AAU Awards: 2024 All Stars and Most Valuable Player
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A plethora of opportunities. If you follow Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN on Twitter then you know that’s what she has earned this AAU season. Although I have mixed feelings about the posting…
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Continue ReadingA plethora of opportunities. If you follow Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN on Twitter then you know that’s what she has earned this AAU season. Although I have mixed feelings about the posting of college scholarship offers, they do tend to tell a story about a player’s circumstances regarding their future in basketball. In Ja’Kahla’s case, they chronicle the tale of an unbelievable year that deserves significant recognition as she is posting one offer after another from high-level, high-success Division 1 programs. For our part we are pleased to name Craft as the Class of 2024 Most Valuable Player.
What a run Craft has been on. After a stellar high school regular season in 2022-23, Ja’Kahla was the catalyst for St. Michael-Albertville’s run to the Class 4A state championship. The Knights had a ton of talent, including South Carolina commit Tessa Johnson, but it was Craft’s team-oriented energy that seemed to push Kent Hamre’s group to another level. It was something to see.
Right out of the gates she was every bit as good in AAU for Matt Pryor’s Metro Stars 3SSB. Combining with Hopkins guard Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN , a University of Florida commit who is one of the best point guards in the country, the Metro Stars were outstanding at the AAU State Prelims. Ja’Kahla ran away with the 2024 D1 scoring title with a whopping 91 points for the weekend, including a 31-point outburst against Minnesota Suns S40 and 28 against Fury 2024 UAA. After being hobbled by injury for a brief period, Craft went on a tear all summer.
At AAU tournaments and national showcases and everywhere in between she performed at a truly elite level which is why she earned offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Creighton, Marshall, Wichita State and many more. Craft turned heads everywhere she went with her relentless energy, athleticism, high level of skill and ability to score the basketball. Through it all, we have been thoroughly entertained. Congratulations to our Prep Girls Hoops 2024 AAU Most Valuable Player.
PLEASE NOTE
One important point to note about our AAU All-Star selections: Prep Girls Hoops is picking players based on their graduation year, not the level they competed at in 2023. That means an athlete from the Class of 2026 who played with the 2024s – Maddyn Greenway Maddyn Greenway 5'8" | PG Providence Academy | 2026 State MN or Tori Oehrlein Tori Oehrlein 5'10" | CG Crosby-Ironton | 2026 State MN , for example – could be selected for the 2026 All Stars but not the 2024s. The same would be true of 2025s Aneisha Scott Aneisha Scott 5'6" | PG DeLaSalle | 2025 State MN or Aaliyah Crump Aaliyah Crump 6'1" | SF Minnetonka | 2025 State MN .
Also, each of our selections is from the state of Minnesota. We’ll offer separate recognition later this month for out-of-state competitors on Minnesota teams, a field that might include competitors like Rainey Welson (Wisconsin), Jaiden Haile (North Dakota) or Lee Lee Bell (North Dakota). In the 2024 selections presented here, for example, these two criteria had a significant effect on our selections. A team like North Tartan 2024 EYBL, for example, has just five incoming seniors from the state of Minnesota on its roster – Trinity Wilson Trinity Wilson 6'3" | PF Lakeville North | 2024 State MN , Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN , Laura Hauge Laura Hauge 5'9" | SG St. Croix Lutheran | 2024 State MN , Savannah Gardner Savannah Gardner 5'10" | F Eastview | 2024 MN and Karly Jusczak Karly Jusczak 6'1" | PF Pine City | 2024 State MN . Many of their key players are from younger classes and/or other states.
With all of that fine print out of the way, here are the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2024 All Stars.
FIRST TEAM
- Ja’Kahla Craft Ja’Kahla Craft 5'9" | CG STMA | 2024 State MN – guard, Metro Stars 3SSB, St. Michael-Albertville
- Liv McGill Liv McGill 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2024 State MN – guard, Metro Stars 3SSB, Hopkins (Florida)
- Tori McKinney Tori McKinney 6'1" | CG Minnetonka | 2024 State MN – guard, North Tartan EYBL, Minnetonka
- Olivia Olson Olivia Olson 6'1" | CG Benilde-SM | 2024 State MN – guard, Fury 2024 UAA, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Michigan)
- Alyssa Sand Alyssa Sand 6'2" | PF Albany | 2024 State MN – forward, Comets Elite, Albany (St. Thomas)
SECOND TEAM
- Jordan Zubich Jordan Zubich 5'11" | SG Mountain Iron-Buhl | 2024 State MN – guard, Fury 2024 UAA, Mountain Iron-Buhl (North Carolina)
- Elisabeth Gadient Elisabeth Gadient 5'10" | CG Goodhue | 2024 State MN – guard, Fury 2024 Premier, Goodhue (MSU-Mankato)
- Kylan Gerads Kylan Gerads 5'11" | SF Albany | 2024 State MN – forward, Comets Elite, Albany (St. Cloud State)
- Olivia Pawlicki Olivia Pawlicki 6'1" | SF Shakopee | 2024 State MN – forward, Suns S40, Shakopee (Colorado State)
- Trinity Wilson Trinity Wilson 6'3" | PF Lakeville North | 2024 State MN – forward, North Tartan EYBL, Lakeville North (Vanderbilt)
THIRD TEAM
- Amy Thompson Amy Thompson 5'10" | SG Stillwater | 2024 State MN – guard, Fury 2024 UAA, Stillwater (South Florida)
- Olivia Wren Olivia Wren 5'10" | SG Roosevelt | 2024 State MN – guard, Minnesota Diamond Elite , Minneapolis Roosevelt
- Mallory Czinano Mallory Czinano 6'0" | SF Watertown-Mayer | 2024 State MN – forward, Metro Stars Szabla, Watertown-Mayer (MSU-Mankato)
- Willow Thiel Willow Thiel 5'11" | PF Perham | 2024 State MN – forward, Metro Stars Szabla, Perham
- Taylor Tool Taylor Tool 6'1" | PF Delano | 2024 State MN – forward, Crossfire Schuck, Delano (Northern State)
HONORABLE MENTION
- Kendall Barnes Kendall Barnes 5'7" | CG Roseville | 2024 State MN – guard, Minnesota Stars 3SSB, Roseville
- Drew Buslee Drew Buslee 5'9" | PG Eagan | 2024 State MN – guard, Metro Stars Szabla, Eagan (Sioux Falls)
- Piper Engelby Piper Engelby 5'11" | SG Andover | 2024 State MN – guard, Suns S40, Andover (New Jersey Institute of Technology)
- Marisa Frost Marisa Frost 5'8" | PG Centennial | 2024 State MN – guard, Fury 2024 UAA, Centennial (North Dakota State)
- Savannah Hedin Savannah Hedin 5'9" | SG Stewartville | 2024 State MN – guard, Southern Minnesota Fury 2024, Stewartville
- Rhyan Holmgren Rhyan Holmgren 5'9" | SG St. Peter | 2024 State MN – guard, Minnesota Rise Purfeerst, St. Peter (MSU-Mankato)
- Kristi Kottke Kristi Kottke 5'8" | CG Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2024 State MN – guard, Minnesota Rise Purfeerst, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (St. Cloud State)
- Rachel Kottke Rachel Kottke 5'8" | CG Buffalo Lake-H-S | 2024 State MN – guard, MNa Rise Purfeerst, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (St. Cloud State)
- Jessika Lofstrom Jessika Lofstrom 5'11" | SF Grand Rapids | 2024 State MN – guard, Minnesota Starks , Grand Rapids (Jamestown)
- Cece McNair Cece McNair 6'2" | PF Prior Lake | 2024 State MN – forward, Minnesota Stars 3SSB, Prior Lake (UW-Milwaukee)
- Avery Moeller Avery Moeller 5'10" | CG Rosemount | 2024 State MN – guard, Legacy Hoops Elite, Rosemount (Winona State)
- Isabella Sanneh Isabella Sanneh 5'11" | SF East Ridge | 2024 State MN – forward, Minnesota Stars 3SSB, East Ridge
- Claire Stern Claire Stern 6'0" | SF Maple Grove | 2024 State MN – wing, Suns S40, Maple Grove (North Dakota State)