Top 5 Teams and Prospects: Regions 13 and 14

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regular season practice has started all across the Bluegrass state and scrimmages will start in the next month. I wanted to breakdown the top 5 college prospects and the top 5 teams in each region heading into the year. This should not be considered the top 5 overall players! These are the best college prospects in each region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Region 13:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 5 Prospects:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brooke Nichelson, North Laurel - Committed to Murray State, Brooke broke out in a big way at the 2023 State Tournament and rode that momentum into a huge Junior season. She's the favorite to win regional player of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747655' first='Mariella' last='Claybrook'], North Laurel - The inside presence that helps balance out the Lady Jags offense, Claybrook has great size and should average a double-double this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='254274' first='Halle' last='Collins'], Knox Central - Halle deserves a lifetime achievement award as she's been putting up big numbers in the 13th since she was an 8th grader at North Laurel. She already committed to Pikeville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747656' first='Shelbie' last='Mills'], Knox Central - A transfer from South Laurel, Mills is a big time scorer who averaged 18 points per game last season. She's a lights out shooter and one of my favorite prospects in the class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747650' first='Skeeter' last='Mabe'], South Laurel - Mabe is a tough forward who has shown the skills to be able to play out on the floor and not stuck in the post. She rebounds well and finishes well around the bucket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 5 Teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Laurel </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knox Central </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Laurel </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Corbin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bell County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Region 14:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 5 Prospects:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='796168' first='Lexie' last='Combs'], Breathitt County - She's young but Combs has a ton of potential, long term. Lexie averaged 15 points per game last season and should be closer to 20 PPG as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='973205' first='Maddi' last='Frohnapfel'], Hazard - Another young star, Maddi is a top 10 prospect in our 2028 rankings and should be a top player in the region as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='502134' first='Kyra' last='McAlarnis'], Perry County Central - Kyra is probably the most valuable player in the region to her team and should be expected to be the region's choice for Miss Basketball Finalist.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747663' first='Macey' last='Brown'], Owsley County - Brown averaged a double double last season and will need to do even more for Owsley to not miss [player_tooltip player_id='376762' first='Addison' last='Terry'] too much after her transfer to Montgomery County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1139674' first='Ava' last='Napier'], Leslie County - A junior, Napier should be expected to increase her scoring output this year. She's a capable shooter who is only going to get better over the next two seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top 5 Teams:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perry County Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knott County Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hazard</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Letcher County Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leslie County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->