers. It was certainly obvious on Sunday at Bethany Lutheran College where the Minnesota Rise Invite League was in action.