2025-2026 State Tournament: Thursday's Notebook

During the State Tournament I like to take several "live" notes about the prospects that are competing out on the floor.    Below are some of those notes in short hand.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!   [player_tooltip player_id='782498' first='Ainsley' last='Kiene'] - 2026 - SG - Ankeny High School   "You can tell that Kiene like to let go of the three ball. She has a nice shooting stroke off the catch or dribble from deep and she isn't awful with putting the ball on the ground. She can defend her own position at a respectable rate and she always seem to possess a good attitude from an outside perspective."   [player_tooltip player_id='880913' first='Kelli' last='Kalb'] - 2028 - SG - Johnston High School   "Kalb wasn't the biggest producer so far today but she made her mark in little ways. She rebounded the ball at a high rate on both offense and defense, locking in a crucial O-board and bucket in the second half of this one to help steady Johnston's lead. If the Dragons are going to bring home another Title tomorrow night, she is going to need to be a factor in one way or another. She has god given ability, now it's just going to be able how she uses that."   [player_tooltip player_id='582813' first='Ellie' last='Muller'] - 2026 - C/PF - Dowling Catholic High School   "E Mul has been her normal self in this Semifinal battle. She is getting buckets offensively while being a terror on defense with her reach. Whenever she has gotten the ball deep in the Post, it's basically an automatic bucket on either side of the hoop. She is defending the middle at a steady rate, making sure that opposing teams to come into the middle for simple cuts and finishes."   [player_tooltip player_id='1238790' first='Adrienne' last='Sears'] - 2028 - PG/CG - Dowling Catholic High School   "Sears has proven to us this week that she is most definitely deserving at being a top prospect out of her 2029 Class at the Guard position. We haven't seen a Freshman make a constant impact at DC in a few years but Sears did her best at leaving it all on the floor this Winter. The future continues to be bring for DC and that's cause of players like Sears. In this specific battle, she has held her own and shown she belongs against a talented NW team. She is showing how her movement off of the ball leads to open buckets and opportunities when her teammates can find them."   [player_tooltip player_id='880914' first='Tessa' last='Carmichael'] - 2028 - SG/CG - Dowling Catholic High School   "Another underclassman showing her worth on Dowling Catholic with significant minutes. Carmichael plays a good style of ball. She knows to shoot when she is wide open and she can defend a few different types of prospects on that side of the ball. She sticks to her matchup at an impressive rate and never eases up throughout the contest. No matter how tired she might be."   [player_tooltip player_id='777225' first='Katie' last='Muller'] - 2027 - SG - Dowling Catholic High School   "Still one of the best shooters that the State of Iowa has to offer at the high school level. If Muller has open space and timing AT ALL, it's going to go up and it's usually going to look really good out of her hands. The distance of how far away or who might be defending her does not matter. She is such a great shooter and has such good height that she can just shoot over most at this level anyways."   [player_tooltip player_id='834562' first='Logan' last='Vogt'] - 2027 - CG/SF - Waukee NW High School   "Vogt is going to be a D1 Volleyball player to my knowledge and that makes a ton of sense. She is built like it. She has length at 6'2, insane athletic ability, she is coordinated, and she has a smart mind-set overall as a competitor. Not to mention, she is disciplined enough to be menace when it comes to locking others down defensively. She can switch onto smaller or bigger if need be, all depends on the situation. The type of prospect every coach would love to work with because of her intangibles as a leader."   [player_tooltip player_id='920715' first='Emily' last='Tanny'] - 2029 - SG/PG - Wahlert Catholic High School   "Emily Tanny is easily a Top Five prospect out of her 2029 Class. The 6' PG is someone that makes plays on almost every possession. When her shooting ability is on point, she looks like she might end up being the #1 prospect out of Iowa for the 2029's but it's early. She has wrapped together an eye-opening campaign this Winter and I'm sure this is only the beginning. All of Wahlert Catholic's action runs through her and I'm sure that will be the theme for years to come."   [player_tooltip player_id='891985' first='Ava' last='Smid'] - 2028 - F - DCG High School   "When happened with DCG tonight has never been seen before in Iowa High School Basketball history and that moment happened because of the one and only [player_tooltip player_id='891985' first='Ava' last='Smid']. Smid is the one who scored 7 points in 12 seconds to lead DCG to a 4A State Title on Saturday but proir to this Smid was already being looked at by D1 programs within the State. This is the type of prospect that might end up at a P4 program at the end of the day with her combination of size and physicality."   [player_tooltip player_id='686901' first='Tessa' last='Jones'] - 2027 - SG/CG - DCG High School   "The overall MVP of this game though has been [player_tooltip player_id='686901' first='Tessa' last='Jones']. Jones has been making play after play, which has helped keep her team in it down the stretch. This game will forever go down in history for that one give sequence that took place with about 30 seconds left but don't let that overshadow the others who got them to that spot. Players like Jones."   [player_tooltip player_id='883552' first='Braylyn' last='Birmingham'] - 2028 - PG/SG - Norwalk High School   "This week Birmingham has given her argument for being the #1 prospect out of the 2028 Class in Iowa and it's a good one. She has great size at 6'0 and she knows how to use that size to her every advantage. This is someone that is still very young in their career but she is already a star. A three level scoring threat, a defender of multiple positions, a creator, and someone that you always have to mark on the floor or else it's not going to end up well for you. Norwalk might have fallen this evening but it's not due to the production of BB. She has been sensational this Winter and this week. No other way to put it."   [player_tooltip player_id='1117190' first='Ava' last='Carlson'] - 2026 - F - Norwalk High School   "Norwalk was in the position of holding the lead most of their Semifinal game and a big reason for that was their rebounding. They stopped DCG from having multiple opportunities on the offensive end, which led to buckets on the other side. She finished this game as the leading rebounder with 13, showing that she knows how to control the paint. This is going to be a big loss for Norwalk looking forward. They should be back next season in the State Tournament again but they are going to have to find another leading rebounder with Carlson out of the way."   [player_tooltip player_id='502100' first='Macy' last='Comito'] - 2026 - PG - Carlisle High School   "Comito is the Libby Fandel of this year's State Tournament in the 4A Class. Comito is another one who has been incredible the past few days and against tonight in the Semi's. She has led her team to a 24-1 record so far this season and a 4A Title game, that's an accomplishment in itself but I know that this group won't be satisfied until they are hoisting the trophy on Saturday afternoon. The player of this week for this Class has been Comito. Hands down. She is killing it individually and she just handled the #1 seed in the Class with EASE from start to finish."   MaKenna Roeder - 2028 - CG - Norwalk High School   "When you look at the underclassmen group of Norwalk, MaKenna Roeder stands out as someone that is going to be able to consistently contribute over the next two years. She makes good choices with the ball to be trusted, she isn't afraid to produce without the ball on offense, and she is scrappy on defense. We knew a little about Roeder prior to this season but she showed over the past 4/5 months that she is good enough to play at a high level within the 4A Class. This group is going to return most from this past season and Roeder is on that list. I expect her to be a starter once again, just like she was this year and I expect her to be grabbing even more college attention at that time."   [player_tooltip player_id='935274' first='Vana' last='Bilic'] - 2027 - SG - Waukee NW High School   "We have always been big fans of Bilic and her playmaking ability. That's been the case again all season long for the Senior CG. When the shot clock is winding down and this group needs something to happen, they look to Bilic. She might not be the tallest, she might not have the greatest athletic ability but she is still pretty athletic as a multiple sport athlete, she has a killer game in the midrange, she has defended this week like her life depends on it, and she is just a gamer in general. She is competitive and she wants to win when she competes, which everyone can respect. I hate that Bilic is graduating but she is going to be very good in college within the right system."

During the State Tournament I like to take several "live" notes about the prospects that are competing out on the floor.