2025 Rising Small Forwards to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 class has a growing group of talented small forwards. Several made my 2025 all-summer ball team. More were given serious consideration but ultimately were not included and are included in the batch I present to you below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='456530' first='Amaree' last='Henderson'], 5'10", Newton, [program_tooltip program_id='713097' first='Dynasty' last=''] - Someone tell me how Henderson was left off even the AVCTL Div I honorable mention team. AFTER making second team in 2022. Joanna Chadwick reported in January in a tweet that she had hung 10 straight on Derby. I got you Amaree! Quick, athletic, with good size and the ability to score off the dribble with defenders hanging on her. Shoots the three ball as well (6 of the 10 btw were three balls). Has transition speed and solidly competes on the boards. Has the potential to explode into the top 25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='688272' first='Leah' last='Littlejohn'], 6'0", Bishop Carroll, Life Prep - Littlejohn played the summer with a club team with legitimate bigs that allowed her to play slide into better suited roles on the wing. About half way through the summer she started turning heads. I was getting a lot of "who is that?!" Littlejohn is about a pure small forward as you will find and she has good speed, some hops, and huge wingspan. She found her niche shooting the ball and working from the wing and off drives. She showed not just good hands but showed strong, interior passing ability. Slight of build, she competes well around the glass due to her length and flat gets down the floor looking to get a layup on either side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='456522' first='Jadyn' last='Mangan'], 5'10", Greeley County, Western [program_tooltip program_id='715643' first='Kansas' last='Elite']. Mangan powered her extremely young 1A Division II team to five wins and a near major upset of St. Francis in a sub-state final. Having a solid frame and good length her quick first step gets her to the hole. She also shoots the three ball in flow. I expect the Jackrabbits will be disruptive to several consistently stronger teams routinely play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='675832' first='Anna' last='Duncan'], 5'11", Valley Center, [program_tooltip program_id='716118' first='Next' last='Level Eclipse'] - The Viking forward has had a busy summer with her club team and I have enjoyed seeing Duncan play a few times. Blessed with a huge wingspan, she uses that to great effect to challenge shots; grab rebounds; score over defenders; and generally be a disruption defensively. One area I expect to see her do is lay more wood on cutters, players working to gain position 8' from the basket; and when boxing out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='675830' first='Kaia' last='Smith'], 6'1", Hutchinson, [program_tooltip program_id='716118' first='Next' last='Level Eclipse'] - Smith grabbed my attention at a home game last season with her raw ability, good transition speed, great length, and perimeter shooting. I was really hoping to she would jump into club ball and was I ever thrilled to see she did. Already five fold improved Smith was showed terrific interior quickness and broad post skills that made her sharpened perimeter abilities that much more effective. Just scratching the surface Smith should easily earn AVCTL division I honors next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='675829' first='Saige' last='Hadley'], 5'9", Lebo - Hadley heads into her junior campaign after being selected to the Lyon County first team (second team in 2022) and first team KBCA 1A Div II first team while averaging 14.7 points per game . The Wolves reached the title game undefeated before running into a Hanover buzzsaw. She is a solid scorer who excels at calling for the ball inside where she wants to catch it. She also drops high arching bombs from the perimeter. With her game smarts, she will only get more dangerous as she gets bigger and stronger. It would be no surprise to me find Lebo back in the finals in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='822716' first='Keilee' last='Finnerty']</strong>, 5'10", Hartford - 6.2.23 MAYB 1A/2A - As the only unranked player in the group Finnerty has real potential to climb into the Lyon County all-league ranks. Seeing her at the MAYB 1A/2A event a couple months back I saw flashes of ability in flow. A solid free throw shooter Finnerty has a nice ability to finish with extension over defenders. As fluidness to her game grows her effectiveness on both ends of the floor will only grow.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->