Young Teams Across the Bluegrass (Part 4)

<p>While there are certainly a lot of talented teams across the state currently, I'm very excited for what's to come in the future as I have noticed multiple teams that have a lot of young talent already on their Varsity roster. As the seasons went on, I tried to take note of the teams I recognized as having huge contributions from underclassmen. I know I'm certain to miss some young teams, but below you can read about some of the teams I've seen this year that you can expect to hear a lot about in the years to come. The percentage in parentheses next to the team name is the percentage of underclassmen each team currently has (sophomores or younger) - for the final article of this series, all of the teams below sit at 66.7%, but I will still include that percentage below. <em>Please note that these percentages are based on rosters submitted to KHSAA and the records/stats may not have been up-to-date at the time this article was written.</em></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Carlisle County (66.7)</h2>   <p>Carlisle County's roster includes 2 seniors, 3 juniors, 7 freshmen, 2 eighth graders, and 1 seventh grader. They currently have a 13-8 record overall and a 12-5 record in their region. Their 3 leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id='502132' first='Kiera' last='Whitaker'] (20.8 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='739729' first='Macee' last='Hogancamp'] (14.4 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='1192413' first='Gracyn' last='Edging'] (8.9 PPG). Their leading rebounders are Hogancamp (11.2 RPG), Whitaker (7.7 RPG), and Jazz Smith (5.4 RPG). [player_tooltip player_id='502132' first='Kiera' last='Whitaker'] will be playing at John A Logan next season, but she has had a phenomenal high school career, including becoming her school's all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) and scoring over 2,000 points in her career. Replacing her will not be an easy task, but Hogancamp has taken a big jump every year and will be ready to step up even more next season. She averages a double-double and has the versatility to play any position effectively. On top of Hogancamp, they are set to return several players from their regular rotation, including juniors Jazz Smith and Kamdyn Longman and freshmen [player_tooltip player_id='1192413' first='Gracyn' last='Edging'], Abree Warren, and Rylee Lemons.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clinton County (66.7)</h2>   <p>Clinton County has a roster made up of 1 senior, 3 juniors, 3 sophomores, 1 freshman, 2 eighth graders, and 2 seventh graders. They have a 7-14 record overall and a 2-7 record in their region. Their scoring leaders include Landree Moons (17.4 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='1096694' first='Makayla' last='Smith'] (7.6 PPG), and Sadie Ipock (5.3 PPG). Their leading rebounders are Moons (8 RPG), Ipock (4 RPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='1096720' first='Tatum' last='Harlan'] (3.6 RPG). The bad news for the Lady Bulldogs moving forward? Moons is their lone senior and has been an integral part of this team for a long time. She is their leader on the court and statistically, so she will certainly be missed. However, the good news is that they have 9 returners who have played in at least 20 of their 21 games this season. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1096694' first='Makayla' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1096720' first='Tatum' last='Harlan'] along with sophomores Sadie Ipock and [player_tooltip player_id='1096702' first='Chloe' last='Longwell'] will provide veteran leadership on and off of the court. 7th grader Crista Thacker has shown a ton of potential this season and she has appeared in every single contest for Clinton County. Fellow middle schoolers, Bella Young (8th), Lexi Messer (8th), and Abby Davis (7th) are other young players who can contribute valuable minutes now and in the future.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">George Rogers Clark (66.7)</h2>   <p>I'm sure no other team in the state wants to hear this, but despite being a top-3 ranked team in the state all season long, GRC has a pretty young roster with 1 senior, 4 juniors, 5 sophomores, 4 freshmen, and 1 eighth grader. They currently sit at 23-2 overall and 6-0 in their region. Their top 3 leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id='739686' first='Kennedy' last='Stamper'] (11 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='631218' first='Jailenn' last='Green'] (10.8 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='376806' first='Teigh' last='Yeast'] (9.6 PPG). Their leading rebounders are [player_tooltip player_id='403466' first='Khania' last='Jones'] (6 RPG), [player_tooltip player_id='667087' first='Makili' last='Tabor'] (3.8 RPG), and Yeast (3.6 RPG). It's worth noting that [player_tooltip player_id='311967' first='Ciara' last='Byars'] was their leading scorer (14.1 PPG) and 2nd leading rebounder (5.3 RPG) before going down with a season-ending injury. The nationally-ranked Byars may be out for now, but expect a big senior year from her next season upon her return. The thing that makes the Cards so dangerous is that they have a ton of weapons that will get after it on both ends of the court. They will miss Tabor after she graduates this season, but they return the remainder of their roster and will likely be viewed as the top team in the state going into next season. Out of their stat leaders, Stamper (Fr), Green (Jr), Yeast (So), and [player_tooltip player_id='376804' first='Anaya' last='Chestnut'] (So) are all very tough guards who can score in high volume while Jones (Jr) has been an excellent post presence for them all season long. Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='572289' first='Annette' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1003213' first='Jaylynn' last='Goodwin'] will also be key returners for GRC, along with 8th grader [player_tooltip player_id='963013' first='Kyleigh' last='Chestnut'] who has really stepped up in the absence of Byars. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lexington Christian (66.7)</h2>   <p>Lexington Christian's roster consists of 4 juniors, 2 sophomores, 1 freshman, 3 eighth graders, and 2 seventh graders. They have a record of 15-7 overall and 6-5 in their region. Their 3 leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id='885329' first='Chapel' last='Brown'] (13.5 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='254283' first='Claire' last='Roberts'] (13.3 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='885360' first='Ella' last='Gabbert'] (7.8 PPG). Their leading rebounders are [player_tooltip player_id='885362' first='Sophie' last='Pridemore'] (7.3 RPG), Jeriko Castle (6.9 RPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='1120434' first='Jentry' last='Bertram'] (6.8 RPG). Taking the percentage of underclassmen from a team's roster is telling, but for teams with rosters of 12 players or less, they don't always tell the full story which is the case for the Lady Eagles. They have 0 seniors and will return everyone next season from a team that had the best start in school history this season. They have a terrific group of juniors who do a great job leading this team on and off the court: [player_tooltip player_id='885329' first='Chapel' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='254283' first='Claire' last='Roberts'], [player_tooltip player_id='885360' first='Ella' last='Gabbert'], and [player_tooltip player_id='885362' first='Sophie' last='Pridemore']. Brown and Roberts can really put the ball in the basket and play with a ton of heart. They also have a high basketball IQ. Outside of those juniors, sophomore Bertram and 8th grader Castle provide a lot of value and will be other key returners for this group. This team has made their presence known this season and don't expect them to slow down going into next season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Laurel (66.7)</h2>   <p>North Laurel has 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore, 2 freshmen, 6 eighth graders, and 1 seventh grader on their roster. They have a record of 17-4 overall and are 10-2 in their region. Their 3 scoring leaders are [player_tooltip player_id='631212' first='Brooke' last='Nichelson'] (18.2 PPG), Chloe McKnight (14.1 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='493157' first='Haley' last='Combs'] (7.5 PPG). Their leading rebounders are Nichelson (9.8 RPG), McKnight (8.6 RPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='747655' first='Mariella' last='Claybrook'] (7 RPG). Chloe McKnight, the Jags 2nd leading scorer and rebounder, along with Jaelyn Black and Gracie McKnight, who both contribute valuable minutes, will be missed next season as they are all seniors, but North Laurel will still have a very strong roster. They will still have a top junior, sophomore, and freshman in Kentucky in Nichelson, Combs, and Claybrook. Nichelson is a very special player who can really stuff a stat sheet. [player_tooltip player_id='493157' first='Haley' last='Combs'] has done a great job running the point in her first year at North Laurel, showing her playmaking and scoring abilities all season long. Claybrook's potential is through the roof with an ability to do a little bit of everything on the court. 8th grader [player_tooltip player_id='777878' first='Emma' last='Carl'] has also been contributing some good minutes for the Lady Jaguars and you can expect her along with some of their other young players to step up next season as well. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Oldham (66.7)</h2>   <p>South Oldham's roster includes 4 seniors, 3 sophomores, 4 freshmen, and 1 eighth grader. They are currently 18-4 overall and 4-1 in their region. Their 3 leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id='376802' first='Madison' last='Young'] (18 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='167105' first='Ella' last='Morrison'] (17.9 PPG), and Grace Turner (8.4 PPG). Their leading rebounders are the same: Young (8.5 RPG), Morrison (7.5 RPG), and Turner (4.7 RPG). The bad news for the Lady Dragons is that they will graduate some key players after this season, most notably [player_tooltip player_id='167105' first='Ella' last='Morrison'] who has been an electric scoring threat for them throughout her career. However, the good news is they have some very talented young players on their roster. [player_tooltip player_id='376802' first='Madison' last='Young'] is one of the best sophomores in the state and you can expect her to step up even more in her final 2 high school seasons. She is so tough to defend because of her versatility and athleticism. Freshmen Grace Turner and [player_tooltip player_id='636721' first='Brynn' last='Brickey'] have not only shown an ability to score the ball inside or out, but they also have been extremely disruptive on the defensive end of the court. Fellow freshman Ally Stahl has also contributed good minutes for the Lady Dragons and will be another young player who can help them in the future. The look may be different next season without their 4 seniors, but it shouldn't take them long to make adjustments and continue making a lot of noise on the court.</p>

While there are certainly a lot of talented teams across the state currently, I'm very excited for what's to come in the future as I have noticed multiple teams that have a lot of young talent already on their Varsity roster. As the seasons went on, I tried to take note of the teams I recognized as having huge contributions from underclassmen. I know I'm certain to miss some young teams, but below you can read about some of the teams I've seen this year that you can expect to hear a lot about in the years to come. The percentage in parentheses next to the team name is the percentage of underclassmen each team currently has (sophomores or younger) - for the final article of this series, all of the teams below sit at 66.7%, but I will still include that percentage below. Please note that these percentages are based on rosters submitted to KHSAA and the records/stats may not have been up-to-date at the time this article was written.