Watch for These Down-the-Ranks 2027 Point Guards

With "next-up" time is about to start I thought I would shine some light on emerging, junior point guards. Every player listed I am calling emerging because graduation has provided the opportunity to fill the leadership role or are players already running the show and are poised to rise in the rankings.    Burton is a three-time Meadowlark League honorable mention selection who was named league Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. The speedy guard handles strongly in transition and uses her quick hands to generate steals on the other end. She averaged 3.8 assist per game.     Haywood wrapped up her sophomore year at Sumner Academy by being named to the Meadowlark League first team. She also gathered 5A honorable mention notice from KBCA, KSHSAACovered and SIK. A scoring guard that also dished out 4.9 assists per game, Haywood is quick with handles, can shoot the three and finishes with athleticism.     Reynolds had a strong summer of play and showed that her talented front court has a all-Central Kansas League caliber floor leader to get them the ball who also is effective hounding opposing ball handlers.     The returner for the defending 3A state champs unfortunately went down with a knee injury late last season. The all-stater (KBCA and SIK second team, KSHSAACovered honorable mention) is an important scorer and perimeter defender for the Dragons. While I am unaware of the timetable for her return, Schroeder's ball skills; speed and quickness will have an immediate impact.     The Crusaders had a terrific season that ended with a 4th place finish in the 4A state tournament. A large, deep group of seniors is gone and it leaves a wide open door for younger players with varsity experience to step in. Tustian is a strong contender to take over at point guard. She is an aggressive player who can get into the paint, slice through the paint to catch an entry pass and finish against contact.     The Comet lead guard has solid ball skills and court sense to creatively get a quality shot off. Whether dribbling out a few feet to pop a jumper from an offensive rebound to finishing with speed and athleticism. One of the best makes I saw all summer was her driving right to left take to snag a score from under the basket. She picked up Southeast Kansas League second team and KSHSAACovered and SIK 4A honorable mention honors following last season.     Vaughn was a key reason for the Trojans' dismantling of Osage City in the first round of last season's 3A state tournament. Colby finished 22-4 following a pair of losses to conclude the tournament in 4th place but Vaughn showed she is going to be a player to know in 2026. The team's longtime starting backcourt finally graduated, leaving ample opportunity for the experienced returners to lead the drive back to Hutchinson in March. Smart with a solid build Vaughn scores well off aggressive drives and perimeter shots, including smooth pull-up transition three pointers. Defensively her high motor enables her to challenge basket drivers and get deflections off the ball. Easily a second team Great West Activities Conference contender.     Year-in, year-out the Trojans are a difficult and battle tested out when it comes to the post season. Despite missing out on the 2A state tournament last season, falling to eventual state champ Moundridge in sub-state, I expect the Werth led team to make a substantial push to get back to state. Werth is a smart, two-way player with good lateral quickness; solid transition speed and three point ability. I love to see strong perimeter box-outs including on the offensive end and Werth does it well. The all-stater picked up Central Kansas League first team honors a season ago and I expect her to be right there again this year. A solid contender to break into the class's top 100.     Zurfluh stepped up big last year at point following the graduation of the terrific Brielle Ptacek and made it look like she has been playing with the older girls for years. Just very comfortable with the style of play I have come to expect from the Trojans. While she did not make all-North Central Activities Association her steadiness cannot be overlooked. Way down the list at #166 I anticipate continued growth at the position will enable her to climb the ranks.

With "next-up" time is about to start I thought I would shine some light on emerging, junior point guards. Every player listed I am calling emerging because graduation has provided the opportunity to fill the leadership role or are players already running the show and are poised to rise in the rankings.