AAU State Prelims: Incoming freshmen to watch, part 2
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Yesterday we gave you evaluations on 5 incoming freshmen we saw at the AAU State Prelims. Congrats to Neveah Weimert and Katelyn Olson of Janesville-Waldorf Pemberton, Elli Howard of Wayzata, Audrey Schmidtke of Lakeville South and Megan Doughty of Stillwater.…
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Continue ReadingYesterday we gave you evaluations on 5 incoming freshmen we saw at the AAU State Prelims. Congrats to Neveah Weimert and Katelyn Olson of Janesville-Waldorf Pemberton, Elli Howard of Wayzata, Audrey Schmidtke of Lakeville South and Megan Doughty of Stillwater. We look forward to watching your progress in the weeks ahead. Here are 5 more from the Class of 2026 who impressed us over the weekend.
Brynn Leibfried – forward, Metro Stars 2026 Garcia
Our assignment at the State Prelims was clear: Find players in the Class of 2026 who have a shot at making the Prep Girls Hoops Freshmen 50 this fall, our first official sorting of prospects in this age group. It took less than 15 minutes into our first game on Friday night to add Brynn’s name to the list of candidates. The 5’11 forward from Orono grabbed hold of our interest immediately because of her physical dimensions. With good-sized frame and abundant length, she’s got the basketball build we look for. (Think Casey Beck Casey Beck 5'11" | SF Coon Rapids | 2024 State MN and Abby Richter Abby Richter 5'11" | SF Edina | 2024 State MN for comparison.) Then we saw Leibried’s movement, her motor, the constant physical presence and the endless hustle plays. She rebounded hard, owned her space inside, and made life difficult for opponents. She also knocked down a sweet baseline jumper and showed quality ball skills. The only hesitation we detected in her was when we asked the 8th grader for a post-game photo. Trust us Brynn, if you keep playing this way there will be many more photos to come.
Aria Garrett – forward, Inspired Athletics Olson
Prior to this weekend we didn’t know a whole lot about Inspired Athletics, the Fargo-based training and AAU program that is quickly building a reputation for developing kids in the Red River Valley. It’s obvious now that they’ve got some prospects in the pipeline including Aria, a huge post player from Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. Aria is already over 6 feet, with broad shoulders and an enormous frame a la Trinity Wilson Trinity Wilson 6'3" | PF Lakeville North | 2024 State MN . Garrett is still pretty raw but her natural gifts are immense. She’s got light feet, gets up and down the floor at pace, has good lateral mobility, and she’s pretty long. We loved her court awareness and vision, her instinctual rebounding, and most of all her hands – all necessary ingredients for big girls who want to get to the next level. Coach Trevor Olson tells us Aria is a sponge for information, has a high basketball IQ and is very coachable which is why she has been rapidly adding elements to her game. With all of that going for her I’ll be shocked if Garrett doesn’t make the Freshmen 50.
Hailey DeReu – wing, Minnesota Heat Patterson
We watched Hailey bright and early on Saturday morning. We always try to temper our expectations for an 8 a.m. game so when a player shows up ready to rock it’s always impressive. That’s what Hailey did. This game was on the docket specifically to see the Forest Lake freshman-to-be and she did not disappoint. Standing 5’9 or 5’10, she has long arms and pretty good mobility. DeReu isn’t a gazelle or anything but she gets from point A to point B in plenty of time to do some damage. We loved Hailey’s willingness to attack the basket. She showed some nice finishing moves down low, drew a ton of contact and resulting fouls, and had good positioning and physical presence while hunting for rebounds. She shot the ball well, too, an area where she has put in a lot of work recently. Hailey is also a first-rate defender, even at 8 in the morning!
Leah Passe – point guard, Minnesota Stars Joerger
We watched Leah (photo above) twice at the Prelims and she made a positive impression on both occasions. It was her top-shelf ball handling that very quickly caught our attention as she went into attack mode in transition. Leah went straight at her defender before effortlessly switching hands with a textbook behind-the-back move that enabled her to slip past the poor girl and finish at the rim. That’s big-time. Passe, formerly with Minnesota Fury, switched over to the Stars this spring. She’ll be a freshman at Visitation this fall and it will be difficult for coach Faith Johnson Patterson to keep her out of the starting lineup. With quick feet, quality hands and abundant skill with the ball, Leah knows how to control tempo and patiently execute the offense all while keeping a calm, cool demeanor. This on-court tactician has a bright future at the next level.
Maddie Schneider – guard, Fury 2026 Yellow
The 5’8 guard from Mounds View has a ton of length, really good athleticism and quick feet. She moves well laterally and has a sizeable wingspan, two assets that have helped her become a very good perimeter defender. We loved her intensity on defense and her absolutely fearless approach to the task at hand. One thing is for sure: Maddie doesn’t lack for confidence. That’s obvious in her shooting. There are some great shooters on Coach Sam Dengerud’s squad but Maddie is money when all of the chips are on the table. In the Fury’s opening game at the Prelims Schneider’s shots from beyond the arc weren’t falling but she kept on shooting anyway. With the game on the line she finally nailed one to seal the victory. That’s what great shooters do, isn’t it? Maddie is pretty lean right now. When she fills out and gets stronger this incoming freshman is going to be special.
Top photo: Brynn Leibfried, Metro Stars 2026 (Orono)