We saw a lot of good things out of Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA this Winter when she stepped up to play the Center position out of the Post for SE Polk. Bartels didn’t know this was going to be her role on the team so early in her career but an injury happened to their starting Center/PF and so someone with size needed to fill that role. I would say that Bartels put together a solid run over the last few months. She did what she was asked and she always left all of her effort out on the floor while competing. If she can work on her hand-eye coordination and footwork moving into next season, who knows what she might be able to accomplish. She has the size that most dream of and she moves pretty well for that size so now it’s just about getting the skill-side of things to catch up with everything else. This is something that is definitely do-able while looking towards the future. She just needs to stay hungry and motivated.

Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA of SE Polk has stepped up big time this Winter in the middle for the Rams. Bartels, the 6’2 C/PF, was thrown into this starting role this season with the injury to their usual post presence. She has demonstrated over the past few months that she is someone who should consistently see minutes moving forward. She has natural height, she has physicality to pair with that height, she has good hand-eye coordination, and she is fairly adaptable for her size/position. She is still pretty raw in other facets of the game but from what we have seen so far, she has a solid base to build on. She is a force opposing teams need to worry about on a scouting report or else it might be a long night.

One of the better Post players for this Class to start off their high school careers so far is Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA of SE Polk High School. Bartels, the 6’2 C/PF, has had to grow up a bunch over the past few months while stepping in for the programs injuries starting Center. Bartels shows that raw potential in the lane. She has size, physicality, footwork, balance, a soft touch, and a calm head on her shoulders under pressure from what we’ve seen. After having to be their top dawg in the middle this Winter, Bartels should see the starting line up for the rest of her career with the Rams, even when their Center returns from injury. Bartels holds down the #9 spot in this Update with an intriguing upside moving into the New Year. If she works on the right things and stays locked in on the tasks at hand, she will be someone we continue to speak about throughout her high school career.

Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA of Southeast Polk was a surprising producer in this one. I would expect that we are going to hear the name Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA several more times throughout her high school basketball career. Bartels is a 6’2 C/PF with good footwork, a soft touch on the ball, coordination, and some muscle mass to pair along with her height. Bartels had a few big plays throughout this one. She was taking up space in the middle of the lane, making it her own and doing whatever she could to stop Liberty from consistently rebounding off of missed shot attempts on both ends. She also had a momentum changing AND1 bucket in the second half, which helped bring her team closer as time dwindled down in the fourth. When the Rams have their other big back in Hallie Vander Werdt in the future, these two are going to be a problem to stop together. Especially if Bartels continues to get better with time/experience on the floor.

“Bartels has a high ceiling when it comes to this game because of her nature height. She is really raw in the game in general but she has demonstrated that she has the future potential to be really good. This Winter at SE Polk, their main Post is out of the year due to a leg injury so I’m expecting this to be someone who could step up for them in the long run. She is going to have to get some good guidance from her coaching staff but if she can learn what her job is early on within the program, while continuing to build on her physicality – she is going to be handful at 6’2. We saw it at times yesterday first hand in 5v5 action and it was impressive.”

The importance of a solid screen is overlooked a lot in today’s game, and Elyse Bartels Elyse Bartels 6'2" | C/PF Southeast Polk | 2029 State IA reminded everyone of that today. Bartels got better and better as the day went on and impressed me with her ability to create space for her teammates. Her strong screening ability gave defenders fits by nailing the angles her teammates needed to attack downhill. She also flashed a few tough finishes with aggressive rolls to the basket. Bartels is an underclassman with lots of upside — she’s coachable and does the dirty work to help her team succeed.