Breakout Player of the Year: Kayla Bohr of Blaine

When the high school basketball season opened in November it became clear that [player_tooltip player_id="110923" first="Kayla" last="Bohr"] was on a mission. She appeared to be more focused, was playing at a high level of intensity and was putting the ball in the basket with point totals in the high 20s on a regular basis. It’s no coincidence that Blaine got off to a 10-1 start and Bohr established herself as a scholarship-level candidate. There were some ups and downs throughout the year as there always are, but Bohr’s overall body of work was impressive, so much so that we have selected Kayla as our Prep Girls Hoops Breakout Player of the Year. It’s not often that we see a player improve so much in her senior season. We witnessed it a couple of years ago when forward [player_tooltip player_id="1490" first="Anna" last="Counts"] of Providence Academy made a senior splash and has gone on to a nice career at D2 Minot State. There’s no reason why Bohr can’t do the same thing as she recently signed to play at UW-Parkside. Bohr is a 5’10 forward with a big body. She is strong, powerful and imposing. If you described Kayla as having a mean streak you would not be wrong. This winter, however, Bohr became a more complete performer and her scoring production jumped accordingly, rising by over 30 percent to nearly 20 points per game. Although her shooting improved significantly Bohr still did most of her scoring at the rim which is reflected in her 60+ percent shooting average. As a result of her improvement, Bohr took a quantum leap in the rankings into the top 75 at the latest update and Blaine doubled its win total from the previous season. <strong>Runner-up: [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"], sophomore guard, Lake City</strong> Entering this season Natalie had already established herself as a player to watch. She was coming off a productive freshman year and a strong summer. When high school ball commenced we immediately saw more of the same. The super-long 5’11 guard is a slasher with great handles and quick feet who really knows how to take it to the hole. She’s also super long. Bremer can shoot from significant distance and is a consistent scorer, averaging over 20 points per game. She topped the 30-point mark four times and had 8 more games in the 20s. With a huge motor and a strong work ethic, Bremer has improved pretty much every aspect of her game and is now drawing Division 1 interest. She has also risen in the 2022 rankings to #33. <strong>HONORABLE MENTIONS</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30174" first="Lily" last="Fandre"], sophomore forward, Eagan</strong> Who knows what position Lily will end up playing in college. This winter at Eagan she played them all. The lengthy 6’1 forward was the Wildcats’ primary ball-handler, ran the offense on most nights, and generally set the tempo for a rebuilding team. Lily also nearly tripled her offensive output to 15 points per game with a high game of 31. Her skills have improved significantly over the past year as has her confidence level as she helped Eagan double its win totals from one year ago. Lily is also one of the state’s top shot-blockers. In consecutive rankings updates, Fandre has risen from #59 to #54 to #39 to #22. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30162" first="Mikayla" last="Aumer"], sophomore guard, Cambridge-Isanti </strong> We have had a lot to say about Mikayla over the past year, and why not. Aumer has put in more work than any other player in Minnesota to transform herself into a high-level prospect. All of that effort has certainly paid off as the 5’9 guard has risen to the top 30 in the 2022 rankings and last week received her first D1 offer from the University of North Dakota. Aumer has superior handles, can shoot it from anywhere and is a natural leader. She goes flat out all the time and is an aggressive defender. Aumer averaged over 16 points per game this season (a 300% improvement over last year), to go along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals. Mikayla helped Cambridge reach the 20-win mark as the Bluejackets earned their way into the Class 4A state tournament. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109165" first="Ella" last="Runyon"], sophomore forward, Hill Murray</strong> Ella really grabbed our attention last summer at the Hall of Fame tournament in July where the 5’11 guard/forward showed us superior athleticism, a big motor and an ability to impact the game on many different levels. Runyon parlayed those assets into a breakout high school season, as well. Runyon is a multi-sport athlete who will have options as the next level, but her basketball ceiling is high. She averaged 17 points per game this year – including an impressive 32-point outing in the final game of the regular season – to lead the Pioneers in scoring by a smidge over junior [player_tooltip player_id="109763" first="Bella" last="Hartzel"]. That was more than double her production as a freshman. She has risen to #53 in the PGH 2022 prospect rankings.