Players I’d Like to Highlight

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that the Champions Challenge is behind us, I'd like to highlight a few kids I haven't as much as I've wanted to the last few months. We'll probably keep this theme for the rest of the week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874389' first='Kailynn' last='Thompson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The post from Bay Port has a chance to be an integral figure for the Pirates next season. She had an up-and-down 24-25 season, but the highs for her were more than encouraging. Thompson is a physical kid who plays hard around the basket and excels at playing through contact. The 6'0 forward has a solid touch around the basket and doesn't mind finishing over either shoulder. Due to some injuries other Pirates have suffered, Thompson could play a significant role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='877515' first='Samantha' last='Veldkamp']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sheboygan Christian forward didn't have high-end guard play, so her season wasn't as eye-catching as it otherwise could have been. However, there are things to like about her game that would transfer to the next level. She's a mobile 6'1 kid who can make plays on the defensive end of the floor and be a defensive anchor. Whenever she does get post-touches, she finishes around the basket consistently. Numbers don't tell the story for her, but if she takes the basketball route in college, she'll have some suitors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1045911' first='Kayla' last='Baumgartner']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Medford wing is an intriguing kid in the 2027 class. Baumgartner has the size and length you'd want in a high-level wing and has room to add muscle to her frame. The Raider shot the ball well from the perimeter last season at 31%, which is about average at the high school level around the state. However, she impacted the defensive end, which I've rarely seen statistically. She joined the exclusive two-steal and two-block per-game club that less than ten kids qualified for last season, which shows how effective she can be defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1045826' first='Hayley' last='Quinn']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The River Falls wing missed her junior season but will be a kid people notice when she's back on the floor. The 5'10 wing shot over 40% from the three-point line in her sophomore season and helped her Wildcat team compete against some of the top programs in the Big Rivers Conference in the 23-24 season. Kids with size on the perimeter that shoot like Quinn will have a home at the next level. Schools were already interested in her, even though she didn't play a game for River Falls last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->