2024 Rankings: Top-10 Breakdown
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A new week marks the release of an updated 2024 rankings piece. The 2024 class has some of the kids who made massive impacts in their sophomore years, which has one of the most talented kids in the class nationwide.…
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Continue ReadingA new week marks the release of an updated 2024 rankings piece. The 2024 class has some of the kids who made massive impacts in their sophomore years, which has one of the most talented kids in the class nationwide. To start, content-wise, I’m highlighting the top-10 prospects in the class.
Allie Ziebell Allie Ziebell 5'11" | SG Neenah | 2024 State WI
I don’t even know where to start with Allie Ziebell Allie Ziebell 5'11" | SG Neenah | 2024 State WI . Before she finished her sophomore year, she had already broken the all-time scoring record at Neenah, if that says anything about her talent. I’d be willing to put Ziebell up against anyone in the scoring department in the country, but she’s so much more than just a scorer. Although she likely won’t play as a lead guard at the next level, she reads the game well. Ziebell understands her power on the floor when she has the ball. Every defender accounts for her actions, and she uses that to get the best out of her teammates. Even though she has the potential to score 50 points against any team she plays against, she’s more than comfortable deferring when needed. I vividly remember their biggest game of the season, against Hortonville in the sectional semifinal. Ziebell still played within the Rockets’ offense. Her not deviating from her team’s offense allowed Shelby Roth and Amaya Jones Amaya Jones 6'1" | C Neenah | 2024 State WI to each score in double figures to edge out an unbelievably talented Polar Bear team. She can score 60 points in every game for the rest of her high school career, and I’ll remember how easy she makes the game for others. It also helps that Ziebell is a 6-foot athletic elite perimeter defender who can move her feet against and stay in front of elite talent. If you have the ability and haven’t seen her play before, I highly suggest watching her play at least once because Ziebell is one of the best talents in America.
Teagan Mallegni Teagan Mallegni 6'1" | SF McFarland | 2024 State WI
Mallegni had an absurd sophomore campaign at McFarland. The 6-foot-1 wing was thrust into a heavy usage role after point guard Brynn Kirch Brynn Kirch 5'6" | PG McFarland | 2024 State WI was hurt early in the season and never got healthy enough to get back onto the court for the high school season. Due to that role, Mallegni put up some numbers that can only be called video game numbers. She had a two-game stretch in mid-January, in which she recorded 62 and 51 points in back-to-back games. Mallegni can do it all on the offensive end. She can score from all three levels at an elite level, create passing lanes that few kids can see, and move her feet defensively. I’ve seen her defend kids with size in the paint and neutralize them off switches or because she’s best suited to guard the post at any time. There are very few weak spots in her game. I’ve only gotten to see her play three games, but sometimes you see a kid who moves differently than other elite talents on the floor, and Mallegni is in that class. Mallegni is a unique talent.
Kayl Petersen Kayl Petersen 6'1" | PF Waupun | 2024 State WI
In the three games I’ve seen Petersen play, Petersen has been the most unguardable player on the floor. She’s a 6-foot-1 forward who can play in the pick and roll as a ball handler and screener, and there aren’t any ways defenses can consistently slower her down in either role. Petersen’s good enough on the ball where the forward can turn the corner on a screen to get downhill to the basket or get into her elite in-between game. When she gets any amount of space to shoot in a pick and pop, or any time for the matter, Petersen will brutally punish defenses for the mistake of giving her half an inch to get a shot up. The Waupun native has the tools to become one of the most decorated high school players in recent memory in Wisconsin, with a state title already under her belt as a sophomore.
Taylor Stremlow Taylor Stremlow 5'8" | PG Verona | 2024 State WI
Unfortunately, Stremlow picked up a significant injury just before the high school season that kept her out her entire sophomore season. However, when Stremlow is at her best offensively, good luck. She has good size for a point guard, and she is elusive. A defender can be stuck in a phone booth with her for ten seconds and never touch her. She can create ten feet of space with a left-to-right crossover, and that’s barely an exaggeration. The part that makes her ability to create space so unfair is that she doesn’t even need that space. Stremlow is an artist around the basket who can and will finish acrobatically around the rim. To add to the threat, she puts on defenses herself. She’s also an elite passer. The Verona native can pick out passes that she has no business making due to her vision and the creative nature of play. Stremlow is the type of player who makes watching basketball a spectacle, and I love it.
Alyssa Wirth Alyssa Wirth 6'5" | C Altoona | 2024 State WI
Of all the kids in this talented class, Wirth is the one who has the most room to grow, and that’s scary because she’s already gifted physically and skill-wise. The 6-foot-5 center has skills I love to see in kids like her. For one, she does an excellent job staying vertical around the rim. I haven’t seen a game where she’s been in foul trouble, and that’s crucial. Her presence on the floor is just as key as what she can do on the floor. Teams tend to shy away from attacking the basket when Wirth is on the floor. That stuff can seem obvious when stated, but it changes games. The other aspect of her game I love is the motor she has. There are some holes in her game, but the one thing I won’t stand for is people who question her effort or drive. She fights for every rebound and isn’t afraid to dive on the floor for loose balls. Wirth is yet another kid with sky-high potential in this class.
Gracie Grzesk Gracie Grzesk 6'0" | SF Green Bay Notre Dame | 2024 State WI
Few kids have had as dominant a first two seasons in high school as Gracie Grzesk Gracie Grzesk 6'0" | SF Green Bay Notre Dame | 2024 State WI and her teammate, who I’ll highlight shortly. The 6-foot wing has entirely bought into what it takes to win games every night. In 30 games last season for Notre Dame, Grzesk scored over 20 points six times. That’s it. If you watch her for the first time on a random night, you may see her score 31 points in a regional title win or four points in the state title game. Regardless of her scoring output, there’ll be one constant that’s Grzesk making winning plays. You’ll hear her communicate on defense, switch seamlessly, fight for rebounds, dive on the floor, and make the right basketball play every time. Wherever she goes through life, I’d bet that success will follow. So if you want to win, Grzesk is a kid to recruit. My favorite niche high school stat is that The Notre Dame sophomores have as many state titles as total losses (2).
Gabby Wilke Gabby Wilke 6'1" | PF Beaver Dam | 2024 State WI
If you’re looking for a complete four or five at the next level, Wilke is your kid. I want to start with the physicality that her game details. I’ve told anyone who’ll listen that I’d never get into a held ball duel with Wilke because I’ve grown accustomed to having my head connected to my shoulders. She takes nothing for granted and fights every step of the way for every win, catch on the block, and every inch of space. There is a litany of kids who, I’ve thought, I wish she played more like Gabby Wilke Gabby Wilke 6'1" | PF Beaver Dam | 2024 State WI . Some kids want to win games, but the Beaver Dam native plays to win every possession. It’s not enough for her to win a game by 15. She wants to win by 30. She’s one of my favorite players in this class based on her competitiveness alone, but her skill level is also elite. Offensively, Wilke seals her defender well and catches passes in the middle of four defenders. Her catch radius is ridiculous. She can step out to 25-feet and knock down 3s with relative ease and use the threat of her jumper to attack the basket. She’s as complete offensively as any four I know. Defensively, her competitiveness is on full display. She is athletic enough to switch on guards and stay in front for a few dribbles, and I believe she could fight over screens if she had to do that. She communicates on the back line of the defense and has the length to defend the basket. I’m a big believer in her game being able to translate to winning at any level in college.
McKenna Johnson McKenna Johnson 5'9" | SG Wilmot | 2024 State WI
In this class, Johnson is probably the best pure scorer. There hasn’t been a shot I’ve seen her take that I don’t believe at least has a chance of going through the basket. Her process to get open looks so simple, but it’s so effective. She doesn’t go crazy with dribble moves. For Johnson, a left-handed hesitation dribble is all she needs to get her defender on her heels and attack the basket. A big thing I love about Johnson is her off-ball movement. I’ve rarely seen Johnson stand in the corner and watch the game. She always runs her defender ragged. That is why she gets as many open looks as she does. I’ve seen too many kids who can shoot at a high level and not do anywhere near enough to maximize their shooting ability. Johnson does. At least five kids, I can think of off hand, that can shoot standing still as well as Johnson, if not better, but they don’t work as hard to get their looks in-game. She does the things that make good high school players great, and that’ll translate at the next level. Young players in Wisconsin who can shoot at a high level should try and emulate the things that Johnson does.
Trista Fayta Trista Fayta 5'8" | PG Green Bay Notre Dame | 2024 State WI
If I had to name a player of the state tournament at all five levels, Fayta would have my vote, and it wouldn’t be close. Fayta is another sophomore who has made winning games a part of a steady diet at the high school level. Like Grzesk, you may not see her go crazy scoring-wise, but she’ll do things that win games. She won’t turn the ball over much. As a sophomore, she nearly had a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio with the keys to the offense in her hands. Fayta is also a kid who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win, and having a pair of sophomores who both are competitive, selfless, and talented makes life a lot easier. Even though she doesn’t score at an elite level much at Notre Dame, it doesn’t mean she can’t. Her scoring swung the Division 2 State title game in the Tritons’ favor. She had a stretch of about three minutes where she scored 14 points, with 12 of them coming from 3s, with the only reprieve for Pewaukee being a Peyton Musial Peyton Musial 6'0" | SG Notre Dame | 2025 State WI 3-pointer in what turned out to be the difference in the game. On defense, she fights over screens, remains in contact with her assignment through picks, and has active hands. She had a challenging defensive matchup in the title game and was as important as anyone in slowing down the freight train that was the Pewaukee offense at that time. She’s a winner.
Shae Kelley Shae Kelley 5'9" | PG Brookfield East | 2024 State WI
To be as blunt as I can be, I believe Kelley is the best defensive prospect in the country until someone shows me a kid who might defend better. She can guard anyone whose game is primarily on the perimeter and stop them. I’ve rewatched a handful of high school games in the past few weeks, and one was the Germantown at Brookfield East game. Annika Pluemer Annika Pluemer 5'9" | CG Brookfield East | 2023 State WI got most of the plaudits, rightfully so, after scoring 35 and grabbing 16 rebounds. However, the job that Kelley did on KK Arnold was unbelievable. She’s the only kid I’ve seen consistently get in front of her making her life difficult. Her ability to stay in front got rewarded by earning a couple of charges on Arnold in that game. Brookfield East’s full-court press was a steady dose of ’let Shae do something,’ and it worked. Even when a team has half of the court to pass around Kelley, she made plays on teams capable of playing at state. There are times that the Brookfield native makes plays where all you can do is laugh because she has no right to get near the ball, let alone seemingly catch it with minimal effort. The main question mark is her offensive game. Nothing is wrong with it visually. It looks great, and she takes good shots and runs her team’s offense at an elite level. I think it’s a repetition thing. The more she sees the ball go down, the more confident she’ll become and the more complete she’ll become. I fully believe that she has the potential to be in the top half of the top-10 in the very near future. She can defend the elite of the elite. I have to believe that some big schools will fall in love with what she does on that end.