Class of 2024: Watch List

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">The last thing I want to add about the 2024 rankings is a general watch list. These kids I’m highlighting for different reasons. These players are in unique situations and could raise their stock over the next year. There are many reasons this could happen, but I’ll highlight why these four players’ stock could rise over the next year. These players aren’t in any particular order.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="209594" first="Katelyn" last="Odem"]-5’8 G-Homestead</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">For Homestead as a whole, they’ve proven they can play with the best that the North Shore Conference has to offer. As a player, Odem connects everything that the young Highlanders do. Defensively, the sophomore can defend one to four positions at a relatively high level. Offensively, Odem has been key to making sure the offense runs smoothly. The reason that Odem could raise her stock is because of the competition in Homestead’s sectional. If the youthful squad out of Mequon wants to make it to the Resch Center, they’ll have to get through a sectional with DSHA, De Pere, Germantown, and Kaukauna. These teams bring different challenges. If Homestead were to win their sectional, Odem’s ability to affect games without scoring could be a factor.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="266987" first="Shae" last="Kelley"]-5’9 PG-Brookfield East</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">There is no questioning Kelly’s defensive prowess at the point of attack. Kelley can ruin opposing offenses as they cross half court. The questions in her game come on the offensive end of the floor. It’s not as if she’s been a negative to Brookfield East on offense Kelley leaves you wanting more out of her. Kelley is already a high-level creator shooting is the only issue. The odd thing is even her jump shot doesn’t look that bad. If she can string a second half together where she goes on a streak of shooting in the low to mid 30% range from 3 and improves her free-throw percentage, her stock will rise on that alone.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="209618" first="Gracie" last="Gopalan"]-5’4 PG-Waupun</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">Gopalan already rose her stock a great deal this time around, but there’s still some room for her to raise it even higher. The sophomore is an elite lead guard who doesn’t rely on scoring to help her team win. The Warrior keeps her teammates involved and makes sure the ball moves quickly. Over the next year, Waupun will lose multiple starters, including Division 1 bound [player_tooltip player_id="155422" first="Abbie" last="Aalsma"]. That means that the Warriors will have to reshuffle how they do things. That could mean Gopalan needs to take her game to another level. I believe that there’s another level the guard can reach, and we will likely know if that’s true by the end of the year.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="329548" first="Mary" last="Berg"]-5’7 SG-Menomonie</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">The Menomonie guard is in a different spot than the other players on this list. If Berg continues to raise her stock, she needs to keep doing what she’s done this year. Her shooting slash goes 49-43-86, which is absurd. If that’s something she can do over the summer with Team Wisconsin and again next season as a Mustang, the sky could be the limit. There are plenty of kids who can shoot the ball well in Wisconsin, but Berg could be in a class with very few kids as part of the elite of the elite. Berg has shown she can do this for most of a season. The longevity of shooting at that level would raise her stock every year.</span>