Which Rising Juniors Should You Keep Tabs On?

The 2026 class has the depth of talent and plenty of kids poised for excellent junior seasons. I've highlighted this specific class more than any other, but there are a few kids I want to discuss more than I have in the past.    Whenever players return from long-term injuries, you don't know what they'll be when they return. We have no clue what'll happen when players return from a second long-term injury. Koch exceeded any expectation anyone could have had for her at Omro last season, and she seemed confident for someone who could barely play competitively for almost two years. She shot the ball well, got to her floater game, got downhill, and attacked the boards on both ends.        The Darlington wing/forward went away from AAU basketball, but she's one of the more intriguing small-school kids in the class. The lefty has turned into one of the more prominent players in Southwest Wisconsin. She did a little of everything for the Cardinals and excelled on the offensive end of the floor. Gratz attacked off the dribble and power through contact and spaced the floor well beyond the three-point line.        The Lodi wing/forward's calling card is defense. The 5'11 Blue Devil is one of the more intriguing defensive kids in her class and could be one of the premier players on that end of the floor. She's an athletic kid with length that finds unique ways to make defensive plays on the ball. Nothing she does will jump out at you on box scores, but when you watch her play, Clary looks the part of a high-level producer.      A name that I'm most eager to see this season is DSHA wing, [player_tooltip player_id='842226' first='Maria' last='Hilbert']. The Dasher is a multi-sport athlete and can fly all around the floor. Her athleticism elevates her ceiling because it allows her to make plays on the ball that others couldn't. She's also shown flashes that she could be a high-level player in transition offense because of her speed. Hilbert also has better footwork than I initially thought last season. At her best, she will constantly pressure teams with her speed to beat defenders off the dribble, but her lateral quickness and length help keep players in front of her on the defensive end. Hilbert could be a more prominent player in the GMC than people realize.

The 2026 class has the depth of talent and plenty of kids poised for excellent junior seasons. I've highlighted this specific class more than any other, but there are a few kids I want to discuss more than I have in the past.