“SHE’S A FRESHMAN!”

"She's a freshman!" It's one of the best student-section chants in basketball. It means the girl lighting you up right now is going to be a pain in your neck for the next four years. Check out the Class of 2025 Watchlist here. I think most of the state knows three of the biggest names in the class, Sienna Betts Sienna Betts 6'5" | PF Grandview | 2025 State CO , Grandview; Tianna Chambers Tianna Chambers 6'0" | CG Cherry Creek | 2025 State CO , Cherry Creek; and Quinn VanSickle Quinn VanSickle 5'8" | CG Valor Christian | 2025 State CO , Valor Christian. So, who are some of the other high-impact freshmen who are contributing for top Colorado programs? Olivia Campbell Olivia Campbell 5'8" | PG Fruita Monument | 2025 State CO - Pine Creek The 6'2" "little" sister to 5'11" junior, Brynae Stewart Brynae Stewart 5'11" | SG Pine Creek | 2023 State CO (leading scorer with 14.1 PPG and 2.4 SPG), is a name you'll be seeing a lot of in the coming years. Brooklyn is scoring, developing her outside shot, and crushing the boards (13.5 PPG, 13.7 RPG). Coach Jubic sees limitless potential in this budding star. LeeKaya Burke-Perryman LeeKaya Burke-Perryman 5'3" | PG Pine Creek | 2025 State CO - Pine Creek Stewart isn't the only freshman turning heads for 9-4 Pine Creek. One of her best friends, Burke-Perryman, runs the show as the point guard and has court vision and awareness that make the whole team better. She's scoring 12.8 a game with 3.8 assists and only 2.2 turnovers a game. Avery Alcaraz Avery Alcaraz 5'8" | SG Fort Collins | 2025 State CO - Fort Collins Alcaraz has drained more threes than any freshman in Colorado (34-89, 38%). She stood out at a Power 2 Play fall showcase and she's fitting right in for a 9-3 Fort Collins team on the rise, leading the team with 11.9 PPG. Ryanne Bahnsen-Price Ryanne Bahnsen-Price 6'0" | SG Roosevelt | 2025 State CO - Roosevelt The 10-2 Roughriders have speed, size, and skills as they rocket up the 4A rankings. Their roster, led in scoring by players in grades 9, 10, 10, 9, and 10, respectively, says they're a year or two away but their play on the court says their time is now. Bahnsen-Price (12.1 PPG, 3.2 SPG, 40% three-point shooting) jumped over from Erie at the start of the season and the six-foot guard could be the final piece of a Longs Peak championship formula. The matchup against Thompson Valley next week will likely determine the league. Reyleigh Hess - Roosevelt Hess has some size at 5'11" but she adds so much sizzle to the Roughriders' game. At 9.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 3.2 SPG, she does it all and she's the assist leader of the entire league as a freshman. Alexandra Eschmeyer Alexandra Eschmeyer 6'5" | SF Peak To Peak | 2025 State CO - Peak to Peak The daughter of Big 10 basketball legends, Evan and Kristina (Divjak) Eschmeyer, this 6'4" standout is getting better by the week helping Peak to Peak to a 7-3 start. She's at 17.2 PPG and 11.3 RPG to this point. I'm excited to see how she does against top-ten 3A opponent, Lutheran, later this week. Gianna Smith Gianna Smith 5'9" | CG Arapahoe | 2025 State CO - Arapahoe When the watchlist is ranked later this spring, expect to see Smith in the top 10 of the class. Arapahoe (9-3) is so deep and Smith is already the team's third leading scorer (8.8 PPG). She's hit an eye-popping 40% of her three-point attempts for the 5th ranked Warriors. A’Neya Chambers A’Neya Chambers 5'10" | CG Cherry Creek | 2025 State CO - Cherry Creek I mentioned Cherry Creek's ensemble of talented freshmen last week. Tianna Chambers Tianna Chambers 6'0" | CG Cherry Creek | 2025 State CO is putting up 11.6 PPG, A’Neya Chambers A’Neya Chambers 5'10" | CG Cherry Creek | 2025 State CO has 7.7 PPG, and Braelynn Barnett Braelynn Barnett 6'1" | SF Cherry Creek | 2025 State CO adds 6.9 PPG. Darby Haley - Mead There are a lot of reasons the Mavericks have jumped into the top 3 teams in 4A and the energy they get from Haley is one of them. Her threes-and-layups formula has led to an impressive efficiency of 1.5 points-per-shot (7.2 PPG, 36% behind the arc, 77% on FTs). Paige Ryser Paige Ryser CG Cheyenne Wells | 2025 State CO - Cheyenne Wells There's a freshman making waves in 1A who's helped the Tigers get off to a 7-1 start. She's put up 13.8 PPG with 4.6 SPG. Yamoni Perez Yamoni Perez 5'7" | CG Eaglecrest | 2025 State CO - Smoky Hill You might not think of Smoky Hill as a high end team but with the arrival of Perez, the 8-4 Buffaloes have won as many games this year as they have the last three years combined. Her 18.3 PPG lead the state in the class of '25. She scored 39 against Mountain Range hitting six of ten from deep.