2026 Player Rankings: Sleepers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like I've said before, a player usually grows tremendously between freshman and sophomore season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Here are a few of the young ladies that I think could step up big for their respective schools.</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='677521' first='Saniyah' last='Downing'] <strong>Nort</strong>h<strong> (Featured Image)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lefty guard is the reigning region player of the year and will be even better this year. Downing has a quick first step and a nice offensive package. She will lead a young team that I think can make some noise this upcoming season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='659934' first='Bella' last='Abt'] <strong>Prescott</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abt is one of the better players in Northern Arizona. She should build off of a successful club season and being named all-region as a freshman. She's a versatile player who makes others around her better. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='659945' first='Maci' last='Kerns'] <strong>Higley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The scoring point guard is primed to take a step forward this upcoming season for Higley. Kerns is a facilitator in that she looks to keep her teammates involved. She also has the ability to knock down the perimeter jumper and get buckets for herself. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='624028' first='Taylor' last='Sipfle'] <strong>Hamilton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This will be unusual in that the Hamilton transfer will not be the tallest girl on the team. Sipfle is a walking double-double and brings her skills to one of the better teams in the AIA. She won't have the pressure of having to carry a team on her own and that will allow her to play more comfortably. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='588554' first='Emma' last='Slack'] <strong>Dream City Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slack gained valuable experience playing on the grind session as a freshman and will only get better. She has improved her ball-handling skills to go along with an already lethal jump shot. She flies under the radar but that should change soon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->