Class of 2026’s Top Five Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One transfer slightly shook up the second edition of the 2026 rankings. [player_tooltip player_id='728706' first='Sophi' last='Hutchinson']'s arrival made me rethink the numbers, and it was a difficult spot where to put her. Here are the top 5 players in the class of 2026: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1 [player_tooltip player_id='558873' first='Lucie' last='Cline'], Parkersburg South, W, 5-11, So. </strong>- Cline brings a great game to the court - one that with a little more work can certainly be Division I-ready. She's a threat at three different positions from 2 to 4. Standout performances can happen in any game. She doesn't back down from anyone. Maybe, that's because her game frustrates opponents in many different ways. Defenders have to be prepared to guard three positions or they are sunk. Cline can use her body to post up, she can jump out beyond the arc for a 3, or she can pull it down and take it to the hope. This young lady has a Division I future if she chooses to pursue it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2 [player_tooltip player_id='728706' first='Sophi' last='Hutchinson'], Spring Valley, CG, 5-8, So.</strong> - Hutchinson excels at being a 3-and-D player. All the time. Ask her to be that consistent shooter who hits multiple 3s in a quarter - she can do it. Assign her to an opponents' best defender. They are locked down. Every. Single. Time. This kid rocketed up the rankings after she looked right at home playing with the Thunder over the summer. She's not going to have a problem at Spring Valley this season. In fact, I expect her to contend for an all-state spot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3 [player_tooltip player_id='570285' first='NuNu' last='Pannell'], St. Albans, PG, 5-6, So.</strong> - Pannell continues to improve her outstanding vision and reaction times, thus refining her passing game. The biggest thing I saw this summer is her reaction time has translated to her thoughts. She's slowed down her passes and now those balls that used to go out of bounds, they are now finding teammates for shots. Thanks to that improvement, she's also become a great decoy for any team. She may be one of the rare players I would rather want shooting the ball then finding an open teammate. She sure seems to have the knack for finding her teammates in a great position to score the basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4 [player_tooltip player_id='385110' first='Kenna' last='Keener'], Grafton, C, 5-10, So. </strong>- Keener quickly became one of my favorite players during the AAU season. She is an undersized center that doesn't care about being undersized. Really. She set up against centers that had four inches on her and didn't blink an eye. She positioned herself well for rebounds and understood she could use her post moves to make buckets. Keener also cleaned the boards with the best of them. She also displayed a surprising 3-point shot that may come into play this winter for Grafton. The Bearcats are certainly in the middle of the hunt for a state tournament appearance. There is a log jam in the top 3 spots, so Storm and she may share the No. 4 spot in the winter rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5 [player_tooltip player_id='570288' first='Rilee' last='Storm'], John Marshall, PF, 5-8, So.</strong> - Storm is a creative scorer who can put the ball in the basket in many different ways. She's not afraid to put her head down and gather the hoop and the harm. She's quite adept at working around the rim, even with a smaller build. Deceptively strong, she's not afraid to run the floor and pass off to her teammates in transition. We are going to learn a lot about what kind of floor leader she is this season with the transfer of [player_tooltip player_id='342217' first='Kaitlyn' last='Blake']. Storm will likely be expected to grow up quicker in her sophomore season. Don't be surprised if she keeps rising as she keeps learning and playing against the Class AAAA state champion Morgantown and runner-up Wheeling Park, this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->