Recruiting update: 50 commitments and more to come

Who knew what would happen? When the NCAA added an extra year of eligibility for all current players due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, college basketball recruiting was thrown into the unknown. We knew it was going to impact the Class of 2022 in a big way, and it has. We just didn’t know how big the impact would be. The trickle down effects are definitely there but it hasn’t been quite as bad as was predicted, at least not in Minnesota. Heading into the school year about 50 Minnesota players give or take have announced their college commitments. That’s pretty good given the circumstances.

The latest commitments came over the weekend when two more kids decided to play junior college ball at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City – Kiera Albers Kiera Albers 5'3" | PG Maple Grove | 2022 State MN of Maple Grove and MBA Cordes and Keiara Anderson Keiara Anderson 5'9" | CG St. Cloud Apollo | 2022 State MN of St. Cloud Apollo and the Minnesota Comets. Among the 51 players committed there are 19 who verballed to Division 1 programs (including eight high majors), 25 to Division 2 and six to Division 3, NAIA or junior college schools. There was one more D1 commit, but Nevaeh Hughes Nevaeh Hughes 6'1" | SF White Bear Lake | 2022 State MN of White Bear Lake (43 Hoops) reopened her recruiting following a coaching change at Canisius.

The latest D1 commits include #16-ranked Lizzie Holder Lizzie Holder 6'1" | PF Stillwater | 2022 State MN of Stillwater (Minnesota Fury 2022 UAA) who verballed to Colorado of the PAC 12 Conference, #13 Savannah White Savannah White 6'1" | SG DeLaSalle | 2022 State MN of DeLaSalle (FBC Real) who said ‘yes’ to Wisconsin, and #23 Kaylynn Asberry Kaylynn Asberry 5'5" | PG Como Park | 2022 State MN of St. Paul Como Park (FBC Real) who signed with St. Peter’s in New Jersey. Among the recent D2 commits are #15 Lexi Karge Lexi Karge 6'2" | PF Mankato East | 2022 State MN of Mankato East (Minnesota Stars Nilsen) to UM-Duluth, #29 Natalie Bremer Natalie Bremer 5'11" | CG Lake City | 2022 State MN of Lake City (Wisconsin Playmakers) to MSU-Mankato, and #44 Paige Peaslee Paige Peaslee 6'0" | PF North Branch | 2022 State MN of North Branch (Minnesota Heat) to Winona State.

The Division 3 commits are always the last to happen, primarily because the top athletes are waiting to see if they can land a spot at a higher level and because there are no scholarships involved so there are a lot of financial and academic considerations to be dealt with. The top D3 commit so far is #73 Rose Wille Rose Wille 5'8" | SG Farmington | 2022 State MN of Farmington (Fury 2022 Premier) who recently verballed to UW-Stout while the first NAIA commit is Alicia Bates Alicia Bates 5'6" | CG Champlin Park | 2022 State MN of Champlin Park (43 Hoops) who verballed to Briar Cliff in Iowa.

Clearly the extra year is having an impact. A number of players who would have had opportunities to play at the Division 1 level have opted to go D2 because the openings have been limited. That, in turn, is pushing others down to D3 because the scholarship-level openings just aren’t there. By our estimation, there are still two or three players who could land a D1 roster spot before it’s all said and done for the Class of 2022, or will eventually get there via the JUCO route. That group could potentially include #17 Ronnie Porter Ronnie Porter 5'2" | CG Como Park | 2022 State MN of St. Paul Como Park (FBC Real), #21 Alayna Contreras Alayna Contreras 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2022 State MN of Hopkins (Metro Stars 3SSB) and #32 Myra Moorjani Myra Moorjani 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2022 State MN of Eden Prairie (North Tartan). For comparison’s sake, in the Class of 2021 there were 32 D1 commitments; in 2020 it was 22 (including two who got there via JUCO ball); in 2019 there were 26.

There are actually two more Division 1 commits we should mention – the first two players to verbal from the Class of 2023. The first was #17 Taryn Hamling Taryn Hamling 5'9" | PG Grand Rapids | 2023 State MN of  Grand Rapids and Minnesota Stars Hersch who verballed to North Dakota State earlier this year. Most recently #23 Zoey Washington Zoey Washington 5'9" | CG St. Croix Lutheran | 2023 State MN (Minnesota Fury), formerly of Mahtomedi and now at St. Croix Lutheran, said ‘yes’ to the University of St. Thomas.

Here’s a rundown on all of the commitments that have been made public to date.

HIGH MAJOR D1

• Maya Nnaji Maya Nnaji 6'4" | PF Hopkins | 2022 State #7 Nation MN – Hopkins (Arizona) (FBC Real)
• Mara Braun Mara Braun 5'11" | CG Wayzata | 2022 State #21 Nation MN – Wayzata (Minnesota) (North Tartan)
• Amaya Battle Amaya Battle 5'10" | PG Hopkins | 2022 State #29 Nation MN – Hopkins (Minnesota) (Metro Stars)
• Mallory Heyer Mallory Heyer 6'1" | PF Chaska | 2022 State #36 Nation MN – Chaska (Minnesota) (Minnesota Fury)
• Nia Holloway Nia Holloway 6'0" | PF Eden Prairie | 2022 State #45 Nation MN – Eden Prairie (Minnesota) (North Tartan)
• Lilly Meister Lilly Meister 6'2" | PF Rochester John Marshall | 2022 State #55 Nation MN – Rochester John Marshall (Indiana) (Minnesota Fury)
• Callin Hake Callin Hake 5'8" | PG Chanhassen | 2022 State #64 Nation MN – Chanhassen (Nebraska) (Minnesota Fury)
• Savannah White Savannah White 6'1" | SG DeLaSalle | 2022 State MN – DeLaSalle (Wisconsin) (FBC Real)
• Lizzie Holder Lizzie Holder 6'1" | PF Stillwater | 2022 State MN – Stillwater (Colorado) (Minnesota Fury)

OTHER DIVISION 1 COMMITS

• Kiani Lockett Kiani Lockett 5'9" | PG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN – Minnetonka (Creighton) (North Tartan)
• Ellie Colbeck Ellie Colbeck 5'9" | PG Fergus Falls | 2022 State MN – Fergus Falls (South Dakota State) (North Tartan)
• Desiree Ware Desiree Ware 5'8" | CG Minnetonka | 2022 State MN – Minnetonka (Alabama-Birmingham) (Minnesota Stars)
• Ellie Buzzelle Ellie Buzzelle 5'9" | SG Rogers | 2022 State #60 Nation MN – Rogers (Grand Canyon) (Minnesota Fury)
• Madison Mathiowetz Madison Mathiowetz 5'10" | CG Sleepy Eye St. Mary's | 2022 State MN – Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (South Dakota State) (North Tartan)
• Lily Fandre Lily Fandre 6'2" | SF Eagan | 2022 State MN – Eagan (Lehigh) (North Tartan)
• Katie Hurt Katie Hurt 6'0" | SF Roch. John Marshall | 2022 State MN – Rochester John Marshall (Lehigh) (Minnesota Fury)
• Amber Scalia Amber Scalia 5'9" | CG Stillwater | 2022 State MN – Stillwater (St. Thomas) (Minnesota Fury)
• Mikayla Aumer Mikayla Aumer 5'9" | CG Cambridge-Isanti | 2022 State MN – Cambridge-Isanti (North Dakota) (Metro Stars)
• Kaylynn Asberry Kaylynn Asberry 5'5" | PG Como Park | 2022 State MN – St. Paul Como Park (St. Peter’s) (FBC Real)

DIVISION 2 BY SCHOOL

Augustana

• CJ Adamson CJ Adamson 5'9" | CG Rochester Lourdes | 2022 State MN , Rochester-Lourdes (North Tartan)
• Katelyn Diegnau Katelyn Diegnau 6'1" | PF GHEC-Truman | 2022 State MN , Granada-Huntley-East Chain (Minnesota Rise)

Concordia-St. Paul

• Ally Schultz Ally Schultz 6'0" | CG Lakeville South | 2022 State MN , Lakeville South (Minnesota Stars)
• Ella Campbell Ella Campbell 5'10" | CG Edina | 2022 State MN , Edina (Minnesota Stars)

Livingstone

• Mikaelah Counce Mikaelah Counce 5'8" | CG Champlin Park | 2022 State MN , Champlin Park (43 Hoops)

Minnesota-Crookston

• Natalie Mikrot Natalie Mikrot 5'6" | CG Moose Lake-WR | 2022 State MN , Moose Lake-Willow River (Wisconsin Playmakers)

Minnesota-Duluth

• Lexi Karge Lexi Karge 6'2" | PF Mankato East | 2022 State MN , Mankato East (Minnesota Stars)

Missouri Western

• Kassie Caron Kassie Caron 6'0" | SF Holy Angels | 2022 State MN , Holy Angels (Minnesota Fury)

Montana State-Billings

• Kaylie Crabtree Kaylie Crabtree 5'8" | CG Hawley | 2022 State MN , Hawley (ND Flight)
• Kylie Crabtree Kylie Crabtree 5'8" | CG Hawley | 2022 State MN , Hawley (ND Flight)

MSU-Mankato

• Mackenzie Schweim Mackenzie Schweim 5'10" | PG Mankato East | 2022 State MN , Mankato East (Minnesota Stars)
• Natalie Bremer Natalie Bremer 5'11" | CG Lake City | 2022 State MN , Lake City (Wisconsin Playmakers)
• Lilly Nuytten Lilly Nuytten 6'1" | PF Hastings | 2022 State MN , Hastings (North Tartan)
• Ava Stier Ava Stier 5'10" | PF Waconia | 2022 State MN , Waconia (Minnesota Stars)

Mary

• Maddie James Maddie James 6'0" | SG Princeton | 2022 State MN , Princeton (Minnesota Stars)

MSU-Moorhead

• Kaila Youngs Kaila Youngs 6'0" | SF Orono | 2022 State MN , Orono (Minnesota Stars)

Sioux Falls

• Tayah Leenderts Tayah Leenderts 6'0" | PF Rosemount | 2022 State MN , Rosemount (Minnesota Stars)

Southwest Minnesota State

• Audrey Swanson Audrey Swanson 5'11" | SF Waconia | 2022 State MN , Waconia (Minnesota Stars)
• Zoie Centers Zoie Centers 5'5" | PG Mahtomedi | 2022 State MN , Mahtomedi (Minnesota Fury)
• Rian Aune Rian Aune 5'7" | CG Virginia | 2022 State MN , Virginia (High Impact)
• Maddie Thorfinnson Maddie Thorfinnson 6'1" | SF Minnewaska | 2022 State MN , Minnewaska

St. Cloud State

• Alyssa Stamer Alyssa Stamer 5'7" | CG Hutchinson | 2022 State MN , Hutchinson (Minnesota Rise)

Tampa

• Adeline Kent Adeline Kent 5'8" | CG Becker | 2022 State MN , Becker (Minnesota Stars)

Upper Iowa

• Abbie Riederer Abbie Riederer 5'8" | CG Mn Valley Lutheran | 2022 State MN , Minnesota Valley Lutheran (Minnesota Stars)

Winona State

• Paige Peaslee Paige Peaslee 6'0" | PF North Branch | 2022 State MN , North Branch (Minnesota Heat)

OTHER COMMITMENTS

• Rose Wille Rose Wille 5'8" | SG Farmington | 2022 State MN , Farmington (UW-Stout) (Minnesota Fury)
• Alicia Bates Alicia Bates 5'6" | CG Champlin Park | 2022 State MN , Champlin Park (Briar Cliff) (43 Hoops)
• Kiera Albers Kiera Albers 5'3" | PG Maple Grove | 2022 State MN , Maple Grove (NIACC) (MBA Cordes)
• Keiara Anderson Keiara Anderson 5'9" | CG St. Cloud Apollo | 2022 State MN , St. Cloud Apollo (NIACC) (Minnesota Comets)
• Megan Wegner Megan Wegner 5'7" | SG Marshall | 2022 State MN , Marshall (Bethany Lutheran) (Minnesota Nice)
• Kaylee Hunter Kaylee Hunter 5'6" | CG MN Valley Lutheran | 2022 State MN , Minnesota Valley Lutheran (Bethany Lutheran) (MBA)