Winter Rankings Review: 2025 Small Forwards
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The featured image is of Soriah Gouard Soriah Gouard 5'9" | SG Decatur Central | 2025 State IN (2025) of Decatur Central High School. Thursday we released the Winter rankings update for the Class of 2025. There were more than…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Soriah Gouard Soriah Gouard 5'9" | SG Decatur Central | 2025 State IN (2025) of Decatur Central High School.
Thursday we released the Winter rankings update for the Class of 2025. There were more than 25 new additions, plus a few players who raised their “stock”, so to speak, so subsequently there was some movement throughout the list. I wanted to take this time to circle back and address all of the ranked prospects, position by position. Below is a look at 37 small forward prospects who make up 24.7% of the rankings this time around, with analysis on a handful to “keep an eye on” detailed at the bottom.
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NEW ADDITIONS:
Libby Blythe Libby Blythe 5'11" | SF Evansville North | 2025 State IN , Evansville North – Long, wiry-strong, and skillful wing. Can shoot it outside or make plays off the dribble.
Cori Schultz Cori Schultz 5'9" | SF Chesterton | 2025 IN , Chesterton – Long, athletic, and effortful wing. Solid perimeter shooter, nice slasher, and defends.
Madison Sonsini Madison Sonsini 6'0" | SF Greenfield-Central | 2025 State IN , Richmond – Extremely long, wiry, and still growing. Can score it at all three levels; is a solid athlete.
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KEEP AN EYE ON:
Hailing from the “other” North Central High School, not many people away from the Terre Haute region are terribly familiar with Jalyn’s game. She is a long, wiry-strong, fluidly athletic, and somewhat bouncy wing who does a little of everything for the Lady Thunderbirds. She can handle the ball, initiate the offense, and create off the bounce like a point forward. She can knock down the occasional jumper outside to keep the defenses honest, but she’s much more of an attacking style of driver who can score it at the basket or in the mid-post. She also defends multiple positions well.
Soriah made the move to Decatur Central from Danville, Illinois, and she has thrived in her new environment. She is a long, athletically built, quick, fast, and somewhat bouncy wing who can take on a variety of roles. She has a solid handle and some creativity, she can get by defenders and score the ball inside the arc consistently, plus she can knock down the occasional outside jumper. I also like her athleticism and versatility defensively, plus she is a gritty defender who gets after it and plays with a motor. She has nice talent and a high ceiling to continue improving.
Highlights
Taylor saw a lot of opportunity as a rookie, but this year she has taken on a much bigger role and has become more of a leader for this team. She has nice length, fluid athleticism, and she plays with a motor. She is outstanding in the mid-post, where she can knock down open jumpers or attack slower defenders. She has added to her perimeter game and is starting to be more effective and consistent from the outside. Defensively, she also shows versatility, as she can use her length to help protect the paint a little or come out on the wing and defend bigger guards.