2026 Player Rankings Update: Stock-Risers (Part 3)

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 a few individuals out of this 2026 Class in Iowa, that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    When you've heard about Forest City High School the past couple of seasons, you've heard about their top producer at the SG position in [player_tooltip player_id='839336' first='Hayden' last='Brown']. Brown comes into her Junior season as a 5'10 SG with a fundamental and efficient shot, she understands when she should shoot compared to making an extra pass, and she can score in other ways than just shooting - depending on the timing. Forest City isn't the biggest school but they aren't the smallest either. If they want to continue to win some more of their contests, they will have to look towards Brown in some important moments. The type of moments that I think she can handle and compete in. If they do that, they could make some waves before the Playoffs reach us in a few short months.     The progression of [player_tooltip player_id='502240' first='Samantha' last='Becker'] from when she was an 8th grader up until now, is nothing short of impressive. Becker is a coaches ideal PG. She can handle the workload of her team, she can control the entire game with the ball in her hands, and she understand what it means to lead everyone by example. Coming off of an injury from AAU season and Becker is already back to her normal self. If she happens to continue on this path and she works to pile on her days, she is going to be someone that recruiters from all around the Midwest, start to get ahold of as she gets into her last Spring/Summer in the AAU world.     I have this feeling that [player_tooltip player_id='560333' first='Kendra' last='Boatman'] of Keokuk High School is going to have a major AAU season to follow this Junior year of high school ball. Boatman has been a talented SG/PG, ever since she was a Freshman. She has consistently put up strong numbers over the years. Now it's all about how those numbers might translate to the next level. It's pretty clear that on the high school floor, with who Boatman competes against, that she is a dominating force in almost every contest. Doesn't matter if her team wins or losses. Either way, Boatman's name is all over the stat book and this Spring/Summer that will be on full display across the Country with her Missouri Phenom program. This program change should give her some momentum in the recruiting world and moving forward into her Senior season.     The Westwood Rebels are always a Varsity program throughout the state that we hear of. Either because they have a solid recruit or they are making waves in their Class. In this case, it's because of their SF - [player_tooltip player_id='595154' first='Brenna' last='Johnson']. Johnson has been a Forward on the rise of the past year. She has consistently put together rememberable season's throughout her first two years in high school and she has done the same to get things rolling for her Junior Winter as well. Johnson has interest from most D3 and NAIA schools around the Midwest. With her mixture of length, simplicity, and smarts - she usually kills it and it's nice to see that other recruiters notice that as well.

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 a few individuals out of this 2026 Class in Iowa, that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.