Seniors to Watch in 2025-26

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025-26 school year is nearly here, and there are a few players who could take significant leaps this winter. Every season, some players make a name for themselves for various reasons, and this season will be the players who take another step in their development and excel. I want to highlight a few of them today.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914523' first='Ashley' last='Rowe']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowe took advantage of her time as the primary ball handler last season and was a significant reason why the Cuba City Cubans won a D4 state title. Rowe is a skilled guard who can create off the dribble and is a confident perimeter shooter, knocking down shots from all over the perimeter when given time to shoot. She is one of the few players from the Cuba City unit that won a state title last March, and will have more responsibility in her senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='533084' first='Vanessa' last='Johnson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnson's time at Pewaukee has been anything but smooth. A knee injury took away her sophomore season, and it was also the year that Pewaukee earned its first state crown in program history. Last season, she returned from her injury and played well, but she could take her game to another level with more responsibility. Johnson is an excellent perimeter defender and is a kid whom her teammates adore. Nobody will have more support behind her in their program than Johnson, and that means something.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='842247' first='Madi' last='Thomson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomson is gearing up for a senior season unlike any I've seen since I've been around. The Lena native, and state runner-up in 2023, suffered a severe knee injury towards the end of her AAU season, which will require surgery at some point, but Thomson intends to play through it to have a senior season. I don't think I've seen a player from Wisconsin attempt that before, but if nothing else, it shows that she may be the most resilient person I've ever come across.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='766619' first='Joy' last='Krull']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xavier has played a deep rotation the last few seasons, and they may again this season. However, if they move to playing seven or eight players, [player_tooltip player_id='766619' first='Joy' last='Krull'] becomes much more crucial. Krull may not always look to score, even though I wish she would more, but she connects her team's offense as well as anyone in the state. Her willingness to initiate and create for others is part of why Xavier has made back-to-back state title games in D3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->