2025s to Note This July

Now that I got my thoughts out about sectionals and early, inevitably wrong, picks for each sectional, I want to focus back on the more crucial part of July. The next 30ish days are some of the biggest in the recruiting world and draw all the D1 and D2 coaches from around the country, along with most of the D3 and NAIA coaches, so I wanted to highlight some kids going into the first live period coming up and continue to do so leading up to July 7th.

Katelyn McGinnis Katelyn McGinnis 5'10" | SG Kimberly | 2025 State WI

The Kimberly guard has drawn interest from teams around the Midwest and beyond. McGinnis has received offers from Eastern Illinois, Belmont, and Wisconsin. My opinion of her has risen significantly since the start of this AAU season. McGinnis can star in some roles in offenses. One is as a secondary ball-handler in a dribble-drive style offense. This summer, the shooting has been there, and she’s made shots from all over the floor, but I like how she attacks the rim. Usually, when people talk about driving to the basket, they’ll think of finishing with layups, which is fair. However, McGinnis’ way of using a drive brings something different. She uses her right shoulder to keep defenders away from the ball and likes to take these 10-foot fadeaway jumpers that she’s good at after a sidestep or step back. I love how on McGinnis’ drives, she always has her head up and is a willing passer. Look no further than Kimberly’s Sectional Semi-Final game against Kaukauna, where she made the game-tying pass to a teammate to send that game into overtime. She may not be an orthodox kid attacking the rim, scoring, or distributing, but she has a chance to be a kid who blows up this month.

Faith Walder Faith Walder 5'5" | PG West De Pere | 2025 State WI

There are a handful of adjectives that every coach wants their lead guard to get called; reliable, consistent, decisive, and intelligent. Walder fits into all of those. There have only been a few occasions when I’ve seen her play and thought, “She’s out of control,” and for a 2025 only just reaching upperclassmen status, that’s rare. She’s always been a press-resistant kid and creates easy points after breaking full-court pressure for herself or her teammates. I’d love to see her get more comfortable shooting from the perimeter, but other than that, she’s been excellent.

Lilly Meulemans Lilly Meulemans 5'8" | CG Appleton East | 2025 State WI

Meuelemans is a kid you won’t see playing in July, but you’ll see her with her Wisconsin Blaze team. She’ll fly under the radar because she won’t play this July, but before her injury this season, she was one of the most athletic kids I saw during the high school year. Another thing that makes her something to behold is her motor. Meuelmans flies up and down the court, never gives up on a play, and was rewarded for that effort on multiple occasions. She had a few challenging games in her first FVA season, and the numbers didn’t represent everything she was capable of, but she could be a breakout kid this coming high school season.

Jordan Fenske Jordan Fenske 5'10" | SG Waukesha West | 2025 State WI

If you don’t know how good Fenske was this season, I’ll do my best to describe what she did at Waukesha West. For one, she was thrust into a lead guard role in a talented conference and nearly won a share of the Classic 8 Conference, which is absurd, the more I look back on it. At times against teams like Arrowhead and Kettle Moraine, she was unguardable, and her range extended out past the volleyball line, and she’ll let it go from there. Her roles in AAU and high school teams are different, but she could do things out of the corner with her threat to shoot, dribble, run a quick P&R, or chase a pass into a dribble handoff.