AAU Awards: Meet the Hard Hat All Star team

College football is beginning, the high school volleyball and soccer seasons are underway, and we have reached the end of the road for the Prep Girls Hoops AAU awards. Our last order of business is always the most fun: Selecting the Hard Hat All Star team. We say ‘fun' because this award celebrates athletes who don't get recognized enough for their contributions. Most will not win a Most Valuable Player award or consistently make the grade-level All Star teams or capture hardware for things like Breakout Player of the Year and such. In fact, players are not eligible for selection here if they have been chosen for any other post-season honor in 2023.   So what is a Hard Hat All Star? The answer is simple. These are the kids who pack up their lunch pail day after day, throw on the hard hat and get down to work. They're gritty, sometimes a little mean, almost always physical competitors who never take a day off. Many of them are also highly skilled but it is things like their motor, relentless defending, and willingness to do the dirty work that has earned them a position on the Hard Hat squad.   Certainly there are All Star-type performers who play the same way, competing with a little sandpaper – kids like [player_tooltip player_id='205298' first='Jordan' last='Ode'], [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'], [player_tooltip player_id='252480' first='Rae' last='Ehrman'], [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] and [player_tooltip player_id='206227' first='Lexi' last='Hanna'], for example. [player_tooltip player_id='461383' first='Bella' last='DeHaan'], who earned Honorable Mention status for Breakout Player of the Year, would definitely have been a serious candidate. But the players cited above have all received post-season accolades already. These players have not.   A couple of notes: Selections are made regardless of class. It's definitely a senior-heavy group with nine players from the Class of 2024 making the cut. There are three 2025s, one 2026 and a pair of 2027s. Also note that at this time of year many players have already moved on from their 2023 AAU teams and are affiliated with a different club. For consistency and clarity the affiliations shown here are for the 2023 season.   Without further ado, these are your 2023 Prep Girls Hoops Hard Hat All Stars.   FIRST TEAM   [player_tooltip player_id='520282' first='Olivia' last='Kesti'] – 2024 forward, Crossfire Schuck   The Spring Lake Park forward has emerged as a scholarship-level candidate this year. Olivia is a bit of a late bloomer. She has always been a hard-nosed competitor, but with the evolution of her basketball skills has come a lot more notoriety. Coaches who watch 6-footer compete now are impressed with her grit and motor. So are we.   [player_tooltip player_id='304927' first='Ella' last='Kletti'] – 2024 guard, Crossfire Schuck   If there was an actual trophy for this award we could pretty much etch Ella's name into the metal. The Mahtomedi guard returns to the Hard Hat All Star team as a repeat selection. Her approach to the game epitomizes what this designation is all about. Ella has speed, skill and tenacity. Her compete level is as high as it gets. And she never stops fighting.   [player_tooltip player_id='461340' first='Hali' last='Savela'] – 2024 guard, High Impact   We could cut and paste our description of Kletti and put it right here because Hali's game is so similar. This kid personifies the lunch pail mentality. That's not surprising given that Savela hails from the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota, an entire region built on toil, tenacity and guts. The guard from Mountain Iron-Buhl can also shoot the heck out of it. She has committed to Jamestown University.   [player_tooltip player_id='350108' first='Anna' last='Goodman'] – 2024 guard, Crossfire Davis   The diminutive point guard from Lakeville South is our third repeat selection. Is there any floor general in Minnesota who goes harder than Anna does? We're talking Greenway-level compete factor to go along with a healthy dose of speed, quickness, skill and savvy. Anna is so resilient, with a take-no-prisoners approach to the game that serves her well.   [player_tooltip player_id='339117' first='Evyn' last='Eppinga'] – 2024 guard, MN P.R.E.P   Evyn, Anna and Ella are virtually interchangeable pieces. Make them play with faces disguised and identical uniforms and I'm not certain we'd be able to distinguish one from the other. The Anoka guard has always been a highly effective competitor, but this summer she raised her game by a notch or two. Just 5'4, Evyn plays way bigger and does it with lunch pail in hand.   SECOND TEAM   [player_tooltip player_id='453781' first='Ella' last='Frazier'] – 2025 guard, Crossfire Tusler   Speaking of raising one's game, Ella did exactly that this summer. The feisty guard from Mahtomedi fit like a glove on a strong Crossfire Tusler squad where her defensive presence and ability to score in transition were huge.   [player_tooltip player_id='520264' first='Cady' last='Davis'] – 2024 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='713420' first='Minnesota' last='Diamond Elite']   Cady has a motor! Ask anyone who faced the Minneapolis Roosevelt guard on the Prep Girls Hoops Circuit and they'll confirm it. She is a weapon on both sides of the ball and brings positive energy to the floor game after game.   [player_tooltip player_id='633295' first='Maryn' last='Pool'] – 2025 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='712352' first='Air' last='Minnesota']   The 5'8 guard from Owatonna has also made noise on the PGH Circuit thanks to her consistent energy and commitment to defense. She is an outstanding on-ball stopper whose aggression, assertiveness and calm demeanor has made her a force.   [player_tooltip player_id='461347' first='Maddie' last='Olinger'] – 2024 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='713291' first='Minnesota' last='Nice']   The 5'10 guard from Jordan is relentless. She consistently brings grit, energy, a really big motor and a ton of valuable intangibles to the table. She was the straw that stirred the drink for her [program_tooltip program_id='713291' first='Minnesota' last='Nice'] team and the X-Factor for the Jags.   [player_tooltip player_id='502589' first='Hattie' last='Fullhart'] – 2026 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United']   The lengthy guard from Fergus Falls impressed us all summer with her consistent effort, passion for the game, and utterly fearless approach regardless of opponent. Like Kletti, Goodman and several others on the team, she makes life brutal for opposing players.   HONORABLE MENTION   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='215986' first='Tresa' last='Baumgard'] – 2024 forward, Playmakers North (Chisholm) (MSU-Moorhead)</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='304917' first='Makadyn' last='Gust'] – 2024 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='714562' first='FBC' last='North'] (St. Charles)</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='644100' first='Annika' last='Kieser'] – 2027 forward, [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] Nike (Wayzata)</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='675954' first='Brooke' last='Mickolichek'] – 2027 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] Elite (Glencoe-Silver Lake)</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='422673' first='Ella' last='Mullenbach'] – 2025 guard, Minnesota Stars Post (Minnesota Valley Lutheran)</li> </ul>

College football is beginning, the high school volleyball and soccer seasons are underway, and we have reached the end of the road for the Prep Girls Hoops AAU awards. Our last order of business is always the most fun: Selecting the Hard Hat All Star team. We say ‘fun' because this award celebrates athletes who don't get recognized enough for their contributions. Most will not win a Most Valuable Player award or consistently make the grade-level All Star teams or capture hardware for things like Breakout Player of the Year and such. In fact, players are not eligible for selection here if they have been chosen for any other post-season honor in 2023.