2025s to Watch in Appleton

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the next few days, I'll highlight a few kids in 2026, 2025, and 2024 classes to watch this weekend in Appleton. There will be kids who'll end up playing at every level in college, and I'd like to highlight a few of them before they tip off on Friday night in the Fox Valley. I'll start with the 16u teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='329595' first='Ella' last='Francois']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm eager to see Francois after an excellent live period a few weekends ago in Milwaukee. You won't find many kids who can break down defenses with the ball in their hands and the comfort of playing away from the ball, cutting, and running off screens. It's hard to envision Francois in a situation where she wouldn't be comfortable, and I don't think I've seen any moment when she's looked out of her depth, and I've seen her with different AAU teams and her high school team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='767279' first='Laci' last='Lindsey']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I liked Lindsey's shooting and length in Milwaukee. I'm excited to see her again because her team looked off, and it was an 8 am game on a Sunday, but some flashes showed a lot of potential. Her length, shooting, and composure will help her stand out to coaches at the next level. Lindsey comes from a successful basketball family, and she looks like she'll also get a chance to play at the next level if that's something Lindsey's interested in doing after she graduates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='767273' first='Eva' last='Brooks']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I first saw the Lena product in Milwaukee, along with her 2025 Purple Aces team, who have a handful of intriguing kids. She's a 6-0 athlete with plenty of athleticism. Those two things alone will help her succeed on the court, and she finds ways to be chaotic, and in AAU, Brooks looks extremley promising. After seeing her in about a half at the end of the live period, I want to sit down and watch her play a complete game to see how she affects a game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448249' first='Isabelle' last='Freisleben']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friesleben will draw her fair share of interest from scholarship-level coaches if they haven't been calling already. You won't find many 6-0 forwards who can play with their back to the basket and stretch the floor at the level the New Berlin West forward does. She's a strong kid too. She's not like some of these tall wings. Friesleben's a legit four that can play the five if you want to play small ball. You'll hear her name plenty over the next few years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->