PGH Minnesota Expo: Top performers on Team 8

After back-to-back weekends of watching some of the best freshmen and sophomores in Minnesota strut their stuff at two Prep Girls Hoops showcase events, it was the juniors and seniors who had their turn in the spotlight this past Sunday. More than 75 prospects took to the floor at Jefferson High School in Bloomington. Tony Ragulen, Ally McGinnis and I are doing individual evaluations of the top performers on each of the eight teams this week. Here are the best of Team 8.    We've been watching the big post from Orono for several years now, but the player we saw on Sunday at the Expo isn't the same one we used to see. After apparently dropping volleyball to focus on growing her basketball resume, Miller is playing with the type of confidence that arises when you've put in the work and paid the price to get better. Coming off a strong winter season in which she averaged nearly 7 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting better than 50% from the field, Evelyn improved even more this summer. She's intelligent, mature and motivated. We love her old school back-to-the basket post moves and quality footwork. Her defensive instincts are excellent, making her a very good rebounder and strong shot blocker, and she's not afraid to fight the battles down low that make a difference. Evelyn is an excellent prospect for a college program with top-shelf academics.     The top 2026 team from the Rise has been one of the best units in the state over the past few summers, loaded with next-level talent such as [player_tooltip player_id='339175' first='Brooklyn' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='339179' first='Brylee' last='Miller'], [player_tooltip player_id='589276' first='Taleigha' last='Bigler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='515673' first='Brielle' last='Janssen']. That group draws a lot of eyeballs. Included in the mix is Swanson, a crafty guard from St. James who doesn't always get the attention her game merits because the spotlight is trained on her teammates. That's hardly fair, but on Sunday Jacey had a chance to shine on her own and took full advantage of the opportunity. She was constantly on the go, hustling on both sides of the ball, bringing the right energy to the court shift after shift. Swanson is skilled and clever, and she can fire rockets from downtown all day long. Currently ranked 75th in her class, Jacey has great quickness and agility and constantly generates opportunities for herself and others.     When you watch highlight videos of Madison doing her thing in high school ball, you'll primarily find two things: 1) Long bombs from beyond the three-point line and 2) grand theft basketball. Yep, the junior guard from Milaca can light it up from downtown with a beautiful stroke and a high degree of confidence. She has also become a tenacious defender who has just enough quickness, mobility and requisite dose of bulldog to poke, prod and otherwise wrest the basketball away from opponents. We certainly saw that on Sunday. Madison is a warrior, a strong and stocky guard who won't take ‘no' for an answer when it comes to competing on the court. The all-conference prospect positively fills up the scoresheet for the Wolves, but it's her intangibles that are likely to carry Madison to the next level.     Marta was recently selected as one of our top 10 prospects from Northern Minnesota regardless of class. She holds the #26 ranking in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2026. She stands well north the magical 6-foot mark. Would it surprise anyone, therefore, to learn that she is also a Division 1 prospect? When Marta is on, when the motor is revving high, when she's dialed into the task at hand, there are few better. On Sunday, she showed all of that potential at the Expo and generated a lot of interest live and online. As is often the case, not many in the field could match up to Forsline physically. Marta continues to improve and mature and her consistency is coming along accordingly. It's an evolution you'll definitely want to watch.     There's been a ton of talent come through the doors at Eastview High School since the school opened for business in 1997. That would include a plethora of gifted basketball players who went on to success at the D1 collegiate level. That should put what Bra'ja did for the Lightning last winter in prime perspective because Torry rewrote the Eastview record book for both steals and assists while evolving into an all-state honorable mention performer. In doing so, Torry rose up the rankings to #35 among Minnesota seniors. On Sunday at the Expo the high-IQ performer played up to that same standard as per usual. Torry is quick, she's smart and she is highly skilled with or without the basketball. She also happens to be an excellent defender. College coaches need to take a closer look because Torry is a winner.

After back-to-back weekends of watching some of the best freshmen and sophomores in Minnesota strut their stuff at two Prep Girls Hoops showcase events, it was the juniors and seniors who had their turn in the spotlight this past Sunday. More than 75 prospects took to the floor at Jefferson High School in Bloomington. Tony Ragulen, Ally McGinnis and I are doing individual evaluations of the top performers on each of the eight teams this week. Here are the best of Team 8.