There was a lot to like out of Emma Ryder this weekend when she took the floor with her new program, Mokan Girls Hoops out of KS. Ryder was vital in protecting the paint for her crew in most battles. She walled up between the blocks and controlled all the traffic moving in and out of the middle of the floor. There was even one contest that she didn’t let in a single point in the middle of the lane. I’m not sure that Ryder was even the best player on her own team and she handled business like a professional, which you love to see from an outside perspective.

There are a lot of coaching staffs that won’t get a chance to see Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA play if it isn’t for AAU season so it’s vital that she puts together some memorable weekends throughout the Spring. That may seem like a ton of pressure but Ryder has confidence in her own ability. She is strong, she can finish at the bucket in every imaginable and it doesn’t matter if she is double or even triple teamed. If she catches the ball by the blocks, watch out cause it’s almost impossible to stop her at that point. Ryder checks off a lot of boxes that D1 level evaluators will have for her position. As long as she can continue to get better in her off-time, she is going to have one heck of a basketball career over her lifetime so this is definitely someone I’d know sooner than later out of this 2029 Class, if you don’t already.

Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA had one heck of a season with Ottumwa High School and that’s why she sticks in our Top Five at #5 to round things out. Ryder shot the ball at a 40% clip this Winter while being double and triple teamed a majority of the time. The real issue that she ran into is that her team didn’t really play anyone after the first few weeks of the Winter and that didn’t prepare them properly for the Playoffs in the end. Now you’ll say, you can only do so much as the athlete and I concur. This is not on Ryder in anyway. I truly believe that this is someone who would thrive in ANY program across the state of Iowa over her high school career. The mixture of size, skill, coordination, and knowledge of the game she has is second-to-none and that might lead her to the D1 level at the end of her high school career. She just needs to keep working and the rest will be history!

We have spoken about Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA a handful of times throughout this regular season and it still doesn’t seem to be enough with how successful her group has been as of late. Ryder has the combination of size, discipline, guard like coordination, touch, and a smart head on her shoulders as a decision maker that everyone loves to see out of someone that is young in their career. Overall, she has been super effective near the basket this Winter as a Freshman. She has been impressive in putting the ball in the bucket when she is double-teamed but she also has shown the willingness to pass out to open teammates when things become to crowded. There is a lot to love about Ryder’s game. She will continue to be placed within the Top Five in her 2029 Class at this rate. She just needs to continue to work on her weaknesses and everything else will fall into place. 

 After being ranked in the Top Five for her 2029 Class, Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA has been playing efficient ball near the bucket on both sides of the floor as Outtumwa has won 6 contests in a row. Ryder is shooting 55% from the field, making every opposing team game plan against her ability in-between the blocks. Offensively, she is using her pure strength to make attempts over smaller/weaker matchups, she is doing her work early in transition down the floor for easy looks within the possessions, and she is crashing the boards hard within reason. Ryder should be someone we hear about a lot moving forward. She is very talented for her age and she has been showing that this season so far. 

We are very high on Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA to start off her high school career and it’s for good season. Ryder plays with a chip on her shoulder, she is a monster under the bucket on both blocks as a producer, and she already has that height that college coaches love to work with. Ryder has been holding it down to start her Freshman season with Ottumwa. She is posting big PPG numbers, she is rebounding enough on both ends for her team as a whole, and she is learning situational basketball as she grows with her Varsity experience. Ryder is going to be a big name over the next 3.5 years. She will always show up for this group each night and that’s no surprise. She is even the type that can step out already at 6’1 and bang some deep three’s off the catch so opposing teams have to stop her first they want to have success against Ottumwa. If not, it’s going to be a long night against the Bulldogs.

Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA is someone that we just covered in a game report earlier this week so we won’t go into too much detail about her but it would be criminal to create an article like this and to not include her. Ryder is someone to note down in between the blocks. She takes up space and she has a lot of future potential. She already stands over 6’0 and she moves really well for her size. She is a three level scoring threat offensively, a strong competitor that is not afraid of contact near the bucket, and she is a smart overall prospect with discipline underneath. If Ryder progresses properly over the years she will be a Division-1 prospect. She can already play some impressive ball and she is only a Freshman at this point in the process.

Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA was as good as advertised in her first Varsity contest in this ball game. Ryder, a 6’1 PF/C, has that mixture of size, speed, talent, and coordination that all coaches love to work with. In this one Ryder did her work in the middle. She started early on by running the floor and getting some buckets in transition. She moves from there to working out of the post with her back to the basket and handling smaller matchups over the top that tried to stop her. There were even times that Fort Madison was trying to front and back Ryder on the block but that didn’t work as Ottumwa still managed to get her the ball in favorable positions for easy looks next to the bucket. This is a top prospect out of the 2029 Class coming into the high school ranks so I’m happy that she showed out in her first opportunity.

The prospect with the highest ceiling from this event looking forward is Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA of Ottumwa High School. Ryder is a 6’1 Post with a superb mixture of size, skill, and tenacity on both sides of the ball. She is a dominant post player with great touch on the ball and a willingness to mix it up with anyone and everyone down low in the paint. She also demonstrated at this event that she likes to bring her defender outside to the three point line and knock down a few three’s when those opportunities present themselves. Not to mention, she is a problem for others defensively when they try to drive and score in the lane. She is always creeping around that area and that helps her record multiple steals, blocks, and deflections throughout a ball-game. As long as Ryder works on the correct things moving forward with some good coaching guidance, the sky is the limit.

I’m really hoping that Emma Ryder Emma Ryder 6'1" | C/PF Ottumwa | 2029 State IA is going to make this event as I want to see what she can do against the competition level that will be present. Ryder is a 6’1 Center our of the 2029 Class, who will be in the conversation for being a Top Five prospect out of this Class in general at the end of the day if she plays her cards right. Ryder is only going to be a Freshman but she is going to a handful within her Class and conference. Her natural height and skill is already better than most post players the state has to offer so if she grows within her ability over-time, watch out. She might end up closer to the #1 spot out of the 2029 Class than anything else but we will have to see.