Class of 2026’s Top 5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>T4 [player_tooltip player_id='570288' first='Rilee' last='Storm'], John Marshall, W, 5-8, So.</strong> - Storm flashed her true position as a stretch 2 this year. Everything started to come into focus for the Monarch. She's continued to improve on her ability to shoot the 3 ball and her release has become quicker as she lines up her shot. She also became more adept at finding her way to the rim, especially through traffic. These skills on offense gave her a floor-stretching quality that should come in handy as she continues to develop her strength and more quickness in her feet. On the defensive end, she often stepped into the role of guarding a team's best player. With her long limbs and ability to create problems, she took command of her assignment. Because she showed these abilities at the AAAA level and due to the schedule John Marshall played, she rose up a spot to No. 4. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>T4 [player_tooltip player_id='640828' first='Lauren' last='Flanagan'], Parkersburg, PG, 5-2, So. </strong>- This Big Red is a true point guard - one who owns a genuine great scoring touch. In particular, she's deceptive with her offense, especially when it comes to the trey. She knows she's quick enough to get by most guards and she enjoys keeping her defender in suspense. Once they've let their guard down, she picks up on it immediately and fires up a quick trey or she's fully analyzed the defense and has whipped a pass off to a teammate. She's also a kid who doesn't need a ton of shots, because she's too busy being a point guard. Can she get to the rim when she needs to? Yes. Is that her first choice? No. She adds a great mid-range shot on top of her trey. On the defensive end, she's got quick hands capable of making lightning fast steals. My favorite part about her? She's a competitor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3 [player_tooltip player_id='558873' first='Lucie' last='Cline'], Parkersburg South, F, 5-11, So.</strong> - Cline continues to put the pieces together as she explores all her basketball possibilities. On one hand, she's emerging as a potential slash, cut and move small forward - one player who can always find ways to get herself a better shot. On the other hand, she's beginning to combine her length with her offensive game. Instead of being frustrated by a smaller defender on a drive to the basket, she's transforming her approach. She knows she can slow down and put up a shot over a smaller defender. One thing I didn't like about her this year, she seemed to settle for the 3 a lot instead of trusting her abilities. She has the skills to get by many defenders, now, she's needs to keep growing comfortable in the usage of those skills. She's too athletic not to be able to get her desired shot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2 [player_tooltip player_id='570285' first='NuNu' last='Pannell'], St. Albans, PG, 5-6, So. </strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='570285' first='NuNu' last='Pannell'] may still be the best kept secret at point guard in the state. Seriously. She's understanding the position better and better by the game. The biggest growths I saw from her this year were her ability to hit a mid-range jumper, her ability to square up or post up a defender in the low post, and her increased game IQ. Thanks to the addition of some added hesitation moves, her offensive options have opened up significantly. She's using her improved jumper in tandem with hesitation to create her own shots or blow by a defender and get to the rim. She's also utilizing this deception at the top of the key, she can be standing at the arc one moment and streaking down the lane for a score the next. Down low, she's shown a back-to-the-basket game with a awesome spin move that most defenders just can't handle. On defense, she's a pest - plain and simple. All of her improved basketball IQ and the new tricks up her sleeve rose her to the No. 2 spot in the Class of 2026 rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1 [player_tooltip player_id='728706' first='Sophi' last='Hutchinson'], Spring Valley, 5-8, CG, So. </strong>- How do you spell versatility on the basketball court? S-O-P-H-I. Yes, it's true. The Timberwolf showed time and time again that there exists no better word to describe her this past season. She excelled at 3 different position on offense for Spring Valley. There were times that SV even had two shooting guards on the floor with [player_tooltip player_id='384100' first='Dria' last='Parker'] and herself. What made her so effective this year? She understands the game and understands the action and reaction behind nearly every chess move. You could see this in her ability to take advantage of the nights where Parker, the best shooter on the team, drew an overwhelming amount of attention from help defenses. Hutchinson stepped in on offense and then made life difficult for her defender. She's showed an explosive drive game, but an even deadlier ranger from 3. Honestly, there won't be a team SV isn't ready to handle at the state tournament. The Wolves have two great SG defenders they can put on the floor at the same time. On offense, her 3-ball has really continued to develop along with her ability to score from just about any level. On defense, she can guard many if not all 1s, 2s, and 3s in West Virginia and beyond. Put everything together and she's in for a huge state tournament and AAU spring and summer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->