2026 Player Rankings Update: Stock-Risers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To be a, “Stock-Riser”, means a few things depending on how you look at it but the most important factor in my opinion is that the prospect is continuously putting in meaningful work in their off-time and that work is translating to the floor in real game-time. In this piece, we cover five individuals out of this 2026 Class in Iowa, that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["881144"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67606106b7b55"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='881144' first='Madilyn' last='Meyer'] over the last six months has really shown her worth on the basketball court. She might not be the one to score 30 for you as a coach but she will get her own, while helping in every other facet of the game. She is someone that is willing to guard the best player on the other team, she is a prospect that attacks the boards hard on each end, and she is interchangeable to several different positions on offense if need be. IC - Liberty is an interesting program, that has had an interesting start to their year. If they continue to get better and prospects like Meyer do their thing, they should win a few more contests this Winter, before everything is said and done.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["766449"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67606106b7bb5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Solon Spartans are still winning a lot of games following their 3A State Title from last Winter but they are doing it in different ways than year's past. Usually, the past four season's, the Spartans played off of Callie Levin but with her at Iowa due to graduation, others have to step up and someone who has been solid in that endeavor is [player_tooltip player_id='766449' first='Delainey' last='Durr'] at the PG spot. Over the past two years, Durr has shown on both the high school and AAU scene, that she can produce as a steady rate, no matter who is trying to stop her. When you watch Durr work for five minutes on both ends, you can easily tell that there is a high skill-set here. In this Update, Durr moves from 49th to 43rd. It might not seem like a lot of movement but it is at this point in the process.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["561262"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67606106b7bfb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Coming into this Winter and [player_tooltip player_id='561262' first='Reagan' last='Baldwin'] was a player of conversation because of her transfer. Well, I wasn't really sure how this would all go but it's been pretty impressive. Baldwin has came into the Ankeny system and she is thriving. Mainly, she is hitting a ton of jumpers from outside the three point line in some pretty big moments. This has always been Baldwin's best ability but now she is really killing her role within this new program. The Hawks have some competitors. They are a roster with multiple D1 recruits so as long as production like this continues, who knows how far they could push things this season. As for Baldwin, I hope this recent success has opened the eyes of a lot of recruiters across the state of Iowa. She obviously has the talent level in some capacity to take things to the college level. It's just about finding the correct fit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["782509"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67606106b7c38"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the more slept on prospects, that the state of Iowa has to offer is [player_tooltip player_id='782509' first='Kennedy' last='Brant'] of Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School. Brant, a 6'0 Forward, has been a constant the past two season with GR and I don't expect that to change for her last two seasons either. Brant has been a focal point of this team's system in the past on both ends. She has done her job of rebounding at an efficient rate on offense and defense, she controls the painted around whenever she is near, she does her work early-on by trying to beat everyone down the floor on each play, and she is a vocal communicator that others can look up to. I need to see a little more out of Brant over these next three months but from what I've seen so far, I'm a big fan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["592198"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67606106b7c76"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It is blatantly obvious that [player_tooltip player_id='592198' first='Dreya' last='Kern'] of Linn-Mar High School is skilled as a controller of the basketball. Kern is falling into the situation this season where she really has to, "be the team", in a sense. I had a chance to pop out to the Lion's first game of this Winter season and they basically had Kern, plus a few select others doing all of their work and that's okay. This is possiby a season where Kern really taps into her full potential. She is a quick moving PG, that understands spacing, her own ability, and how to beat her defender in almost every plausible way. Not to mention, she has a beautiful midrange floater/pull up and she understands the game from a strategic standpoint. When you combined this all together, you get someone with a lot of future potential and that's why Kern is a Stock-Riser in this Update.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->