2028 Player Rankings Update: Stock-Risers

To be a, “Stock-Riser”, means a few things depending on how you look at it but the most important factor in my opinion is that the prospect is continuously putting in meaningful work in their off-time and that work is translating to the floor in real game-time. In this piece, we cover five individuals out of this 2028 Class in Iowa, that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    The mixture of length, coordination, balance, and touch are just a few of the reasons that [player_tooltip player_id='913222' first='Julia' last='Van Keuren'] moves up to #9. Van Keuren was the anchor in the middle of the lane for her Waukee High School team the past six months. She led traffic, commanding where everyone should be while cutting through the lane. She rebounded at a steady rate on both ends. So much so that opposing teams had to mark that down on a scouting report because if they did not contain that factor, it was going to be a long night against the 6'2 Forward. I know that Van Keuren is a 2028 that is gaining interest day in and day out from the next level. Several college recruiters asked me this Winter what her story was so I would be shocked if she didn't receive a lot of love on the road this AAU season across the Country.     [player_tooltip player_id='1305404' first='Ella' last='Otten'] came into Iowa this Winter and showed her worth right away for Bishop Heelan at the PG/SG. Otten was raved about prior to the season because she was coming into join this Powerhouse program and she already held a few D1 offers. Otten lived up to this hype, demonstrating that she was one of the best guards in the State at the 4A level right away. She made easy plays on offense as a scoring threat and creator, she defended her own position well enough that it was notable, and she made the simple tasks on the floor look REALLY easy - when in reality that might not always have been the case. Not to mention, she showed off her impressive one dribble pull up from all offensive levels and she was willing to sacrifice her body for the good of the team without a hesitation. All in all, when you combined all of this you get a gamer that is dedicated to being the best version of herself on the court and that is the main reason she moves into the Top 10 in this Update. Her dedication and hard work continues to pay off. Now let's see how far it can take her.     There is a rumor going around that [player_tooltip player_id='891985' first='Ava' last='Smid'] has the chance of being the best overall prospect to come out of DCG in history in WBB. I'm not sure how true that will turn out to be but at this point, it's not a crazy statement to make or believe in. Smid is coming off of an impressive Sophomore season. She was already a very good player from day 1 of practice and she seemingly got better as the year went on. That's not something you see too often at this level. Players who are good, evolving throughout the season while they have multiple games and practices each week so if you can accomplish that, you should be excited as can be. It means that you keep getting better year round and that is going to help you lap the competition in the long-run. I have a feeling Smid is going to end up going D1 at the end of the day. She is still raw in her overall ability but still very good so the sky is the limit if she stays dedicated to the process.     If you are looking for a prospect that is going to be able to lead your team in simple but efficient ways, look no further than [player_tooltip player_id='880906' first='Kalyn' last='Scamman']. Scamman is not new to this situation. She has been PG #1 for years now within her teams and programs. This season it was nice to see her take over completely at Shenandoah High School. This was her time to step up and show everyone in the program that this is her team moving forward until graduation and she did just that. She led them in several positive statistical categories throughout the Winter, never giving up the role of Top Dawg to those around her. I'm excited to see Scamman on the road this AAU season. She will be playing with a ferocious [program_tooltip program_id='779942' first='ETG' last='Midwest Elite 3SSB'] team that is loaded with talent at all positions. They usually run good sets and systems on both sides of the ball so I hope she uses the momentum from high school season to kill it moving forward. As for this Player Rankings Update, Scamman moves up to #12.     [player_tooltip player_id='880904' first='Ellie' last='Sievers'] slides right into our Top 15 in this Update. Sievers, the 5'6 CG, is coming off of a rememberable Winter season. Her Newell-Fonda Mustangs program won the 1A Class State Title, killing their competition all season long on both offense and defense. Sievers moved around within the Mustangs system the past few months. At times she played PG, bringing up the ball off the rebound. At other times she would move to the Wing position so she could play off of her other guard's distribution. No matter the situation though, Sievers came to play. She was one of the best overall prospects in the 1A Class and I'm sure that's going to be the case once again next Winter as well.

To be a, “Stock-Riser”, means a few things depending on how you look at it but the most important factor in my opinion is that the prospect is continuously putting in meaningful work in their off-time and that work is translating to the floor in real game-time. In this piece, we cover five individuals out of this 2028 Class in Iowa, that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.