{"id":21611,"date":"2025-11-16T08:52:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T14:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21611"},"modified":"2025-11-16T08:52:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T14:52:35","slug":"high-five-saturday-november-15-2025-plus-2025-26-hs-preview-seeding-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21611","title":{"rendered":"High Five Saturday, November 15, 2025 plus 2025-26 HS Preview & Seeding the State"},"content":{"rendered":"

HIGH FIVE SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

15 D1 teams in action. Also the first D2 listings (primarily Northern Sun) is making their High Five season debut—late—this is their second weekend of action.<\/p>\n

D1<\/p>\n

Jocelyn Land, Montana, Holy Family 24<\/p>\n

Olivia Olson, Michigan, Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s 20<\/p>\n

Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 14<\/p>\n

Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 14<\/p>\n

Madison Mathiowetz, South Dakota State, Sleepy Eye St. Mary\u2019s 13<\/p>\n

Totals: 85<\/p>\n

This is the first appearance on the list for Land and Mathiowetz this year. This brings the total to 36 players this year. This is Tessa Johnson\u2019s fourth time on the list which ties her for the lead for the year along with Liv McGill and Tori McKinney. This is Kneepkens & Olson\u2019s third showing.<\/p>\n

All classes repped on Saturday with AA leading the way with 2 and the other classes providing one.<\/p>\n

All made the state except for Land.<\/p>\n

Johnson & Olson were both state champions and Miss Basketball.<\/p>\n

D2<\/p>\n

This is the first time the High Five has appeared for D2 this year. When I say D2 the focus is on the Northern Sun Conference, but I will be stringing other players—-like the MIAAA (there are only two living there—neither made the cut yesterday).<\/p>\n

Anna Vaaler, Sioux Falls, Andover 33<\/p>\n

Emma Miller, UM Crookston, St. Michael-Albertville 23<\/p>\n

Kylan Gerads, Southwest MN State, Albany 17<\/p>\n

Rayna Klejeski, UM Crookston, Barnum 17<\/p>\n

Leah Dengerud, Concordia-St. Paul, Totino-Grace 16<\/p>\n

Nicole Maenke, Southwest MN State, Shakopee 16<\/p>\n

Totals: 106<\/p>\n

Vaaler, Miller, Gerads, Dengerud, and Maenke made the state tournament at least once during their high school career.<\/p>\n

Dengerud won a state title. Miller and Gerads finished second.<\/p>\n

Three of the six were AAAA; one AAA; one AA; one A<\/p>\n

2026 PREVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the first year of the new section roll outs. Some teams that made state last year swapped out classes—Monticello & Alexandria have moved to AAAA; Goodhue is up to AA; NRHEG is down to A. This will have an impact on March.<\/p>\n

There have been coaching moves that have been generational in their impact. Some moves have been somewhat baffling (from an administrative choice perspective). The trend now is for shorter coaching stints. Several schools said goodbye to Hall of Fame caliber coaches. The days of 20 year coaches may be a relic of the past. Most coaches runs now are five years or less. We are looking at an inverse bell curve in a sense—bigger at both ends with the middle limited. Stability and continuity are lost.<\/p>\n

Player movement will impact the standings. We will look at those developments later. No word if the portal will be coming to the off season to make things more transparent.<\/p>\n

Also, the rich have gotten richer—as usual. The moves were not limited to coaches and players. Schools have left conferences for greener grass. The biggest move was AAAA runner up Maple Grove to the (Great) Lake from the Northwest Suburban. Look for the Lake to dominate the rankings, if not the Williams Arena field in March. There could be at least half the field from the Lake in state. The top 10s will certainly have half if not six schools crowding the field. The South Suburban should be the other conference with power in AAAA.<\/p>\n

Privates will rule in the other three classes with state titles in the cards. Three likely to be playing in March in AAA with Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s looking for another crown; the usual suspects in AA with Providence sitting atop the mountain, and SESM claiming the top spot in the first seeding the state in A. Three other privates are waiting in the wings in A.<\/p>\n

Repeat after me\u2026..it looks like three schools could be repeats (or three peats or five peats) in their title quests this season. The exception—West Central in A who surprised the state with their title. They took a hit with graduation.<\/p>\n

This will be the third year as a state that the shot clock will be in use. The learning curve has been established. Now this should be almost a habit.<\/p>\n

Streaking\u2026.Don\u2019t expect Providence to finish 2026 unblemished. They could get bumped off in their first contest of the season when they face AAAA champ Hopkins. The Royals will definitely have revenge on their minds and in their hearts when facing the Lions. Their current winning streak is 44.<\/p>\n

The Week Ahead\u2026..the real action begins on Thursday with a full slate of games. In previous years the first action was usually between Duluth East and Princeton on Thanksgiving Eve, but with the early start of the year there will be 49 games across all four classes. The epicenter of girls basketball will be Saturday at Southwest Christian in Chaska when the Breakdown will host their Tip Off Classic with a Sweet 16 slate of games all featuring teams that will be ranked, or close to it. The battle of Lion logos—(Hopkins\u2019 EPL knock off v the regal Providence Medieval coat of arms style) will be the feature game at 5:30 on the main court.<\/p>\n

SEEDING THE STATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is the first Seeding the State edition.<\/p>\n

AAAA<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Hopkins (6)<\/li>\n
  2. Minnetonka (2)<\/li>\n
  3. Lakeville North (1)<\/li>\n
  4. Rosemount (3)<\/li>\n
  5. Maple Grove (5)<\/li>\n
  6. Michael-Albertville (8)<\/li>\n
  7. Andover (7)<\/li>\n
  8. East Ridge (4)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    AAA<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s (6)<\/li>\n
    2. Marshall (2)<\/li>\n
    3. Cretin-Derham Hall (3)<\/li>\n
    4. Becker (5)<\/li>\n
    5. Hill-Murray (4)<\/li>\n
    6. Stewartville (1)<\/li>\n
    7. Sartell (8)<\/li>\n
    8. Rock Ridge (7)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      AA<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Providence (5)<\/li>\n
      2. Crosby-Ironton (7)<\/li>\n
      3. Minnehaha (4)<\/li>\n
      4. Caledonia (1)<\/li>\n
      5. New London-Spicer (3)<\/li>\n
      6. Pelican Rapids (8)<\/li>\n
      7. Royalton (6)<\/li>\n
      8. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (2)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        A<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Sleepy Eye St. Mary\u2019s (2)<\/li>\n
        2. Mountain Iron-Buhl (7)<\/li>\n
        3. MACCRAY (3)<\/li>\n
        4. Mayer Lutheran (4)<\/li>\n
        5. NRHEG (1)<\/li>\n
        6. Hillcrest Lutheran (6)<\/li>\n
        7. EGF Sacred Heart (8)<\/li>\n
        8. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (5)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          HIGH FIVE SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 2025 15 D1 teams in action. Also the first D2 listings (primarily Northern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[10,7,139,16,17],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8CdKT-5Cz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21644,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21644","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":0},"title":"Thursday, November 27, 2025 Reports: D1 High Fives; the Day Ahead for High School action","date":"November 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"D1 There were 11 teams in action on Thanksgiving. Jenna Guyer, Green Bay, Centennial 15-L *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 13-L *Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 13-W *Addie Mack, Maryland, Minnehaha 10-W Ellie Colbeck, South Dakota State, Fergus Falls 9-L There are now 56 players that have joined the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GBB: Minnesota"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21929,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21929","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":1},"title":"Friday, March 6, 2026 Reports: High Five, MN GBB Reports; Point Parade & Seeding the State AA & A Final","date":"March 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"D1 HIGH FIVE There were 18 teams in action on Friday. *Alyssa Sand, St. Thomas MN, Albany 17-W *Olivia Olson, Michigan, Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s 16-W *Patience Williams, South Dakota, Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s 16-W *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 15-W *Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 13-W Totals: 77 points, 5-0 There were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GBB: Minnesota"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21775,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21775","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":2},"title":"Sunday, January 19, 2026 Reports: High Five & Day Ahead","date":"January 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"D1 HIGH FIVE There were 20 teams in action on Sunday. *Liv McGill, Florida, Hopkins 28-W *Mara Braun, Minnesota, Wayzata 18-L *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 17-W *Kierra Wheeler, West Virginia, Cooper 17-W *Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 16-W Totals: 96 points, 4-1 Braun set a new personal best.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Girls Basketball"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21796,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21796","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":3},"title":"Sunday, January 25, 2026 Reports: High Fives & Day Ahead","date":"January 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"D1 HIGH FIVE There were 14 games played on Sunday. *Olivia Olson, Michigan, Benilde-St. Margaret\u2019s 24-W *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 20-W *Tori McKinney, Minnesota, Minnetonka 20-W *Amaya Battle, Minnesota, Hopkins 18-W *Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 12-W Totals: 94 points, 5-0 Johnson set a new personal best. There\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GBB: Minnesota"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21690,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21690","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":4},"title":"Sunday, December 14, 2025 reports: High Fives & Day Ahead","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"D1 There were 27 teams in action on Sunday. *Shania Nichols, Kennesaw State, St. Paul Como Park 19-W *Amber Scalia, Miami OH, Stillwater 18-L *Kierra Wheeler, West Virginia, Cooper 16-W *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 15-W *Madison Mathiowetz, South Dakota State, Sleepy Eye St. Mary\u2019s 14-W Totals: 82 points,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GBB: Minnesota"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21720,"url":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/?p=21720","url_meta":{"origin":21611,"position":5},"title":"Sunday, December 28, 2025 reports: High Fives & Day Ahead","date":"December 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"HIGH FIVE D1 There were 13 teams in action on Sunday. *Nunu Agara, Stanford, Hopkins, 19-W *Tessa Johnson, South Carolina, St. Michael-Albertville 18-W *Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA, Duluth Marshall 12-W *Liv McGill, Florida, Hopkins 12-W Ja\u2019Kahla Craft, Seton Hall, St. Michael-Albertville 12-W Totals: 73 points, 5-0 McGill added to her lead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GBB: Minnesota"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21611"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21613,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21611\/revisions\/21613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kjasr.com\/live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}