MK came out of nowhere and showed what she could really do while her team won a State Title this Winter. Kluever was flying all of the court, tipping and deflecting the ball, causing chaos in the open court with her pressure and smart defensive tactics. She also got to the rim a lot throughout the week of State while playing a bunch of different defensive schemes for her Cardinals squad. I know that Kluever is a multi-sport athlete but there are some colleges throughout the Midwest that would love her effort on their roster. I’m not sure if that is her prerogative but the showing she had this week was noteworthy to say the least.

You could truly call Maelyn Kluever Maelyn Kluever 5'7" | SG/PG Maquoketa | 2026 State IA a Combo Guard with how she plays the game. Kluever seems like more of a natural as a PG, making plays from the top of the key on both sides of the ball but she is also a good enough shooter that she can line up deep shots off the catch when someone else is creating for her. Kluever was the definition of an X-factor for Maquoketa this past week on the way to a 3A Title. She changed the momentum of several games with her active defensive prowess and she converted most of her open looks when she got them offensively. Those are two major factors that helped the Cardinals take things over the top to bring home their first GBB State Title in school history.

Maelyn Kluever Maelyn Kluever 5'7" | SG/PG Maquoketa | 2026 State IA was one of the best prospects that we saw all week long in DSM, no matter Class level or age. Kluever stepped up to be a vital piece to helping her team bring home a 3A State Title. She was their guard that everyone can rely in and she made some big plays down the stretch in the form of steals, finishing in transition, an hitting open shots whenever the opportunities would present themselves. The three headed monster of Maquoketa was fun to watch the past few months but now it’s going to be even more intriguing to see how this program follows that up this upcoming Winter. They are going to have a target on their back as defending Champs so hopefully they can figure it out early on and then they can continue to do their thing.

Maquoketa brought home the 3A State Title on Friday evening after a steady battle with a very skilled Mount Vernon program. In this contest the prospect that stood out the most was CG – Maelyn Kluever Maelyn Kluever 5'7" | SG/PG Maquoketa | 2026 State IA . Kluever was as steady as can be as their top guard and lead defender throughout. The Cardinals obviously had their other main producers doing work as well but we saw big moments out of Kluever. She stole the ball a few times and translated that into buckets going the other way, she was a top notch communicator on both sides of the ball to work through screens and other offensive actions, she held tempo down the floor when the rock was in her possession as a ball handler – usually setting up everyone around her for success off of her creation, and she never really came off the floor to get a break – demonstrating her endurance and athletic ability. At the end of the day, Kluever was named onto the 3A All State team for the week she put together. An award that was much deserved out of the uncommitted Senior.