There was something glaringly obvious about Ludwig on Sunday: Self-belief. The 5’10 guard from St. Louis Park has always been fundamentally sound, intelligent and dependable, but she played with considerably more assertiveness than we’ve seen in the past. Ludwig attacked more frequently and carried herself with growing confidence while retaining the qualities that initially caught our attention. We loved what we saw from Ella over the summer. It was evident her game was going places. At the Sophomore ID Camp the proof was in the performance. Ludwig has excellent length, makes timely passes and owns a quick, compact and repeatable shooting stroke. She never seems to force the issue and usually finds herself in the right place at the right time. Added to our rankings in June, Ella keeps on giving us reasons to be bullish about her long-term trajectory.

A recent addition to the conversation, Ludwig (pictured above) burst into our field of view last month at the Suns Summer Xplosion. It quickly became clear that the St. Louis Park sophomore is a hidden gem in the Class of 2029. Long and lanky, the 5’9 guard is smooth on both ends of the floor. Ella makes smart decisions with the ball, plays hard on both ends of the court, and shoots with an efficient release that allows her to get shots off with little time or space. Already the leading scorer for the Orioles, it’s evident that Ludwig has loads of potential. She enters the rankings at #95.