Preseason Top Five: Class 2A

We have made it!    November is the month that action throughout the state of Iowa starts to take place for Girls High School Basketball. As a preview, in this piece we break down some of the team's that should be within the Top Five for the 2A Class moving into the Winter when taking into consideration their roster, schedule, and who they might have to play in some meaningful games in the future.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!   #5 - ACGC High School   When it comes to ACGC High School, the question falls to their PG position. A group that went 22-2 last season will return most of their starters and main producers from the past but they will lose their main Assist Per Game leader in Shay Leamke. Shay averaged around 5 APG, helping her team as the main facilitator to those around her. The Chargers will have their main force back in the middle in Senior - [player_tooltip player_id='1169137' first='Camdyn' last='Richter'] (15 PPG, 7 RPG), but they will need someone to feed her and I think that's going to be a group effort. If they can continuously get their Post players the ball, they should be a similar position to last year. They will need some other individuals to step up like Stella Largent (10 PPG, 6 RPG) and Becca Littler (6 PPG, 2RPG, 3 APG, 2 SPG) but I don't see that being an issue. ACGC really made a statement with their defensive prowess last season and I'm hoping they build on that this time around. This is a Chargers group that held opposing team's to just under 33 PPG, ranking them as a Top 2A team defensively throughout the entire state during the 2024-2025 season. If they continue with those principles and keep up with those type of numbers, this is going to be a tough group to defeat when it matters.   #4 - Denver High School   Denver High School will be a group that returns all of their starters from last Winter when they put together an almost undefeated season at 22-3, eventually falling short during the Section 8 finale to Maquoketa Valley prior to the State Tournament. This isn't the ending that the Cyclones were hoping for but they should return this Winter back and stronger than ever. From the looks of it, they will be starting five Senior's with some other upperclassmen to back them up as their subs. They will also have a few underclassmen who will have the ability to make some things happen, whenever that may be throughout. Last season we saw the Cyclones beat opposing teams by an average of 19 PPG. That should be a small number compared to what they will do this time around over the next few months. This is a group that will have a chance to fall into the 2 and 3 spot in the 2A Class if they play their cards right and others above them happen to slip up. Then it's State Tournament time and we all know what can happen there. Anything. Anything can happen there depending on who is riding a wave of momentum so as this Winter continues to move forward, there should be more and more action to follow suit as we quickly build into 2026.   #3 - Treynor High School   One of the deepest team's that the 2A Class has coming to the hardwood this Winter is Treynor High School. The Cardinals were very young last season when they put together a respectable record throughout their year. This season, those young prospects will be more experienced and ready to ride against some fierce competition. I'm going to guess the Cardinals will only have a few losses on their record moving into the Playoffs with their mixture of personal and team strategy. They will return their big three in production with [player_tooltip player_id='595157' first='Nora' last='Konz'] (15 PPG, 4 RPG, 3 APG), [player_tooltip player_id='985182' first='Addison' last='Mauer'] (10 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG), and [player_tooltip player_id='759391' first='Ella' last='Thorton'] (9 PPG, 6 RPG), along with a handful of others that were around in year's past. Treynor is always a tough matchup when it comes to strategy. Their coaching staff knows what's up and they adapt well in real time so I'm sure they will post some impressive stat lines over the next six months before we get to State Tournament. With their high flying defense and Willingness to sacrifice for one another, this is a group that shouldn't be slept on or else it might end badly for whoever is facing them in that situation.   #2 - Iowa City - Regina Catholic High School   I'm expecting Iowa City Regina to make their way back to Des Moines for the 2A State Tournament by the end of this season. They will need to look for more production now that Morgan Miller is at D2-Truman State but they will return their star from a year ago in PG - Addie McLaughin. McLaughlin took the court last Winter and averaged impressive numbers as the year went on. She finished things off by putting up 17 PPG, 4 RPG, 6 APG, 4 SPG within her team's 26 games. (They went 24-2). McLaughlin will be looked upon for even better numbers this time around but that is something that is plausible. This is a future D1 commit, who can shoot the leather off the ball while being someone that can also lead with her direction and passing ability in both the full and half-courts. As long as Regina has a good game plan, they should win most of their contests over the next eight months. They just need to stay locked in and someone else will have to step up to produce along side McLaughlin at some point. If that happens, who knows how far they could take things.   #1 - Hinton High School   Hinton High School will have a huge target on their back this entire season because of what they put together last Winter when they brought home a 2A State Title. Just to refresh your memory for those who may have forgotten but this group finished off the 2024-2025 high school Varsity season with a 26-0 record. On this journey, they held their opponents to 35 PPG while they scored 65 themselves. When you look at all this information and take into consideration that they will return all players from last year, as they also welcome Creighton Volleyball Commit, [player_tooltip player_id='582808' first='Bailey' last='Boeve'] (15 PPG, 10 RPG, 3 APG), back from injury. Their main prospect running the PG position will be [player_tooltip player_id='524262' first='Sydney' last='Doeschot'] (20 PPG, 3 RPG, 6 APG, 4 SPG) and she has proven that she can carry a team by herself if need be, just like she did last Winter when they hoisted the 2A State Trophy. This group will also welcome some new individuals in a 2028 and 2029 that should help them along the way. All in all, this is going to be the team to beat this year in the 2A Class. I'm not sure if anyone will make that happen but I can't wait to find out and see.   (Honorable Mentions: Rock Valley, Nodaway Valley, Maquoketa Valley, Central Lyon, MVAOCOU)

We have made it!