Searching for the Fountain of Youth in St. Paul

With a record of 112-19 in her last five years at Chaska – including a perfect Class 4A state championship season in 2021 – Tara Seifert knows what it takes to win. Now her new squad at Cretin-Derham Hall is starting to figure it out for themselves. With an infusion of young talent, and the makings of a winning culture, the former PGH Minnesota Coach of the Year is optimistic about her rebuilding project in St. Paul.

“We've worked a lot on culture, getting kids to buy in and be positive,” said Seifert, who is entering her second year as coach and athletic director at CDH. “The kids are really buying in, and we have some younger kids with talent this year so that helps. It's a process, and the patience piece is hard, but I see a lot of really positive things this year.”

If you've been following along here then you already know that Cretin's resurgence has been sparked by the arrival of two gifted 8th graders who are playing big minutes. We first saw guard Madeleine Hamiel Madeleine Hamiel 5'10" | CG Cretin-Derham Hall | 2029 MN at the AAU Spring Showdown. We reported on Isabella Deleeuw Isabella Deleeuw 5'7" | CG/SG Cretin-Derham Hall | 2029 MN at the Mill City Invitational. Hamiel is strong, skilled, athletic and physical. Deleeuw, who is starting at point guard, is crafty and clever and relatively calm. The duo is combining well with a veteran crew that appears to have accepted the middle-schoolers with open arms.

“We are fortunate that we have some upperclassmen who have been so good with the younger kids on the team,” said Seifert, who was a standout player at Iowa State when her last name was Gunderson. “They want to win as much as anybody and help turn this program into a success. That's crucial. You have to be accepted.”

Deleeuw has a high IQ. She sees the floor, passes well, takes quality shots and understands defensive principles at a high level. Through four games, she's averaging 14 points and 4 rebounds per game. “It's impressive because she is transitioning really well,” Seifert said, “but I also know we are going to have ups and downs because she is still learning to play at this speed and play against bigger, stronger players.”

Hamiel made a positive impression on several Division 1 college coaches who saw her play at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic two weeks ago. The 5'9 guard is averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She has a high motor, excellent court vision and a really good IQ. Madeleine just makes great plays with poise and precision that is way beyond her years.  The duo have given the Raiders more options in how they want to go about their business. “I think it helps us play at a faster pace, to be able to press a little bit more this year,” said the coach. “I think that helps us match up a little better with teams, but it's a process and they are still learning to play with the older kids.”

A third 2028 thas also caught our attention – 5'9 guard Teagan Jacobs, a physically strong athlete who defends aggressively and shows a lot of potential. But it is the veterans who are at the core of the transition that's underway. Senior guard Taniysha Edwards Taniysha Edwards 5'4" | SF Cretin-Derham Hall | 2025 State MN (more commonly called ‘Tank') is a hard-nosed competitor whose work ethic and leadership has earned her a college opportunity at Mayville State. Junior guard Sage Gilbert Sage Gilbert 5'7" | SG Cretin-Derham Hall | 2026 State MN is a quality outside shooter. Senior Elena Kronschnabel Elena Kronschnabel 5'10" | SF Cretin-Derham Hall | 2025 State MN is a physical, multi-sport athlete who competes as hard as anyone. Senior Emma Dornan Emma Dornan 6'0" | PF Cretin-Derham Hall | 2025 State MN is a big post player who can pound the boards. Juniors Joey Hover Joey Hover 6'1" | SF/PF Cretin-Derham Hall | 2026 State MN and Gaby Hoban bring length and athleticism to the table. We've been impressed with the team's cohesiveness, work rate and how vocal and supportive they are of each other.

“We can be a pretty athletic team when we want to be and create some deflections and steals. One of our big areas we need to work on is controlling it and having a good possession once we do get the ball,” Seifert said. “It comes back to fundamentals for us. Knowing that, and having some youth out on the court, that's one of our big keys this year.”

STAYING HOME IN THE SAINTLY CITY

We hear a lot about how few college players are coming out of St. Paul these days. People remember the pre-2010 St. Paul Central dynasty that annually fought for state supremacy back in the day. More recently Como Park had a nice run led by the likes of Ronnie Porter, the Van Nett sisters and Andrayah Adams. Then there's Liza Karlen, who came out of a parochial elementary school in St. Paul but went on to star at Stillwater and Marquette. She's playing her final collegiate season at Notre Dame, and her sister Lexi Karlen is at Minnesota-Duluth. The fact is, there are next-level players from St. Paul but they're mostly playing ball in the suburbs or at private schools in Minneapolis.

The last big-time D1 player at Cretin was Frannie Hottinger from Mendota Heights, who went on to a terrific career at Lehigh and Marquette. She was part of the Raiders' most recent trip to the state tournament in 2018, a squad that featured the likes of St. Paul and West St. Paul products Autam Mendez, Haley Moore, and Audrey Martinez-Stewart.

Deeleuw is out of the city's travel ranks and is as St. Paul as it gets. Hamiel, on the other hand, has a global background. Her parents were U.S. diplomats who served around the world. Their final post was in Canada, but they have now settled in the Twin Cities. If Cretin's early success catches the eye of future prospects, they might choose CDH over other attractive options. While St. Paul has had several independent teams like Salvation Army and SUGGA Storm, and a small youth association, Cretin doesn't have a feeder program and there's no middle school.

“I spent a lot of time at Chaska building our youth association and our program from 4th grade on up,” Seifert said. “It is very different here, but when I looked at it I saw that the cupboard wasn't totally bare when I came in. We had some skilled kids who needed to build confidence and fundamentals. My goal is to get as good as we can with the kids we have. Now we're starting to see that success and we're hoping to draw other kids that want to be part of that and play for a good program.”

There's some distance to go before that happens but that was true at Chaska, too. Back when current University of Colorado point guard Kennedy Sanders was a talented but green 8th grader, the Hawks lost their first eight games of the season and won just twice in their first 15. But Seifert stayed positive, kept working on fundamentals and team culture, and the process bore fruit. Baskets of fruit.

Can the Raiders do the same in Section 3AAA? Are they capable of getting by Nia Hollie's Two Rivers team in March? Can they beat their St. Paul rivals from Como Park when it counts? “I certainly hope so, but I never look that far ahead,” Seifert said. “Our goal is to get better every time we step on the court. I think the weekend was good for us to have some success, to play aggressively and to show we could defend well and put up some points, but it's one day at a time.”

PGH scout Ally McGinnis contributed to this story.