MileHigh Prep Report Class 3A Girls Basketball Preseason Rankings
Note: I am just going to quickly give the rankings and a quick breakdown of what they are returning. I will be doing my District/League Predictions for Class 1A thru 3A later in the week along with full Season Previews next week. Games kickoff for Basketball November 27th.
Class 3A
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| #1 | C.S Christian Defending State Champions | C.S Christian is your defending State Champions, and they will look to defend their title. C.S Christian will return plenty of talent including Grace Minihane (20.2 ppg) and Kinley Asp (13.5 ppg). C.S Christian returns 6 of their top 8 scorers and should be poised for a title defense. |
| #2 | St. Mary’s Took 3rd Place | St. Mary’s took 3rd place last season defeating Ellicott in the 3rd Place Game. St. Mary’s lost to C.S Christian by just 4 in the semifinals. St. Mary’s could have a key injury to start the year but return key leadership in Emerson Kutz (15.6 ppg). St. Mary’s will look for some younger players like Jaela Pedro (9.5 ppg) to take a big step forward this season. |
| #3 | Peyton Lost in the Sweet 16 to Buena Vista | Peyton made the State Tournament last season as the #1 seed and was upset in the Sweet 16. Peyton will have vengeance on the mind this season and return the talent to make a big push including 4 of their top 5 scorers. Peyton will look for AJ Mannering (21.1 ppg) and Abbie Nickell (14.3 ppg) to continue as leaders but must have the depth take a step forward this season. |
| #4 | Grand Valley Lost in the Elite 8 to Vanguard | Grand Valley made the State Tournament last season, falling in the Elite 8 to Vanguard. Grand Valley will look for a deeper run this season and return the talent to make that push. Grand Valley will have to replace their #1 scorer but return Jaycee Pittman (19.7 ppg), Kaylae Medina (7.7 ppg), and Chloe Gronewoller (5.5 ppg). |
| #5 | Centauri Lost in the Elite 8 to St. Mary’s | Centauri made the State Tournament last season falling in the Elite 8 to St. Mary’s. Centauri will have a few holes to fill this season losing their top scorer from last season. Centauri will look for Kailyn Polzin (6.2 ppg), Hannah Curtis (5.0 ppg), and Lacey Johnson (4.9 ppg) to take major steps this season. |
| #6 | Platte Valley Lost in the Elite 8 to C.S Christian | Platte Valley made the State Tournament last season but fell in the Elite 8 to C.S Christian. Platte Valley will have some reloading to do this season, losing their top two scorers. Platte Valley will look for Lauryn Uyemura to become the leader this season but also will look for Alyssa Salazar to take a big step forward this season. |
| #7 | Yuma Lost in the Sweet 16 to Grand Valley | Yuma made the State Tournament last season falling in the Sweet 16 to Grand Valley. Yuma will return key players to make a deeper push this season. Yuma returns 3 of their top 5 scorers including Caddis Robinson and Emma Rayl. Depth will have to take a big step forward this season but look for the tradition at Yuma to help get this team going. |
| #8 | Buena Vista Lost in the Elite 8 to Ellicott | Buena Vista was one of the Cinderella stories of last season upsetting the #1 seed and reaching the Elite 8. Buena Vista will be out to prove that was not a fluke last season. Buena Vista will return 3 of their top 5 scorers including Audrey Johnson (13.7 ppg) and Madeline Litvay (6.2 ppg). More depth will have to step up this season but look for Buena Vista to make a big push this season. |
| #9 | Salida Lost in the First Round to Strasburg | Salida made the State Tournament last season falling in the opening round to Strasburg. Salida will be without a key piece in their #2 scorer but return their leading scorer from a season ago in Braeden Johnson (15.9 ppg). Salida will look for depth to take big steps forward and look for Trinity Bertolino (4.8 ppg) and Makiah Parris (3.4 ppg). |
| #10 | Ignacio Lost in the First Round to Woodland Park | Ignacio had a successful first season in Class 3A making the State Tournament but was upset in the first round. Ignacio will look to rebound from that and push for a deeper run. Ignacio will return key pieces in Soly Cosio and Marissa Olguin. Ignacio will look for leadership to step up this season. |
| #11 | Olathe Lost in the Sweet 16 to Centauri | Olathe made the State Tournament last season, falling to Centauri in the Sweet 16. Olathe has the talent back to make a much deeper run this season. Olathe returns 3 of their top 5 scorers and will look for a big season. Tyra Gray (13.5 ppg), Kiandra Liles (10.2 ppg) and Analise Marin (6.6 ppg) all return to be leaders for Olathe. |
| #12 | Highland Lost in the Sweet 16 to St. Mary’s | Highland made the State Tournament last season. Highland fell to St. Mary’s in the sweet 16 and will look to build off last season. Highland will lose their top scorer from a season ago but return their #2, #3, and #4 scorers from last season. Look for Briza Flores (13.0 ppg) and Taylor Berkheimer (9.3 ppg) to take big steps forward as leaders this season. |
| #13 | Strasburg Lost in the Sweet 16 to Vanguard | Strasburg made the State Tournament last season and nearly pushed Vanguard to the brink of an upset. Strasburg will return plenty of key pieces including they’re of their top 5 scorers. Graecyn Graf (10.9 ppg) and Natalie Damron (8.7 ppg) are back to lead Strasburg this season. |
| #14 | Gunnison Lost in the First Round to St. Mary’s | Gunnison made the State Tournament last season falling in the opening round to St. Mary’s. Gunnison was a big surprise last season and will hope to build off the success. Gunnison returns their top 6 scorers from last season. They will look for Kylee McDougal (13.7 ppg), Ava Stewart (9.1 ppg), and Sienna Gomez (8.3 ppg) to take big steps forward this season. |
| #15 | Timnath Lost in the First Round to C.S Christian | Timnath kicked off their program with success in making the state tournament last season. Timnath this season should see big improvement and have their entire roster back to help. Tiana Guzman (17.0 ppg) and Gretchen Deines (16.0 ppg) are back to be leaders, but the depth must take a step forward this season. |
| #16 | Prospect Ridge Lost in the First Round to Peyton | Prospect Ridge made the State Tournament last season, falling to Peyton in the first round. Prospect Ridge returns their entire roster from last season so the success should help the program take a big step forward. Kayah Robbins (14.1 ppg), Ava Stockard (8.8 ppg), and Nicole Scott (8.3 ppg) must take over as leaders this season. |
| Teams to Watch for: | Cedaredge, Bennett, Vanguard, Ellicott, Woodland Park, North Fork, SkyView Academy, Forge Christian, Lyons, Brush, Windsor Charter, Liberty Common, Rocky Ford, St. Mary’s Academy |
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