5 Takeaways from the Minnesota AAU State Prelims

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is no shortage of great moments in any given AAU season. For us, the one certainty from year to year is just how entertaining the two-week Minnesota State Championships Series is. Opening weekend – the State Prelims – lived up to every expectation and the upcoming State Tournament is bound to do the same. After watching nearly 20 hours of basketball at Kennedy High School in Bloomington over the past few days, here are 5 takeaways from the Prelims.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1. A monumental undertaking</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the tweet came out Monday that the State Tournament schedule wasn't quite ready for release yet, it was not a surprise. The logistics of running an event with more than 300 teams are daunting. With dozens of special scheduling requests and conflicts and court assignments to deal with, it's a lot. We take for granted that these events will run smoothly and they almost always do. Shout out to the [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] for doing an awesome job with the Prelims; thanks in advance to the [program_tooltip program_id='714566' first='Minnesota' last='Stars'] who are running the State Tournament. We appreciate what you do!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The growth in this event is remarkable. This year there are 340 teams spread over eight grades. The largest is 6th grade with 54 teams. The 2028s and 2029s have 50 teams apiece. Among the four high school grades, there are 174 in all. In 2015 that number was 122. While researching the historic numbers I came across the rosters from 2015. That year's junior standouts included big names like Taylor Koenen (North Carolina), Hannah Sjerven (South Dakota), Kiara Russell (Arizona State) and Nia Hollie (Michigan State), who is coaching in this year's event. Among the standouts in the 5th grade division in 2015 were current college stars Tessa Johnson (South Carolina), Mallory Heyer (Minnesota), Kiani Lockett (Creighton), Callin Hake (Nebraska) and Kennedy Sanders (Colorado). How time flies!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2. Roster reinforcements</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's always entertaining to see what last-minute roster changes take place at Prelims and the State Tournament as players suddenly land on different squads just in time for the event. This year's big surprise was seeing <strong>Lakyn Donnelly </strong>of Fargo show up in uniform with the Fury's top 2028 team. It's not as if the Fury 9th graders needed any help – the team is loaded with top 10 prospects like [player_tooltip player_id='716527' first='Ashna' last='Ramlall'], [player_tooltip player_id='772240' first='Sarah' last='Poepard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='644896' first='Logan' last='Miller']. But with her squad not playing this weekend or next, Donnelly was available. She made a big impact for the Fury, including a 20-point performance against [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United']. Donnelly's pull-up jump shot in the lane is an undefendable thing of beauty.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One thing we won't see this year are players competing in the tournament on more than one team. It has been common practice in the past for younger players to complete at grade level and also appear with older teams within their club. A new rule stipulates that players can only compete for one team throughout the two weekends.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unfortunately, that makes it difficult for some clubs to compete due to low numbers, an issue that is prevalent among out-state teams whose rosters are stocked with small-school athletes who play multiple sports. Combine spring sport absences with small-town proms and teams are hurting. In the past, clubs like the [program_tooltip program_id='712699' first='Minnesota' last='Rise'] or [program_tooltip program_id='784736' first='High' last='Impact'] could bring in reinforcements from younger teams or secondary teams to fill in for a game or two. No more. As a result, Iron Range-based HI had just five players this weekend. The Rise, from Southern Minnesota, had only six for some games. If the tournament was played in June, this wouldn't be an issue.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3. Big names. Big games.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We spend an inordinate amount of time during the AAU season hunting for new talent. We watch all levels over five grades and that means we sit through a lot of less-than-compelling contests in search of hidden gems. Not at State or Prelims. This is when we focus on the big names with the big games competing with Minnesota's best. This weekend the alpha dogs did not disappoint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Take the Class of 2026, for example. Top prospect [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'] of [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'], who has committed to Kentucky, was running the show at a high level while racking up assists and steals and 11 points per game. Prospect #1A [player_tooltip player_id='205310' first='Tori' last='Oehrlein'] of [program_tooltip program_id='712700' first='Minnesota' last='Suns'] P24 (Minnesota) led all scorers at 16.7 ppg for the three games she played. Top prospects like [player_tooltip player_id='351665' first='Vienna' last='Murray'] and [player_tooltip player_id='515676' first='Samantha' last='Voll'] of Fury UAA, and [player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright'] of [program_tooltip program_id='714566' first='Minnesota' last='Stars'] led the division overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 2027s, we witnessed big-time performances from Minnesota commit [player_tooltip player_id='578467' first='Amisha' last='Ramlall'] and 2nd-ranked prospect [player_tooltip player_id='498661' first='Pressley' last='Watkins'] of the Fury. The addition of 6th-ranked [player_tooltip player_id='558627' first='Erma' last='Walker'] to the [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] lineup has been huge. 2028 standouts like [player_tooltip player_id='904190' first='Malin' last='Youngberg'] of [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United'] and [player_tooltip player_id='908260' first='Maggie' last='Dyer'] of [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] lived up to their standards. Ditto for top 10 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='911664' first='Brianna' last='Eggers'] of [program_tooltip program_id='767539' first='Minnesota' last='Comets'] Elite. Look for more of the same this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4. Club to watch: [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] earned top seeds in the four primary divisions, some smaller clubs went above and beyond at the Prelims, setting themselves up for success at State. The most prominent of these would be [program_tooltip program_id='713021' first='West' last='Central United'], which is based in Alexandria. The energetic Smith brothers have worked tirelessly to recruit and coach the best talent in that part of the state and their efforts are paying off. Their 2028 group earned a third-place finish at last year's tournament. This weekend they beat the [program_tooltip program_id='712665' first='Metro' last='Stars'] by 15, followed with a 4-point win over Fury UAA, and beat Comets Elite by 27. They fell to Tartan's EYBL team 54-43 in the battle for the #1  seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All nine players rostered for West Central this weekend are ranked among the top 75 prospects in the Prep Girls Hoops Class of 2028, including #10 [player_tooltip player_id='904190' first='Malin' last='Youngberg'] of Little Falls, #19 [player_tooltip player_id='565313' first='Elsa' last='Retzlaff'] of Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, #23 [player_tooltip player_id='897052' first='Tatum' last='Morrison'] of Deer River and #29 [player_tooltip player_id='990284' first='Dreah' last='Christiansen'] of Menahga. WCU's 7th graders performed nearly as well. That 2030 team has some promising talent, too, including two gifted younger sisters – [player_tooltip player_id='1239229' first='Ehlin' last='Youngberg'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1110548' first='Elin' last='Retzlaff']. We loved what we saw Sunday from speedy, athletic guard [player_tooltip player_id='1243302' first='Lily' last='Wesen'] of Albany and growing post [player_tooltip player_id='1243300' first='Aliyah' last='Okeson'] of Detroit Lakes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5. [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] earns the top seeds</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most decorated club in the history of Minnesota girls AAU is [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan']. Although the wealth has been spread around more evenly in recent years – the clean sweep by Nick Storm's [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] in 2019 comes to mind – [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] is always in the mix when it comes to state championships. Director Bill Larson's club positioned itself well once again by earning top seed in all four high school divisions. How that carries over to the main event remains to be seen. Last spring the #1 seeds won two of the four divisions while the #2 seeds took the other two. The difference between the top teams is very small ,and it's not unusual for teams to get beat soundly at Prelims and successfully score revenge seven days later.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We'll be doing separate previews of each of the four high school classes over the next few days leading up to the opening of the State Tournament on Friday night complete with information on the contenders, players to watch, potential surprises and more. Shakopee High School will be the primary site for D1 competition with some games likely on Friday at Bloomington Kennedy. Here's a reminder of who will be defending their titles at State:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>2026 (17U)</strong> – [program_tooltip program_id='714566' first='Minnesota' last='Stars'] 3SSB</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>2027 (16U)</strong> – [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] EYBL</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>2028 (15U)</strong> – [program_tooltip program_id='712687' first='Minnesota' last='Fury'] UAA</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>2029 (14U)</strong> – [program_tooltip program_id='712722' first='North' last='Tartan'] Nike</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->