AAU awards: 2022 All Star selections & MVP Amaya Battle

No surprises. No upsets. No darkhorses. And (presumably) no arguments! If you’ve been paying attention over the past few weeks to what has transpired in Minnesota girls basketball then it will come as no surprise whatsoever that Hopkins junior-to-be [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] of Metro Stars Starks is the Prep Girls Hoops 2022 AAU Most Valuable Player. We are pleased to honor Amaya and her fellow selections to the 2022 AAU All Star team. The story of the Metro Stars' improbable three-week run has been chronicled ad infinitum here already. After sitting out most of the summer due to pandemic-related concerns, Tara Starks’ Hopkins-heavy Metro Stars landed on the scene in late July just in time to capture a state championship and a national title. The team may be loaded with talent but there’s no question that Battle is the leader. She proved it with multiple jaw-dropping performances over the three tournaments, including in the Meltdown/AAU National Championship final game when she knocked down a mid-range jumper to win it in the fourth overtime. Playing in the shadow of the incomparable [player_tooltip player_id="1915" first="Paige" last="Bueckers"], Battle hasn’t drawn nearly as much notice regionally and nationally as her once-in-a-generation teammate nor as much as she probably deserves. That’s understandable, but what Amaya showed clearly in this abbreviated summer season is that she is about to take over Bueckers’ role as the undisputed leader in Hopkins. <strong>Other shining stars</strong> Of course Battle wasn’t the only player from the Class of 2022 who impressed us in June, July and August. Far from it. North Tartan standouts [player_tooltip player_id="12732" first="Nia" last="Holloway"] (Eden Prairie) and [player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] (Wayzata) were excellent as were Minnesota Fury 2022 UAA forwards [player_tooltip player_id="12714" first="Mallory" last="Heyer"] (Chaska) and [player_tooltip player_id="12722" first="Lilly" last="Meister"] (Rochester John Marshall). This was to be expected, of course. Braun is the #2-rated prospect in the 2022 class while Battle is #3, Heyer is #4, Holloway is rated 5th and Meister is #6. That would be a heckuva lineup for a college basketball team, wouldn’t it? The 2022 class is deep and so is the second team of AAU All Stars. Last week, [player_tooltip player_id="147443" first="Lizzie" last="Holder"] of North Tartan Elite (Stillwater) was named the Prep Girls Hoops AAU Breakout Player of the Year and [player_tooltip player_id="109139" first="Mackenzie" last="Schweim"] of Minnesota Stars Nilsen (Mankato East) was our runner-up. Both are represented on the second team. [player_tooltip player_id="12727" first="Kiani" last="Lockett"] of FBC North 2021 has long held a reputation as one of the most talented point guards in the class. She led DeLaSalle to a class 3A state title and will now shoot for 4A success at Minnetonka where she’ll join [player_tooltip player_id="57907" first="Desiree" last="Ware"] of Stars Nilsen, the Alabama-Birmingham commit who was also selected for the second team. [player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] of the Minnesota Rise (Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s) has emerged as a slam-dunk D1 prospect and she completes the second-team lineup. <strong>2022 ALL STAR TEAMS</strong> This year we have selected first, second and third all-star teams plus a fourth unit of honorable mentions. The choices are based on the player’s graduation year, not the level they played at in 2020. That leaves many of the Metro Stars top performers – [player_tooltip player_id="108298" first="Taylor" last="Woodson"] (Hopkins), [player_tooltip player_id="108320" first="Kelly" last="Boyle"] (Hopkins), [player_tooltip player_id="108308" first="Savanna" last="Jones"] (Eden Prairie) and [player_tooltip player_id="178269" first="Alivia" last="McGill"] (Park Center) – out of the equation. Minnesota athletes who play for Wisconsin-based teams are eligible, however, including ranked prospects such as Wisconsin Playmakers guard [player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] who earned third-team honors. Congrats to all of the selections! <strong>FIRST TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] – Metro Stars 2022 Starks (Hopkins)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12714" first="Mallory" last="Heyer"] – Fury 2022 UAA (Chaska)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12722" first="Lilly" last="Meister"] – Fury 2022 UAA (Rochester John Marshall)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12715" first="Mara" last="Braun"] – North Tartan 2021 (Wayzata)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12732" first="Nia" last="Holloway"] – North Tartan 2022 (Eden Prairie)</li> </ul> <strong>SECOND TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12727" first="Kiani" last="Lockett"] – FBC North 2021 (Minnetonka)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="147443" first="Lizzie" last="Holder"] – North Tartan 2022 Elite (Stillwater)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57907" first="Desiree" last="Ware"] – Stars 2022 Nilsen (Minnetonka) (Alabama-Birmingham)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109139" first="Mackenzie" last="Schweim"] – Stars 2022 Nilsen (Mankato East)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109131" first="Madison" last="Mathiowetz"] – Rise 2021 Wolfe (Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s)</li> </ul> <strong>THIRD TEAM</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57915" first="Alayna" last="Contreras"] – Metro Stars Starks (Hopkins)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12745" first="Myra" last="Moorjani"] – North Tartan 2022 (Eden Prairie)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12720" first="Callin" last="Hake"] – Fury 2022 UAA (Chanhassen) (Nebraska)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="30174" first="Lily" last="Fandre"] – Stars 2022 Nilsen (Eagan)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="57939" first="Natalie" last="Bremer"] – Wisconsin Playmakers (Lake City)</li> </ul> <strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109148" first="Audrey" last="Swanson"] – Crossfire 2022 Bluestar (Waconia)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="12747" first="Savannah" last="White"] – FBC North 2021 (DeLaSalle)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109122" first="Lexi" last="Karge"] – Stars 2022 Nilsen (Mankato East)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109140" first="Ari" last="Gordon"] – Metro Stars Starks (Maple Grove)</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="109169" first="Sophie" last="Stork"] – Stars 2022 Fleming (NRHEG)</li> </ul> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Top photo: [player_tooltip player_id="12713" first="Amaya" last="Battle"] of Metro Stars Starks is the Prep Girls Hoops 2022 AAU Player of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Crissha Walton)   </em></span>