More Bold Predictions for the 2025-26 Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My goal is to have all the rankings updated before the start of the high school season. Until I get everything finished up on that front, we'll do a few other things before the season tips off. Today, I'll make some bold predictions for the 2025-26 and give my reasoning as to why my predictions may happen. Let's have some fun.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Xavier reaches the State Tournament in Division 2.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nobody has been harder done by the Tournament Performance Factor than Xavier. They were a three-seed who had an incredible comeback to beat a talented Kettle Moraine Lutheran group because of a six-point burst from [player_tooltip player_id='751258' first='Elle' last='Krull'] to swing that game, and were a four-seed and beat a No. 1 seed last March in Division 3, which everyone saw as the fourth-best team at the state tournament. Since they won those games, they were sent to Division 2 this season. However, because of the Sectional they find themselves in, they could find themselves back at the state tournament. [player_tooltip player_id='766628' first='Brynn' last='Krull'], [player_tooltip player_id='766619' first='Joy' last='Krull'], [player_tooltip player_id='751258' first='Elle' last='Krull'], Hailey Hafner, [player_tooltip player_id='889722' first='Annika' last='Heimann'], and others are back. The familiarity is there, and I'm sure they'll have a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare them for another playoff run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>We have different recipients of the Ms. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year awards.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is some precedent in the last few years with KK Arnold taking Ms. Basketball in 2023, and Allie Ziebell winning Gatorade Player of the Year. Or like last season, we had Amy Terrian taking home Ms. Basketball and [player_tooltip player_id='533057' first='Natalie' last='Kussow'] winning Gatorade Player of the Year. I'll save who I believe will take Ms. Basketball this season until the day before the season starts, but we have another fun year with elite talent like [player_tooltip player_id='874372' first='Nyajuacni' last='Riak'], [player_tooltip player_id='764935' first='Jada' last='Seubert'], [player_tooltip player_id='533057' first='Natalie' last='Kussow'], [player_tooltip player_id='533077' first='Adaline' last='Sheplee'], [player_tooltip player_id='536013' first='Giselle' last='Janowski'], [player_tooltip player_id='764918' first='Anna' last='Miller'], and Kinsely Ketterhagen, to name a few. I feel we have a similar situation this season, as we saw in 2023 and 2025, and the awards get split.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A Dark Horse will reach the State Tournament in Division 1.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There may be some disagreements, which is okay, but I see a three-team group at the top with Kimberly, Pewaukee, and Arrowhead. However, the depth of talent in D1 is as solid as it has been in the past few years. There is plenty of parity at the top. Since we do have that parity in Division 1, I believe there will be a team like Hudson, Stevens Point, Hartford, Waunakee, or Brookfield East that finds its way to the state tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two Division 4 programs reach the State Tournament for the first time in program history.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division 4 has lost most of its powers over the last few years to the Tournament Performance Factor, and we'll have a new champion crowned this winter. My top two-ranked programs heading into the season are Deerfield and Poynette. Each has a talented frontcourt and has players who can win them games on both ends of the floor. The other commonality these two programs share is that they haven't appeared in a state tournament in any format. I believe that will change for both programs this March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eleva-Strum wins Sectional 1 in Division 5.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I want to continue talking about the turnaround Eleva-Strum had over the last few years. The Cardinals went from a five-win team to the cusp of a state tournament in a year. [player_tooltip player_id='751245' first='Avery' last='Glenz'] is back for Eleva-Strum, with other players back from their Sectional Final appearance last season, and a move into Sectional One will lead to a state tournament appearance for them. I love what they've done the last few years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->