2029 Player Rankings Update: Top Five

In this piece we highlight the new Top Five for the 2029 Class. Each player brings a unique talent to the court and they each possess the ability to compete at the next level, if they so choose.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Coming in at #1 in this Update for the 2029 Class is [player_tooltip player_id='951657' first='Tenley' last='Levin'] of Solon High School and Missouri Phenom EYBL. Levin, the 6'0 CG, holds down this spot because of her versatility on the hardwood. She moves like a guard at 6'0 and within her Class level in Iowa, that's been really impressive to watch this last four months but just like anyone in this article, Levin needs to keep stacking on her ability. She needs to demonstrate that she can do her moves going both directions and she needs to show that she can lead her program to a State appearance this next few years. That is something that I personally think will happen a few times but we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out but for now she is going to be locked in on having a rememberable Spring ahead.     [player_tooltip player_id='920715' first='Emily' last='Tanny'] makes the major jumper from #10 in our last Update to #2 in this one. This jump occurred because of how Tanny ended her Freshman campaign. At this time Tanny was playing the best basketball out of ANY 2029 within Iowa. She was putting up huge scoring totals in her efforts while also dishing the rock, defending, and rebounding all at 6'1. We knew about Tanny coming into this season but she just put together a Winter that is going to land her in the Top Five of this Class for the foreseeable future. It's going to be interesting to watching AIA during AAU this Spring. With players like Tanny within their 15U group, I wonder who else is going to step up to make a name for themselves and then bring that back to their high school programs. I know Tanny will but the others are TBD.     We only saw glimpses this Winter of [player_tooltip player_id='1201510' first='Grace' last='McCann'] on Waukee NW and that is because of how many college level prospects they possess. McCann is a 5'8 PG/SG and she might be the most efficient prospect out of this 2029 Class as a whole. She isn't the type that is killing her opponents with flashy moves but with calculated fundamentals. Offensively, she knows how to make open shots at a steady rate and she doesn't take "bad" attempts. Instead, if it seems forced, she will pass it back around and keep things moving within her team's offense. From a college perspective, this is what you love to see out of a hooper. Someone that can make an impact but they aren't going to force things leading into stupid mistakes that might cost you the game in the long run. We have only seen the tip of the iceberg as it pertains to McCann and her overall ability. During AAU she is an assassin and I can't wait to see how she follows that up on the road with Spring.     Sears had a lot of run this season on the Varsity floor with Dowling Catholic as their CG/PG. It's never easy moving into well known program that wins a lot. Especially when that program possesses multiple D1 athletes but Sears did a great job of picking her moments this past season. Just like McCann, this is someone that made great choices down the stretch. She stayed aggressive but within her own ability and she always left it all on the floor as it pertains to her effort level every time she laced up her kicks. As the years move on, Sears will become their top dawg on both sides of the floor. If she continues progressing, she should go down as a Top Five PG in DC history and that is rare air. This a category that includes Caitlin Clark and Ava Zediker so whenever you're thrown into a possible conversation with those two, you know you can play.     [player_tooltip player_id='1169794' first='Emma' last='Ryder'] had one heck of a season with Ottumwa High School and that's why she sticks in our Top Five at #5 to round things out. Ryder shot the ball at a 40% clip this Winter while being double and triple teamed a majority of the time. The real issue that she ran into is that her team didn't really play anyone after the first few weeks of the Winter and that didn't prepare them properly for the Playoffs in the end. Now you'll say, you can only do so much as the athlete and I concur. This is not on Ryder in anyway. I truly believe that this is someone who would thrive in ANY program across the state of Iowa over her high school career. The mixture of size, skill, coordination, and knowledge of the game she has is second-to-none and that might lead her to the D1 level at the end of her high school career. She just needs to keep working and the rest will be history!

In this piece we highlight the new Top Five for the 2029 Class. Each player brings a unique talent to the court and they each possess the ability to compete at the next level, if they so choose.