Rankings Shuffle Results in New #1, Top 10 Debuters
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Rankings are not meant to be static. They should living and subject to change. They are only a snapshot in time. Players work hard to improve, to get noticed, and inevitably enjoy playing the game more. The 2022 class’s recent…
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Continue ReadingRankings are not meant to be static. They should living and subject to change. They are only a snapshot in time. Players work hard to improve, to get noticed, and inevitably enjoy playing the game more. The 2022 class’s recent rankings refresh shows notable changes due to the work. Teenagers are constantly changing in all facets. Most of which are out of their control. Priorities change, players get stronger or don’t, players grow three inches in a year or don’t, players’s lives lose stability or don’t, setbacks are suffered due to injuries, coaches play their favorites even if the favorite has plateaued or quit working as hard and fall behind athletically than those riding the pine. They are also on the cusp of making post high school decisions that will set their initial direction after high school. While I do not see nearly as many players as I would like nor as often as I would like the rankings are fed not just by what I see but what I learn from other scouts, knowledgeable parents, media members, ball players, and college coaches think. Rankings are informative but they tell far from a complete picture and are always inherently incomplete despite the number of players included.
With all of this being said the latest refresh of the 2022 player rankings has not only produced a great deal of shuffling but also a new number one and debuters in the top 10. Enjoy this mid-summer season snapshot of the new top 10.
#1 Zyanna Walker Zyanna Walker 5'8" | PG Wichita Heights | 2022 State #15 Nation KS , 5’8″, PG, Wichita Heights, Kansas United – Walker climbs to the top spot after being in the second slot for nearly two years. After battling injuries since late February 2020 Walker has eased back onto the court. Heading into the summer Walker is ranked 20th in the ESPNU Super 60, a two-time Greater Wichita League first team and a 2020 Kansas Basketball Coaches Association 6A second team selection. She holds numerous Division I scholarship offers and is described by Kansas United’s Gayla Soyez as the most complete player in Kansas since Lynette Woodard, who Soyez played against. Past reports from coaches and scouts describe her as a “athletic combo-guard manufactures shots; rises on jumper in mid-range game with feathery touch; handles and attacks in uptempo game, finishes plays to the rim with either hand; confident playmaker with a BCS future” and that college coaches “…like her size and ability to handle the ball” and “Where they would like for her to play is the guard. She can play the 1 or the 2. Her size and athletic ability and her basketball IQ fits a 1-2 (position) easy in a top program.” In the immortal words of Stan Lee, “’Nuff said.”
#2 Beatrice Culliton Beatrice Culliton 6'3" | PF St. Thomas Aquinas | 2022 State #49 Nation KS , 6’3″, C, St. Thomas Aquinas, Missouri Phenom – Culliton very recently committed to the University of Oklahoma and moves up a spot. She returns for her senior season with Saints following a win over Andover Central for the 2021 5A state title She is a two-time KBCA 5A first team and Eastern Kansas League first team. Teams loved her hands, finishing ability around the basket, position defensive ability, IQ and offensive ability out of the pick and roll, and her rebounding. The Sooners landed the most well rounded big Kansas had to offer.
#3 Brittany Harshaw Brittany Harshaw 6'0" | PF Andover Central | 2022 State KS , 6’0″, SF/PF, Andover Central, Wheat State Elite – The Creighton commit moves up a spot as well. The Blue Jays have landed a player who can play and defend a couple of positions for them. Besides having good transition speed and quickness on both ends of the floor, Harshaw has very quick hands. Her athleticism is evident finishing off the bounce and in transition. Her face up and perimeter ability makes her not only a threat out of her back-to-back game but also in her ability to get the ball to open teammates in a variety of situations. She is two time first-team KBCA 5A all state as well as AVCTL Div II first team.
#4 Emajin McCallop Emajin McCallop 5'7" | CG Bishop Miege | 2022 State KS , 5’7″, PG, Bishop Miege, Missouri Phenom – While McCallop has been ranked in the class’s top ten for two years it was the Stags’s 4A quarterfinal game of the 2020 state tournament where McCallop showed herself to be the difference maker I knew she would be if she had an opportune chance to shine. With the Verhulst sisters in foul trouble entering the third quarter it was McCallop who stepped up handling the ball and leading and finishing in transition to hold off a well coached and prepared Chapman team to advance to a semi-final game against a very strong Nickerson team that would never get played. Her play continued throughout the summer and into the fall, mostly crushing and embarrassing defenders at the Wichita I-35 Showcase event and our September Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Exposure event in Shawnee, earning a spot on the PGH Kansas all-summer team. The 2021 KBCA 4A second team and Eastern Kansas League first team selection is fast in transition with the ball, gets her way off the bounce, and creates well for her teammates. Her perimeter scoring ability especially makes her difficult to slow her down. Her physical strength can rear its head by ripping the ball out of the hands of players trying to finish and scoring against contact when finishing. Advancing a spot in the recent rankings refresh, McCallop is starting to accumulate Division I offers.
#5 Sania Copeland Sania Copeland 5'7" | CG Olathe North | 2022 State KS , 5’7″, CG, Olathe North, Missouri Phenom – The Missouri State University commit has steadily advanced through the class from her #16 November rank and always averaged double figures, and around 2.5 steals and 3 assists per game. A member of the first Jr NBA World Championship team in 2017…and team MVP, she is a dangerous lefty with downtown three point range, perseverance, and ability to get around players of any size to score. Former PGH Scout Israel Potoczny noticed the confidence she plays with, ability to move off the ball, and defend the two guard positions well. He liked how she handles the ball, creates in transition, and just seemed to make plays without thinking about it. High level play indeed.
#6 Cayanna Stanley Cayanna Stanley 5'4" | PG Wichita Heights | 2022 State KS , 5’6″, PG, Wichita Heights, Cy-Fair 17U National – Stanley, moves up a spot, has never been out of the top ten since the site’s launch in January 2019. While I have yet to see her play in person my colleague Mason Asher did at the July 2020 Tournament of Champions Mason Asher event. He wrote that she “…is a quick lead guard who really pushed the pace today. She has a very good frame that can hold strength. She scores the ball at all three levels and was able to force the defensive hand. When she is on the floor the game seems different.” Stanley works consistently on her game and it shows. She is very fast with strong ball handling skills, able to finish through contact when attacking the basket, and is a perimeter threat. She wrapped up the 2021 high school season as first team a Wichita City League selection after earning second team in 2020. She picked up a spot and has offers from several Division I universities.
#7 Taedyn Gray Taedyn Gray 6'3" | PF Shawnee Mission West | 2022 State KS , 6’2″, C/PF, Shawnee Mission West, Missouri Phenom – The 2021 Sunflower League third teamer followed on the heals of her second team selection in 2020. After advancing second teamer has steadily advanced since she ranked #36 two summers ago. She also has gained another spot. Gray’s ceiling is high as she has the energy and diverse skill set, including as a shot blocker, to be a nightmare for her opponents. Strong and with a long build, she can overpower other posts on both ends. Gray rolls well off her screen and has good hands to catch and finish well with contact. She has the ball skills to dribble out of trouble and lead a break with speed. As a shooter she can hit the mid-range and perimeter shot with elevation and quickness. Defensively she is regarded as a good rim protector. This Viking will be taking her game to Drake University.
#8
Aubrie Kierscht
Aubrie
Kierscht
5'6" | CG
Salina Central | 2022
State
KS
, 5’6″, SG/PG, Salina Central, SSA Gameball Basketball – In March Salina Central hosted Seaman in a 5A state quarterfinal game. It would the first time I had seen her play for her high school after seeing her play several times at Exposure events and summer club tournaments. All she did was Kierscht score a personal record 34 points including 6 threes and going 6/6 from the line. Repeatedly she was able to create space on the perimeter with some subtle quickness to create a shot or just take advantage of space allowed. She was also able to get into the lane to score or draw a foul. I saw the same abilities when she played with Twin Lakes Stars awhile back, but executed even a bit quicker. She is well known for her scoring but she is relentless defender, denies cutters and sees the ball well as a defender. The two-time AVCTL Div IIA first team selection also ended 2021 on the KBCA 5A first team after earning second team in 2020. Kierscht has hung around the top 10-15 for a couple years and advanced four spots in the most recent refresh. Navy is looking forward to Kierscht joining the program following her senior season.
#9 Hampton Williams Hampton Williams 5'9" | SG Salina Central | 2022 State KS , 5’11″, SG/SF, Salina Central, Wheat State Elite – Williams’s ability to play inside and out takes advantage of her strength and build as well as ball handling and perimeter shooting abilities. It also helps that she has a very solid motor. The last couple of years Williams has consistently averaged 8-10 points per game and nearly seven rebounds. She also is a very solid 70% free throw shooter. Defensively what stands out is her ability to find ways to consistently stay in the face of her defender. She is always there challenging. Williams earned KBCA 5A honorable mention and AVCTL Div II second team honors. Another steady climber in the ranks over the past couple of years, Williams advanced four spots. She will taking her game to Abilene Christian University following her senior season.
#10
Ashley Carrillo
Ashley
Carrillo
5'7" | PG
Liberal | 2022
State
KS
, 5’7″, PG, Liberal, SSA Gameball Basketball – 2021 KBCA 6A honorable mention and Western Athletic Conference first team. I have seen Carrillo play a number of times for her club including the April MAYB Hall of Fame Showcase tournament in Wichita. After missing her freshman season due to injury Carrillo has been a driving force at the point guard spot as is arguably the least well known great point guard in Kansas. She is among the quickest at the position but also has great strength. Her ability to elevate is on display in the rebounding, especially offensive, and shot blocking departments. She has extremely quick hands, which shows up not just with her handles but also in the steal department. Among her talents is an ability to draw defenders out to set up what she can do to beat them. Heading into the 2020 season she was ranked 65th. Her consistent work in the gym, on the soccer pitch, and in the weight room has driven her to advance four spots to break into the top ten for the first time. Carrillo has picked up NCAA and NJCAA Division I and II offers.