Meet the top 25 girls basketball players in the Wichita area before the 2019-20 season
Less than a week after the completion of the fall sports season, basketball has begun.
Here are 25 high school girls basketball players to keep an eye on in the Wichita area.
1. Katie Wagner, Maize South, F, Sr.
Wagner was the best player on arguably the best regular-season team in the Wichita area last year. Maize South went undefeated before getting knocked out by eventual champion St. Thomas Aquinas in the state quarterfinals.
2. Kade Hackerott, Goddard, F, Sr.
Hackerott is a complete player. She has the strength to sit in the low post and the skill to take players off the dribble. Her Goddard Lions are coming off a state tournament berth last season.
3. Laniah Randle, Wichita Heights, SF, Jr.
Heights might be the best team in the Wichita area this season, and Randle could be the Falcons’ best player. Already holding a Wichita State offer, she is almost impossible to guard one-on-one.
4. Faith Paramore, Haven, F, Sr.
Paramore is a Division I-bound prospect, one of the only ones to come out of Haven in any sport. She’s verbally pledged to Oral Roberts and is seeking to lead the Wildcats to state.
5. Elise Kaiser, Hesston, PG, Sr.
Kaiser will remain in the Wichita area for years to come after signing with Newman University. A quick guard with a high basketball IQ, she is an All-Metro candidate with the Swathers.
6. Sydney Nilles, Derby, G, Sr.
Derby lost a lot of senior leadership but brings back one of the most accomplished athletes in the area. Nilles is a leader and has signed with Newman.
7. Taylor Jameson, Wichita Heights, PG, Sr.
Jameson isn’t the tallest player in Kansas at 5-foot-5, but she is Division I-bound. Signed to George Mason, Jameson sees the floor well and is comfortable with the ball in her hands.
8. Grace Pyle, McPherson, SG, So.
Pyle was a well-kept secret for McPherson last season. She won’t be this season. Pyle earned All-State honors in 2018-19 and helped the Bullpups to a fourth-place finish at state.
9. Jaidyn Schomp, Derby, F, Jr.
Schomp is filling the void of an All-American. Kennedy Brown graduated and is at Oregon State. Schomp, another college prospect, is a force down low.
10. Kylee Scheer, Cheney, G, Jr.
Scheer is one of the best small-class players in Kansas. Last year, she led Cheney to the state championship game in Class 3A as a sophomore.
11. Karenna Gerber, Halstead, F, Jr.
Halstead will have to fight through a brutal sub-state tournament that features Hesston and Haven to reach the final eight, but Gerber has the low-post game to help the Dragons do it.
12. Morgan Stout, Nickerson, F, Sr.
Stout tore her ACL during basketball season last year, but until then, she was making a case as one of the best players in Kansas. She’s signed with Wichita State for volleyball.
13. Zyanna Walker, Wichita Heights, SF, So.
Walker was part of a wildly talented freshman class last year. She’ll look to help the Falcons get over the hump at state.
14. Emma Ruddle, McPherson, G, Sr.
Ruddle is signed with Fort Hays State. She is an outstanding player with state championship sprint speed and a pure 3-point stroke.
15. Sydney Holmes, Maize, SF, Jr.
Maize lost two influential seniors last year, and Holmes will be called upon to pick up some of the slack.
16. Macy McCormack, Maize South, SF, Sr.
She has signed with Sterling College. She’s a great 3-point shooter.
17. Austin Broadie, Trinty Academy, F, Jr.
Broadie has been one of the best players in the area since she was a freshman.
18. Ella Anciaux, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, F, Jr.
Anciaux burst onto the scene early last season before Kapaun started to fade.
19. Cayanna Stanley, Wichita Heights, G, So.
She is a hyper-active point guard who is quick to the basket ... and a Division I prospect.
20. Maryn Archer, Derby, G, Fr.
Archer hasn’t played a varsity minute, yet she has already visited Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Nebraska.
21. Lakyn Schieferecke, McPherson, PG, Sr.
Schieferecke runs McPherson’s offense. The Bullpups fare as she does, and that is typically quite well.
22. Katelyn Kennedy, Derby, G, Jr.
An outstanding athlete for the Panthers. She had a starting role on a loaded team as a sophomore.
23. Isis Sanders, Wichita Northwest, G, So.
Known for her game-winning shots, she is a rising star in the City League
24. Emily Laham, Maize, G, Sr.
Laham has been in the starting lineup for years. Now she’s one of the Eagles’ top seniors.
25. Kyla Frenchers, Eisenhower, SF, So.
Part of the rebuild for Eisenhower, she was first-team All-AVCTL II as a freshman.