Spring Showdown: Underclassmen on the rise

We're spending a lot of time prior to the Minnesota AAU State Tournament checking out younger players, the crop of top 2028s from which will emerge this fall's Prep Girls Hoops Freshmen 50. That doesn't mean we're not paying attention to players from the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027. At this past weekend's Spring Showdown, there were a wide variety of teams of all ages and levels in attendance. Here are some of the older prospects who were on the rise on Saturday and Sunday.   Brynne Ibberson – 2027 guard, MN Rise Heiderscheidt   Brynne gave an outstanding performance on Sunday when we watched. The team had a nice weekend, too, going 3-1. It doesn't take long to notice that Brynn is long, very quick, and has an extremely high motor. The longer we watched, the more things we found to like about her game. Ibberson is aggressive on both ends of the floor, and is an excellent decision-maker. She excels at attacking the rim and is not afraid of contact on her way to the basket. This winter the 5'7 guard played her second varsity season at Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, alongside 2027 top 10 prospect, [player_tooltip player_id='498658' first='Morgan' last='Mathiowetz']. Ibberson started 28 games for the Knights, averaging 8.1 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1276445' first='Chloe' last='Fehr'] – 2027 guard, [program_tooltip program_id='713023' first='West' last='Central Wildcats']   It was a tough weekend for the Wildcats, whose roster is full of athletes from Southwestern Minnesota. They were simply overmatched against the likes of Comets Hoelscher, Stars Kizert and [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United']. That didn't stop Fehr from making it clear that she has next-level potential individually. The scrappy point guard from Morris Area isn't real big but she is solidly built, plays the game with a ton of energy, and knows how to facilitate. Fehr reminds us somewhat of [player_tooltip player_id='396435' first='Addison' last='Hoof'] of Lester Prairie – a little bit bigger than Addi and a little less polished, but with the style and intent that Hoff brings. Chloe has good skills, handles the ball with confidence, has a nice shooting stroke, and gets to the rim. She's a player we'll definitely watch again.   [player_tooltip player_id='629645' first='Ellie' last='Pease'] – 2027 guard, Starks 10 Carpenter   We saw a solid performance on Sunday from the [program_tooltip program_id='713214' first='Minnesota' last='Starks'] 10th grade squad coached by Emily Carpenter, head coach at UW-Superior. Among the talented prospects was the freshman Pease from Proctor, who impresses us more every time we watch. Standing at approximately 5 foot 9, Ellie is a long guard with tons of strength and a solid build. All game long she showed out with her consistently good decision-making as well as passing. When she got the ball in transition, Ellie was not afraid to push the pace of the game, opening up scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. Pease excels at handling the ball while at full speed. She likes to attack the basket, as well, and has a multitude of different finishes to pick from.   Cora Clough – 2026 guard, MN Xtreme   Like all players who wear goggles, the athletic guard from Brainerd was immediately noticeable on the court. The spectacles surely help her see better, but they also helped her be seen. Once we started paying closer attention, what we witnessed was a high-level, multi-sport athlete with some tremendous natural ability and a whole lot of upside. Cora is long, and very, very bouncy. With light steps, long strides and quick lateral movement, Clough gets around the court at a rapid fire pace. Once we learned that she is a high jumper of some renown it became clear just how much potential Cora has. The 5'9 guard didn't seem to score a lot – those honors went to her Brainerd teammates Brooke Sandberg (46 points) and [player_tooltip player_id='782552' first='Allison' last='Thomes'] (37) – but Cora was a great facilitator and strong defender. MN Xtreme had an excellent weekend, sweeping their division with four straight wins.   Tori Thorson – 2026 guard, MN Xtreme   Like Clough, Thorson was playing up a year for the Xtreme. Also like Clough, it wasn't her scoring prowess that caught our attention. Rather, it was Tori's well-rounded game that truly made an impact when we watched. Thorson hails from Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted just west of the Twin cities. The Lakers had a rough winter, going 1-26, but Tori got some valuable varsity experience that is paying off in AAU. (She's probably enjoying getting four wins in two days after that type of season!) The 10th grader has great length, is athletic, and has excellent vertical leaping ability. We liked her gritty, physical style of play as well as her ability to handle the ball under pressure. In a glimpse of what might be possible down the road, Thorson also pulled off a sweet Euro-step floater through traffic in the lane.

We're spending a lot of time prior to the Minnesota AAU State Tournament checking out younger players, the crop of top 2028s from which will emerge this fall's Prep Girls Hoops Freshmen 50. That doesn't mean we're not paying attention to players from the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027. At this past weekend's Spring Showdown, there were a wide variety of teams of all ages and levels in attendance. Here are some of the older prospects who were on the rise on Saturday and Sunday.