Teams Who Could Surprise People This Year

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the past week, I've talked about some players we know and some we don't that I like heading into the 2023-24 season. I want to highlight some teams with high ceilings, known and unknown, heading into the season next month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DeForest</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season was an awkward one for the Norskies. DeForest got current UW-Parkside wing Jaelyn Derlein back from her knee injury, but it was a year getting back to 100%. However, I liked some of the other pieces that the Norskies had. The two kids that stood out to me were Jada Kelliher and [player_tooltip player_id='209901' first='Rylan' last='Oberg']. I'd describe each as an active defensive kid who can space the floor on the offensive end. There will also be a 6-1 wing who'll enter their first high school season and could make a noticeable impact. Remember the name [player_tooltip player_id='914978' first='Alexis' last='Accuardi'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Menomonie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs have been a successful program over the past few seasons without having some of the top-end talent of other programs in D2. They've had kids like Helen Chen and Emma Mommsen on their Sectional Championship team to earn scholarships at the D2 level. Even when they go up against teams with D1 kids, they more than hold their own. They've been a tough team to beat. Notre Dame had problems with them early in the 2022 State Semifinals, nearly went back this past season, and has been a pain in the side of some of the larger schools in the Big Rivers Conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bonduel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The school with one of my favorite alliterations for a school in Wisconsin, the Bonduel Bears, has the tools to surprise some people in D4. [player_tooltip player_id='209613' first='Ella' last='Hischke'] is a talented do-it-all three or four who has led the Bears to the brink of a state tournament in the 2021-22 season. The core may be different than two seasons ago, but with a kid like Hischke, you have a puncher's chance to make a Cinderella run in February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prescott</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game-breaking talent that the Cardinals possess is good enough to get them to the Resch Center. Their two best kids, [player_tooltip player_id='266982' first='Lila' last='Posthuma'] and Violet Otto, have experience playing against some of the best kids in the region and have excelled at that level. Their skill sets complement each other. Each experienced playing with other talented girls and understood how to sacrifice to make the team better. The biggest issue over the past few seasons has been stability on the bench for the program, but I still expect this group to be a significant threat to come out of their sectional.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->