Generation next: Finding future stars at Fall League

On any given Sunday at Breakdown Fall League there is plenty of talent in the gym – we just need to find it. This week we had been in the activity center at St. Michael-Albertville for about 20 minutes when a crafty little point guard from Spring Lake Park captured our attention. Later in the day, thanks to a timely heads up from her coach, we came across a nearly identical young prospect from Becker who made us smile just as much. That's what it's all about!   There was a full slate of Breakdown Fall League games across the state on Sunday. Ally McGinnis was at Park High School in Cottage Grove. Tony Ragulen was at Jefferson High School in Bloomington. They'll have reports for Prep Girls Hoops readers from those locations. Here's what I liked on Sunday at STMA.   [player_tooltip player_id='1345898' first='Maddie' last='Jeziorski'] – 2030 guard, Spring Lake Park   Maddie may only be a couple inches over five feet tall, but her game is huge. The Spring Lake Park 8th grader (banner photo left) caught our eye immediately on Sunday morning with a head-turning sequence that saw her force a turnover at midcourt, then weave through two defenders with clever ball control using both her left and right hands, before spinning 360 degrees and sinking a soft baby jumper. A thing of beauty! That kind of poise, body control, and confidence at this age is incredibly rare and speaks volumes about her skill development to this point.   Maddie, who competes in AAU for the [program_tooltip program_id='718403' first='Minnesota' last='Freeze'], plays with composure, bounce, and joy. She sees the floor exceptionally well, keeps her eyes up constantly, and delivers precise passes, including a perfect post entry feed – a dying art she executed with ease. Her floater is smooth, she can finish with either hand, and she gets to the rim with high frequency despite her slender frame.   The longer we watched the more one particular player's name kept coming to mind: [player_tooltip player_id='498658' first='Morgan' last='Mathiowetz']. Although she lacks the experience, profile or family lineage of the North Dakota State commit from Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, the resemblance in size, build and style of play is undeniable.   A veteran presence in a young player's body, she reminds us of how Morgan played in 7th grade with her movement, composure under pressure, and floor awareness. Jeziorski will likely play JV this winter, but varsity minutes will come with time. Spring Lake Park coach Bart Johnson was singing Maddie's praises as were her older teammates, and it's only a matter of time before she earns a wider audience of admirers.   Maddie wasn't the only young talent on Spring Lake Park's JV squad who impressed on Sunday. We loved the potential we saw from power forward Janetha Cassell. She has great size and athleticism, getting up and down the floor at pace and showing off some impressive elevation. Clearly her game is pretty green, but her natural instincts around the basket were impressive.   Possession after possession Cassell was able to get good position in the paint to secure a rebound and score on a put-back. She also slipped past defenders on a couple of occasions with good footwork to finish at the rim. I assumed she was a freshman or sophomore by her size and how she played. Nope. She's only in the 7th grade! Another 7th grader who earned praise from Coach Johnson was Lorraine Brzozowski. She, too, is physically advanced for her age and is also trending in the right direction.   [player_tooltip player_id='1345919' first='Alyse' last='Denne'] – 2030 guard, Becker   We haven't watched Minnesota's Class of 2030 all that closely yet with the exception of those precious few who already stepped into the varsity spotlight last winter as 7th graders. The majority of the 2030s will be under our microscope next spring and summer. As a result, we were wholly unfamiliar with Denne prior to Sunday,   After receiving a helpful heads-up earlier in the day from Becker coach Dan Baird, we had a gander at Alyse's game in the afternoon. It took fewer than five minutes to see why Baird is so high on his young point guard. The similarities between her game and that of Jeziorski are remarkable. After watching Alyse play, we did a little digging and reports from the AAU realm came back incredibly positive.   Clearly Denne (banner photo right) is a gritty competitor who plays with fire, toughness, and non-stop energy. A core piece of the top-level [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] 2030 Blue squad, she played big minutes all summer – a testament to her consistency, conditioning, and trust from coaches. Though obviously undersized at this point, Denne doesn't back down from anyone. She's feisty, relentless, and thrives as an attacker who goes right at defenders.   Alyse's first step is quick, her handle is sharp, and she creates space effectively using changes of direction and a polished step-back jumper. Alyse is also a quality shooter and consistent scorer who can produce in a variety of ways. Defensively, she gets after it with intensity and is steadily improving her anticipation and footwork. Off the floor, she's highly coachable, hardworking, and eager to learn. With varsity rotation minutes already in sight as an 8th grader, and some size in her family tree, Denne has the tools, motor, and mentality to grow into a high-level prospect.   One interesting side note is the fact that Denne, in addition to running cross country, is also a strong high school gymnast – a sport in which competition takes place in the same season as basketball. It's likely that she's going to have to choose one or the other in the very near future. Although she is definitely built like a gymnast at the present time, we'd bet on basketball being the sport of choice long-term. Stay tuned.   OTHER WHO STEPPED UP ON SUNDAY   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1311189' first='Chloe' last='Waterworth'] – The versatile 2029 guard from St. Francis had an impressive showing last month at the Prep Girls Hoops Freshman Showcase. She was equally good on Sunday. We love her confidence and attacker's mentality.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1246847' first='Greta' last='Layton'] – The 2029 guard from Big Lake was the most dominant player on the floor when we watched. Layton is an elite athlete and one of the premier guard prospects among Minnesota freshmen.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1345998' first='Hope' last='Jahnke'] – This was our first look at the 2031 guard from St. Micheal-Albertville, who is the younger sister of Colorado commit [player_tooltip player_id='344333' first='Cail' last='Jahnke']. Hope is growing like a weed and has tremendous upside.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='944075' first='Maiya' last='Slusarczyk'] – Look for a breakout season ahead for the big 2027 guard from St. Michael-Albertville. Coming off an outstanding summer in AAU, Maiya played with a ton of confidence on Sunday. If that carries over to the regular season, look out.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1317635' first='Lyla' last='Behnke'] – The 2029 standout has size, smarts and poise well beyond her years. We saw it all summer and she showed more of the same Sunday for Spring Lake Park. She's a strong scholarship-level prospect.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1211276' first='Autumn' last='Hayes'] – The feisty 2027 guard from Osseo eats, breathes and sleeps basketball. Autumn is the quintessential gym rat and has grown her game significantly this year. She was everywhere at STMA.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='630285' first='Adele' last='Changamire'] – The 2028 guard is one of the state's top soccer players and an elite basketball prospect, as well. Sunday's performance was the best we've seen Adele look in 2025. She is a special athlete with a bright future in either sport.</li> </ul>

On any given Sunday at Breakdown Fall League there is plenty of talent in the gym – we just need to find it. This week we had been in the activity center at St. Michael-Albertville for about 20 minutes when a crafty little point guard from Spring Lake Park captured our attention. Later in the day, thanks to a timely heads up from her coach, we came across a nearly identical young prospect from Becker who made us smile just as much. That's what it's all about!