2023 rankings update: Shubert soars into the Top 10
When you get to the highest 20 spots of any graduating class it becomes very difficult to move up more than a place or two in the individual prospect rankings, even if you have a great season. This is particularly…
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Continue ReadingWhen you get to the highest 20 spots of any graduating class it becomes very difficult to move up more than a place or two in the individual prospect rankings, even if you have a great season. This is particularly so in the class of 2023 which is loaded. Well we are pleased to report that Aby Shubert Aby Shubert 5'8" | CG Kasson-Mant. | 2023 State MN has shattered that notion entirely by vaulting nine places up the rankings from #19 to #10. Her dramatic ascent highlights the fall update of the Prep Girls Hoops rankings, which represent the players’ potential as college basketball recruits, not their current performance as high school and AAU players.
Shubert, a dynamic 5’8 combo guard from Kasson-Mantorville, is an impressive all-around performer. She is strong, quick and athletic. She sees the floor, moves the ball with precision, and will score or facilitate at a high level as needed. Shubert has a very large tool box but is probably best known as a shooter, one of the premier bombers in the state regardless of class. She can rain threes forever, with a silky-smooth delivery and a quick release.
Last winter Aby was nothing short of outstanding as she led the Komets to another quality season, averaging over 15 points per game on a strong team. She topped the 20-point mark eight times, including a 29-point performance in section play. From December through March she failed to reach double digits in a game just once.
This summer Shubert took it to a new level with Minnesota Stars Hersch, making our 2023 AAU All Star Team and continuing to play well to the very end. When the AAU season concluded and the horse trading began, Shubert made one of the highest-profile (and most surprising) moves in the class by transferring to Fury 2023 UAA. There she’ll share the spotlight with many other high-level prospects, including 4th-ranked Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN of Chaska. It will be interesting to see Shubert play a more complementary role with the Fury.
Klick and McGowan also moved up in the Top 10
Shubert wasn’t the only player in the Top 10 to make a move in the fall rankings update as North Tartan guard Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN and Fury 2023 UAA post Savannah McGowan Savannah McGowan 6'2" | PF Armstrong | 2023 State MN each rose two places. Klick, who moves this fall from DeLaSalle to Roseville, has continued to improve steadily as she has established herself as one of the most exciting talents in the class. Kennedy rises from the #8 position to #6.
In a class that doesn’t have quite as much size as the juniors and seniors before them, McGowan is the biggest player of all. The 6’2 forward from Robbinsdale Armstrong has shown increased intensity and focus this year to go along with her rather substantial size and skill, a shift that has propelled her from #10 to #8 among the 2023s. McGowan was a long-time member of the Minnesota Suns 2023 Blue Star squad but she has also relocated to the state-champion Fury this fall.
There is no change at the top of the list as Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN of St. Michael-Albertville remains #1 in the class. Unfortunately, Johnson suffered a broken femur last weekend while playing in the Breakdown Fall League for STMA and will likely be out of action until the spring. Hopkins/Metro Stars teammates Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN and Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN held onto the #2 and #3 positions respectively while Sanders is locked in at #4.
Explosive guard Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN of Becker, who has shifted from the Minnesota Comets to North Tartan, remains in 5th. The only player to drop out of the Top 10 is Shania Van Nett Shania Van Nett 5'7" | CG Como Park | 2023 State MN of St. Paul Como Park, who has unfortunately suffered a pair of torn ACLs in the last year and will miss the high school season for the second campaign in a row.
The Top 10 now looks like this:
1 – Tessa Johnson Tessa Johnson 5'11" | SG St. Michael-Albertville | 2023 State #36 Nation MN – guard, St. Michael-Albertville (North Tartan 2022 EYBL)
2 – Taylor Woodson Taylor Woodson 6'0" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #28 Nation MN – forward, Hopkins (Metro Stars 2022 Starks)
3 – Nunu Agara Nunu Agara 6'1" | PF Hopkins | 2023 State #32 Nation MN – forward, Hopkins (Metro Stars 2022 Starks)
4 – Kennedy Sanders Kennedy Sanders 5'8" | CG Chaska | 2023 State MN – guard, Chaska (Fury 2023 UAA)
5 – Maren Westin Maren Westin 5'8" | CG Becker | 2023 State MN – guard, Becker (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
6 – Kennedy Klick Kennedy Klick 6'0" | CG Maple Grove | 2023 State MN – guard, Roseville (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
7 – Molly Lenz Molly Lenz 5'8" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN – guard, Eden Prairie (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
8 – Savannah McGowan Savannah McGowan 6'2" | PF Armstrong | 2023 State MN – forward, Armstrong (Fury 2023 UAA)
9 – Clara Glad Clara Glad 6'0" | SF Rogers | 2023 State MN – wing, Rogers (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
10 – Aby Shubert Aby Shubert 5'8" | CG Kasson-Mant. | 2023 State MN – guard, Kasson-Mantorville (Fury 2023 UAA)
Elsewhere in the Top 25 there is only one minor adjustment to the order. That would be point guard Ashley Fritz Ashley Fritz 5'10" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN of Eden Prairie, whose standout play in the Prep Girls Hoops Fall Exclusive merited a rise into the #25 position. The rest of the order stayed exactly the same, a testament to the strength of the group. One of the interesting things about this class is how few AAU teams are now represented as there has been a lot of consolidation onto the best teams. There are just four clubs here while the 2024 class, for example, has 10.
North Tartan has 10 of the 25 players – eight from the 2023 EYBL squad and two who play up a year on 2022 teams – while the Fury have nine, all from their elite 2023 UAA unit. There are four players who compete one year above their grade level with the state champion Metro Stars 2022 Starks squad. Two players in the top 25 are with Stars Hersch, which boasts 8 prospects in the top 51.
The rest of the Top 25 now looks like this
11 – Brynn Beffert Brynn Beffert 6'0" | PF Hutchinson | 2023 State MN – forward, Hutchinson (Fury 2023 UAA)
12 – Teresa Kiewiet Teresa Kiewiet 5'10" | SF Mankato West | 2023 State MN – forward, Mankato West (Fury 2023 UAA)
13 – Shania Van Nett Shania Van Nett 5'7" | CG Como Park | 2023 State MN – guard, Como Park (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
14 – Savanna Jones Savanna Jones 6'2" | PF Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN – forward, Eden Prairie (Metro Stars 2022 Starks)
15 – Ella Johnson Ella Johnson 6'2" | SF Elk River | 2023 State MN – forward, Elk River (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
16 – Sophi Hall Sophi Hall 6'1" | CG Holy Family | 2023 State MN – forward, Holy Family (Fury 2023 UAA)
17 – Abby Krzewinski Abby Krzewinski 5'11" | PF Wayzata | 2023 State MN – forward, Wayzata (Fury 2023 UAA)
18 – Ashley Schuelke Ashley Schuelke 5'10" | SF Chaska | 2023 State MN – forward, Chaska (Fury 2023 UAA)
19 – Sophie Lahti Sophie Lahti 6'1" | SF Pine City | 2023 State MN – forward, Pine City (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
20 – Zoey Washington Zoey Washington 5'9" | CG St. Croix Lutheran | 2023 State MN – guard, Mahtomedi (Fury 2023 UAA)
21 – Katelyn Maciej Katelyn Maciej 6'2" | PF Rogers | 2023 State MN – forward, Rogers (Stars 2023 Hersch)
22 – Taryn Hamling Taryn Hamling 5'9" | PG Grand Rapids | 2023 State MN – guard, Grand Rapids (Stars 2023 Hersch) (NDSU)
23 – Brylee Iverson Brylee Iverson 6'0" | SF Triton | 2023 State MN – forward, Triton (North Tartan 2023 EYBL)
24 – Kelly Boyle Kelly Boyle 5'7" | CG Hopkins | 2023 State MN – guard, Hopkins (Metro Stars 2022 Starks)
25 – Ashley Fritz Ashley Fritz 5'10" | CG Eden Prairie | 2023 State MN – guard, Eden Prairie (North Tartan 2022 Elite)
Top photo: Aby Shubert Aby Shubert 5'8" | CG Kasson-Mant. | 2023 State MN of Kasson-Mantorville was the biggest riser in the Top 25.