Kids Who Can Change a Game in 2026 Class

Some kids can be impossible to handle when they’re at their best. Today, I want to highlight some kids who fit that description in the 2025 and 2026 classes.

Ady Ketterhagen Ady Ketterhagen 5'9" | PG Oostburg | 2026 State WI

The Oostburg guard is one of the top guards in her class because of her athleticism, skill, and power. She runs the floor as well as anyone in the state, can defend multiple positions, and is one of the best shooters and passers in her class. When she plays at her best, Ketterhagen turns Oostburg into one of the most elite offenses in D3. She can score it as well as any guard below D2 and has an excellent vision to create easy baskets for her teammates.

Vanessa Johnson Vanessa Johnson 5'7" | PG Pewaukee | 2026 State WI

Although she’s injured and may be out indefinitely, there’s no better game-wrecker in the 2026 class than Vanessa Johnson Vanessa Johnson 5'7" | PG Pewaukee | 2026 State WI . The second she stepped onto the floor for Pewaukee last season, she solidified herself as, at worst, a top-ten defender in the state. She has a nose for the ball, moves laterally at an elite level, and has more length than you’d expect for someone listed at 5-7. Over the past year, she improved as a shooter and all-around offensive threat, but she won games for the Pirates last season because of how well she defended at the point of attack and how much chaos she created on her own. What she did in her high school debut against Notre Dame will stick with me forever.

Jasmin Heuer Jasmin Heuer 5'10" | SF Fall Creek | 2026 State WI

To excel at basketball, you need skill and effort. Most people forget about that second one, not Heuer. She played taller than her listed height and loved the challenge of battling bigs in the post. The Fall Creek native also has a knack for putting the ball in the basket through traffic and over tall defenders. She plays without fear and calmness, which creates this style of a quirky slasher that is elite when it comes to pivoting to generate space. When you think of someone forging a shot for themselves to score, it consists of isolation on the wing or top of the key with some herky-jerk dribble moves. Heuer attacks a defender’s hip, and she gets cut off, pivots to find space, and it works.

Mikaia Litza Mikaia Litza 5'7" | CG Wauwatosa East | 2026 State WI

I don’t use the terms moxie or swagger often because it comes off like I’m using words for the sake of using them, and it usually means nothing. However, describing Litza as having a certain moxie to her game fits who she is as a player. There are some things she pulls off that maybe five other guards would have the nerve to attempt. When I was at an open gym for Tosa East, she was attacking the rim on the right-hand side with a defender on her left hip and a rotated wing in front of her, and she took this goofy floater/hook shot that had no business getting to the rim and made it like it was nothing. Also, everyone smiled as they went down the floor. That tells me that stuff like that isn’t out of the norm to them, which is ridiculous. She has the ability to pull off stuff on the court that few others can.