2027 Player Rankings Update: Top Notch Defenders

Here are five prospects out of the 2027 Class in Nebraska that I would categorize as better than average defenders, while they each compete with a chip on their shoulder attitude and a competitive end.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    [player_tooltip player_id='865483' first='Leah' last='Robinson'] comes into her Sophomore season with Elkhorn North and she is ready to make an instant impact in anyway possible on the Varsity floor. Robinson is an ultra-athletic, State Championship runner, who understands how to push her opponent into uncomfortable situations or decisions. Throughout a contest she slowly starts to take away the space between her and her opponent, turning up the pressure as the games presses on. This leads to steals, tips, and deflections of all sorts by Robinson and her Elkhorn North teammates, which usually leads to easy buckets down on the other end. Robinson is going to be a name we speak on several more times before her high school career comes to a close. Especially if she keeps working hard on her weaknesses in her off-seasons.     Fort Calhoun returns a good amount of prospects back from a year ago and they are ready to make some noise. Someone at their PF position, that has great size, wherewithal, and coordination is [player_tooltip player_id='865313' first='Ansley' last='Elofson']. Elofson isn't the type to lead her team in scoring each night but she will always contribute in a few positive ways. To kick off this Winter season, Elofson has been doing a little bit of scoring and rebounding but where she has stood out to myself is in the Blocks department. She is averaging nearly 2 Blocks per contest in their first few games and if that can keep up all Winter long, it'll be noteworthy not only within her own program but from a state-wide point of view. She is consistently proving that she is someone opposing teams have to worry about in the lane and that weighs on others, much more than some might realize.     The mixture of fast hands, knowledge of when to go for the ball, and athletic ability that [player_tooltip player_id='817208' first='Mya' last='Lewis'] possesses at the SF position has been a factor in her team's production so far this Winter. Lewis, a prospect who comes into this season right around 5'9, is currently averaging 4.5 Steals per game throughout their first two contests. Now that might be a small sample size but to average near 5 SPG is impressive. It shows that she is doing hard work at the Forward position and beating her opponent to their spots a majority of the time. I'm curious how North Central will fair the rest of the Winter but they have had a respectable start out of the game so hopefully they can keep that rolling with production from prospects like Lewis.     If you have been following along moving into this Winter, Bennington High School is in an interesting situation. They are a program with some solid upperclassman producers, but their next level talent is in the 2027 and 2028 Classes for the most part. Someone out of the 2027 Class, that most already know as a lights out Shooting Guard is [player_tooltip player_id='1045027' first='Skylar' last='Johnson']. Other than being a quick acting SG, Johnson has really worked on her defense during the AAU season and it's starting to show. She has registered 3.5 SPG in their first two contests of the year and I bet that she keeps this trend on the rise. If you want to play at a high college level as a SG, you need length, a shooting ability obviously, and you have to be able to defend your position. Johnson checks off all of those boxes moving into the thick of her Sophomore season.     I have always been a fan of [player_tooltip player_id='817141' first='Rena' last='Rasmussen'] and the product that she has competed with over the years. The honest truth is that I would really like to see more of her before I make any specific claims about her play-style. From the numbers stand point, this is someone that puts up production at the SF position for her LCC High School program. Her natural height at 5'10, combined with her knowledge of where to rebound the ball off of a missed shot is next level and it helps her hold her own in a lot of ways. I'm hoping this Winter that I can be in the building to see Rasmussen and her LCC team do their thing.

Here are five prospects out of the 2027 Class in Nebraska that I would categorize as better than average defenders, while they each compete with a chip on their shoulder attitude and a competitive end.