The Class of 2030 is officially entering high school, and across the Midwest, a talented group of girls basketball players is ready to make the jump.
Many of these players have been on the radar for years through AAU basketball, national circuits, camps and showcases. Some have already played significant varsity minutes. Others have competed two or three age groups above their class. A few already have Division I scholarship offers before playing their first high school game.
For the first Madison365 Sports Midwest Class of 2030 Watchlist, we looked at seven states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
This is not a ranking.
We selected five players from each state who have stood out through their play, production, potential and performances against high-level competition. We also looked at national and regional evaluations, AAU competition and what these players have shown heading into their freshman seasons.
Some players on this list won’t become stars. That’s part of covering players this young. Development isn’t linear, and a lot can change over four years.
But as the Class of 2030 begins its high school journey, here are 35 players Madison365 Sports believes basketball fans around the Midwest should know.
Wisconsin
Talia Sanders
At 5’9″, Sanders is an athletic guard who can play either backcourt position, create off the dribble and impact the game on both ends. She will begin her high school career at Edgewood, joining a program that has played in two state championship games over the past three seasons. Sanders will also play on the Adidas 3SSB circuit next AAU season with the Purple Aces.
Nyagol Riak
At 6’2″, Riak is one of the most intriguing long-term prospects in Wisconsin’s class. Her athleticism, length and versatility immediately stand out, and her ceiling remains extremely high. She has already received scholarship offers from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Florida before beginning her freshman season.
Madison Morris
Morris was one of the most productive Wisconsin players we watched during the 2026 AAU season. Playing for Team Herro, she consistently showed she could score against high-level competition on the Jr. EYBL circuit and earned Madison365 Sports’ 2026 AAU Player of the Year honors for Wisconsin’s Class of 2030.
Reese Brown
One coach described Brown to me as a “Swiss Army knife,” and that description fits. She can impact a basketball game in multiple ways and doesn’t need the ball in her hands to do it. Her versatility and ability to contribute across several areas make her one of Wisconsin’s most complete young players.
Nicklyn Lile
At 6’0″, Lile is a versatile wing who has continued to establish herself among Wisconsin’s top players in the Class of 2030. Playing with the Wisconsin Lakers on the GUAA circuit, she brings size, skill and competitiveness to the perimeter. She can handle the ball, score at multiple levels, rebound and impact the game in several ways.
Minnesota
Ashlee Wilson
Wilson already has the résumé of a player much older than an incoming freshman. She has played varsity basketball since middle school, competed against older players during the AAU season and already has Division I recruiting attention. Her combination of size, skill and experience makes her one of Minnesota’s premier 2030 prospects.
Marianna Davis
At 6’1″, Davis gives Hopkins another talented young player with size and versatility. She has already experienced meaningful varsity basketball at one of Minnesota’s premier programs and helped Hopkins reach the Class 4A state tournament as an eighth grader.
Elin Retzlaff
Retzlaff isn’t simply a prospect. She has already produced against high school players, scoring more than 25 points in both the state quarterfinal and semifinal as an eighth grader. She plays with strength, confidence and the ability to score from multiple levels.
Jaycie Helmer
Helmer has already proven herself against varsity and high-level AAU competition. At 5’10”, she combines positional size with three-level scoring, passing and a strong feel for pace. She helped lead her team to the 15U EYBL championship, showing she can make plays under pressure against elite competition.
Amelia Truty
Truty is a confident scorer who has already shown she can produce against varsity competition. She can stretch defenses from three, create offense for herself and contribute as a playmaker and defender. Having already handled meaningful high school minutes, she enters her freshman year with experience beyond most players her age.
Iowa
Gentry Thummel
At 6’2″, Thummel gives Iowa a legitimate interior prospect with size, strength and rebounding ability. Playing for All Iowa Attack, she has competed against some of the best players in her class nationally and has established herself as an elite rebounder.
Bailey Joens
Joens has one skill that immediately translates to every level of basketball: she can shoot it. But she’s more than a spot-up shooter. She can attack defenders who close too aggressively, make plays off the bounce and compete defensively. She’s another talented player coming through the Joens basketball family, but her game is earning recognition on its own.
Lauren Harkins
Harkins has emerged as one of Iowa’s most complete young guards. She can score, create for teammates and defend, and she has shown the ability to take on a significant offensive role against high-level AAU competition.
Audra Meyer
At 5’11”, Meyer combines size, athleticism and versatility in a way that makes her one of Iowa’s most intriguing prospects. She can operate inside, attack from the perimeter, rebound and defend multiple positions. Meyer has produced against high-level AAU competition with All Iowa Attack and has been mentioned by evaluators as a player with a legitimate argument to become one of the top prospects in Iowa’s 2030 class.
Jayana Quinn
Quinn may be one of the more interesting names on the entire watchlist. Instead of spending the AAU season exclusively against players her age, the Class of 2030 guard played with Kingdom Hoops’ 16U New Balance team on the P32 circuit. She has shown she can compete and produce against players several years older than her.
Illinois
Joy Pettigrew
Pettigrew has established herself as one of Illinois’ premier players in the class. The 5’9″ point guard brings pace, poise, court vision and the ability to create offense for herself and others. She’s already shown that her game translates against older competition and will play on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with Phenom United next AAU season.
Addison Brown
Brown is a skilled guard who can score at all three levels. She shoots it from the perimeter, can attack closeouts and has enough length to affect the game defensively. Her combination of skill and basketball feel makes her one of Illinois’ more complete young perimeter players.
Ameenah Muhammad
Muhammad is another talented Illinois guard with the ability to create. Her handle, vision and scoring instincts give her the tools to play either guard position, and she competes with a motor that stands out.
Taylor Kravarik
Kravarik brings toughness, length and a relentless motor to the backcourt. She competes on both ends, isn’t afraid of physical play and consistently finds ways to impact winning even when she isn’t scoring.
Caitlin Augustyn
At 6’1″, Augustyn brings a different profile to the Illinois group. She has size, coordination, strong hands and the versatility to defend different positions. What makes her particularly intriguing is that her skill level is developing alongside the physical tools, giving her considerable long-term upside.
Indiana
Harper Scaringe
Scaringe is a true point guard who plays with pace, toughness and basketball intelligence. Despite being younger than much of her competition, she has already played with IGB’s 16U GUAA team and shown the ability to control games against older players.
Quinn Sowder
At 6’2″, Sowder has the size of a forward with the offensive versatility to create problems all over the floor. She can attack the basket, step outside and make perimeter shots and create off the bounce. Her early scholarship offer list already includes high-major programs from across the country.
Kinsley Scaringe
Kinsley brings a different game than her twin sister. She is an aggressive scoring guard who can get downhill, make shots from the perimeter and create offense at multiple levels. Like Harper, she has spent significant time competing above her age group.
Bryce Webster
Webster is one of the most highly recruited guards on this watchlist. She has creativity with the basketball, can score at all three levels and competes defensively. She is already drawing high-major recruiting attention, with confirmed offers including Indiana, Marquette and Michigan.
Journie Johnson
Johnson brings size and scoring ability to the perimeter. At 5’10”, she can score from multiple levels, use her strength getting downhill and create for teammates. Her combination of physical tools and offensive versatility gives her significant upside.
Michigan
Ella Wright
Wright is an athletic combo guard with quickness, ball skills and the ability to attack off the dribble. She can make decisions with the basketball and impact the game defensively, giving her the kind of two-way potential that makes her a player worth following.
Dakota Schwartz
At 6’0″, Schwartz is one of Michigan’s most intriguing interior prospects. She has good footwork, touch around the basket, rebounding instincts and the ability to protect the rim. As her perimeter game continues to develop, her versatility could make her an even more difficult matchup.
Daly Butler
Butler is a skilled point guard who understands how to run an offense. Her ball handling, passing and ability to remain under control stand out, and she has already spent time competing against older players.
Andria “Andie” Clippard
At 5’9″, Clippard has repeatedly impressed evaluators with her guard play. She combines good positional size with athleticism, ball skills and the ability to impact both ends. She’s one of the Michigan players whose name could become much more familiar over the next few years.
Natalie Conrad
At 5’10”, Conrad brings size and versatility to the wing. She can finish through contact, rebound, run the floor and make plays on both ends. She has also spent significant time playing above her age group during the AAU season.
Ohio
Alexia McCants
McCants is an explosive guard with advanced ball-handling ability and the ability to create offense for herself and teammates. She plays with confidence, understands how to change pace and can score in multiple ways.
Juliana Ott
At 6’0″, Ott has the type of versatility that immediately catches your attention. She can operate inside or step away from the basket, handle the basketball for her size and use her length defensively. She’s already drawing Division I recruiting attention before beginning her freshman season.
Piper Pugh
Pugh is a 5’10” guard with size, court vision and the ability to control a basketball game. She has already competed against older players and combines scoring ability with an understanding of when and where to get teammates the basketball.
Addi Blair
Blair is a floor general. She can handle with either hand, shoot from the perimeter and organize an offense. More importantly, she has shown an ability to make the players around her better.
Camille Travis
At 5’5″, Travis has been playing against high-level competition for several years and competed with Sports City Angels on the Jr. EYBL circuit. She’s a point guard who can distribute, make shots and use her quickness to create opportunities on both ends.
Just the Beginning
Thirty-five players. Seven states. One class that we will be watching closely.
There are certainly other Class of 2030 players throughout the Midwest who could have made this list, and there will be players who aren’t widely known today who emerge over the next several seasons.
That’s one of the reasons we’re calling this a watchlist instead of a ranking.
At 14 and 15 years old, nobody’s basketball story is finished. Players grow. Roles change. Skills develop. Some players make enormous jumps once they enter a high school program.
The purpose of the Madison365 Sports Midwest Class of 2030 Watchlist isn’t to tell young players where they stand.
It’s to introduce basketball fans to some of the young athletes across the Midwest who have given us a reason to keep watching.
Now they get four years to show us what’s next.
