Five Teams to Watch (2026-2027)

To make this clear, these aren't necessarily my top five schools heading into the 2026-2027 season. Maybe they aren't even teams that will be ranked. But they are the teams that I'm excited to keep an eye on and watch throughout the season. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.

MICHIGAN

Crystal Falls Forest Park should enter the 2026-2027 season as the top UP team in almost every ranking. This is a team that didn't lose any players due to graduation and return four All-UP selections (Vic Guliani, Lyle Price, Dax Hukki, and Izaiah Tarter). Guliani enters his senior season having already scored his 1000th career point, and Hukki should be close to joining him. Price is considered one of the best 2029 prospects in the Upper Peninsula. The 2027 class made it to the Breslin Center as sophomores, before some injuries stalled their season last year. This group has played in the big games and should be ready to match up with any team in the UP regardless of class.... Gladstone should be set up for a good season. 2027 Lonnie Davey finished last season just short of 1000 career points, he should get it early this season. Add in a 2028 class that includes Alex Prins and 6'6" Will Inghram who both saw big minutes as sophomores. With the combination of shooting, size, and having more upperclassmen on the roster, it seems like this could be a good season for Gladstone. The Braves finished last season with a record of 13-11.... Houghton has some really good talent returning, especially starting with Terrance Nolan coming off a big sophomore season. 2027 guard Alex Hebert was also an All-UP selection a season ago. They didn't beat a ton of bigger schools a season ago, most wins came against smaller enrollment schools in the UP. That will be the one thing they will need to overcome this season if they want to stay higher in the rankings.... L'Anse team that has been young for the last two years. 2028 Sam Lee has had lots of production in his first two seasons on varsity, now it's time to show he can be one of the better players in the UP. He'll have plenty of help from other 2028s Talan Larson, Kale Cichosz, and Devin Connor. I'm expecting that some of the growing pains they've experienced are going to start paying off this season.... Marquette is the next team on the list for the UP. It seems like every year I assume they are going to be down and they just reload. Part of that is them being the largest school in the UP, but the other part is they always seem to have good athletes. I expect them to lose some games in the non-conference schedule since they will travel to the lower peninsula to challenge themselves with schools their size. 2027 Brody Clements has made a nice name for himself over the last 12 months, even earning two D2 offers (Lake Superior State & Northern Michigan).

MINNESOTA

Deer River seems to be another team that just reloads and doesn't have down seasons. Kellan Isaacs heads into his junior season as an established varsity performer after averaging 9.4 points and 3.2 assists per game. He'll have plenty of returning help coming from Kevin Doerr and Damari Jensen, both 2027 players. Doerr is probably their most productive returner after averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. Jensen is listed at 6'8" and will provide some much needed size following a productive junior season where he averaged 7.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.... Duluth Denfeld needs to be mentioned as a top contender since they do return 6'7" Carter Brown, who is one of the best players in any part of the Northwoods. I'm expecting to see a different style/energy from the Hunters this season since they graduated some key pieces and don't have a ton of size. That doesn't seem like it will hurt Denfeld as they seem to have the young guard play to pull off an even faster tempo this season. Joseph Dupree Jr. brings some experience into his sophomore season as he was a full-time starter as a freshman. Fellow 2029 prospects will provide some good size for Denfeld in Sawyer Morrow (6'7") and Tristan Latimore (6'3").... Esko started last season as an experienced group, but they got better as the year moved on. The season ended with impressive wins over Duluth Denfeld and Cherry. They should be able to build off that this season, now that they seem to have their key players in position. Last season it felt like it took them a bit to mesh and find that rhythm. Braxdyn Male has solidified himself as a top player in the Northwoods and will stabilize this team. Jayden Symiczek should be one of the better shooters in the Northwoods and benefit from the attention Male attracts.... Last season I was extremely high on Hibbing, and I don't think much is going to change between now and the start of next season. The tough part with Hibbing will be that I assume they will have a tough non-conference schedule, which might lead to a few extra losses from teams from the metro area. They do return one of the better 1-2 scoring punches in the Northwoods between Ray Brau (2000+ career points) and Jack Bottom (1000+ career points). The 2027 class seems to have a bad taste in their mouth about losing one game away from the state tournament last season. I'd expect Brau (Michigan Tech commit), Bottom, Grant Toewe, and Rocco Rossini to be locked in all season.... South Ridge has had a nice little stretch as of late where they have been one of the better teams in the Polar League Conference. 6'6" Gavin Willeck will be one of the better players in the conference this season, and overall in the 2027 class. He comes into this season with a career total of over 1500 points. Size won't be much of a concern for South Ridge when you add in 2028 Finn Stroschein who is listed at 6'6". Stroschein averaged 13.3 points per game last season. The Panthers return a lot of upperclassmen who should all be ready to build off their 20-8 season last year.

WISCONSIN

Eau Claire Memorial is probably a head scratcher to some people, but this is the Wisconsin team I'm the most excited about. They are young, which could lead to growing pains, but they have a high ceiling. The 2028 class for the Old Abes is filled with talent headed by Caleb Olatunji (ranked 66th by Prep Hoops). They have two of the top 2029 prospects in Bennett Risler (Eau Claire Regis transfer) and Brevan Hedtke, ranked 13th and 17th in their class by Prep Hoops. They graduated two major pieces in Ian Bauer and Caelob Johnson, but the returners seem ready to make their impacts.. Grantsburg returns all of their scoring from last season and Caleb Rombach might be one of the best players in northern Wisconsin. Along with Rombach (who averaged 22.4 points per game last season), they also bring back fellow 2027 players in Axel Hale and Daxter Schultz. They didn't have anyone graduate off their roster, so 100% of their production is back (pending any unforeseen losses). Size could be an issue for the Pirates. Grantsburg maybe isn't the most stories basketball program, but it seems like this could be a season for them to make a statement when the rest of the Lakeland Conference graduated key pieces.... Marathon coming off a nice season where they lost in the Sectional Finals to Bonduel and finished the season 25-2. They were ranked as high as #2 in Division 4 last season. One thing you can always count on with Marathon is that they are going to play team basketball. Even last year, when you watched them it was hard to always know who their best player was. They do provide a solid rotation with the 2027 class including Garrett Bracewell, Sawyer Berens, Ean Shuda, and Logan Peters. They did lose a good amount to graduation, including the Marawood-South POY in True Thurs. Along with that, there were no sophomores on varsity last season which could cause a depth issue for them.... Mosinee has had an impressive summer. It seems like 2027 Brayden Reinke is due for a massive senior season, following his unanimous All-Great Northern and All-State selections. Any time you have a player with that caliber, you become a team worth keeping an eye on. They do have decent size coming into this season and a few other players who played key roles on last season's team. Even with them not returning as many key pieces, I'm expecting them to be a top contender in the Great Northern Conference.... Wabeno/Laona feels like the one team I'm confident will be towards the top of the rankings this year. They do return two 1000 career point scorers in Cooper Albrecht and Canton Chrisman, both 2027 players. Along with them, Carson Lemorande is a 2028 prospect that averaged 8.3 points per game last season. They finished last season losing in their Sectional Semi-Finals to Tigerton. The biggest downside that comes with Wabeno/Laona is that the Northern Lights Conference has been a smaller/weaker conference as of late.

2027 Commitments

Player	High School	Height	Position	College
Ray Brau	Hibbing	6'8"	Forward	Michigan Tech (D2)

Twin Ports Summer Jam Standouts (2026)

I attended the Twin Ports Summer Jam at Duluth East High School. On the drive home I was thinking about all the players that stood out during the day. Here are my top players that I watched from the classes of 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030.

2027

Carter Brown (Duluth Denfeld): Easily one of the most skilled players in the Northwoods this season, and you see his versatility every time he's on the court. At the Twin Ports Summer Jam there were multiple dunks in different fashions, which are eye catching enough. Him being a smooth athlete makes watching his games enjoyable. It's no secret going into this season that Brown will be their primary threat.

Ray Brau (Hibbing): Brau did what he always does. I think most opponents know what Brau is capable of doing, and even with double teams they still struggle to stop him. The most impressive thing with Brau is how consistent he always is. It seems that he always adds something new to his game every time I see him play.

Reid Charles (Superior): It's been a great summer for Reid. He seems ready to take a bigger role for the Spartans this season. If he can be Mr. Consistent for them, it will help anchor a younger team. The 6'0" guard has shown his capability to knock down shots. It has felt like his scoring capabilities has become more versatile since I watched him play during the season. Expect him to have the ball in his hands more being one of the only upperclassmen for Superior.

Max Jazdzewski (Cloquet): At 6'5" it's easy to stand out. When you add in the capability of being a good shooter, it's makes someone almost impossible to miss. There didn't appear to be much height for Cloquet heading into this season, which will require him to play multiple different roles if they are going to find success. 

Kam Kroll (Northwestern): He's been a staple the last few seasons, and I'm sure Heart O' North coaches will be happy to see him gone after this season. Two things have really stood out to me about Kroll this summer, outside of his scoring capabilities (which I've talked about a lot previously). First, I think he has made a very conscious effort to get his teammates involved more and creating to get them open shots. Second, when he doesn't have the ball he is constantly talking to guys trying to get them in the right spots.

Simon Winkels (Duluth East): Winkels continues to prove that he is an elite defender and able to change the game in different ways. His length at 6'6" always messes with teams whether it's blocking shots or making passes tougher. There should be plenty of opportunities for Winkels to make a name for himself this season after graduating Ty Nyberg. The Greyhounds are going to be looking for someone to help fill some of that shooting to help stretch the floor more, and Winkels is more than capable.

2028

Braxdyn Male (Esko): The 6'1" guard keeps showing how good of a summer he's had so far. One thing I really enjoyed about Male is the amount of times I saw him sprint the court hard when he didn't have the ball, resulting in a couple of layups (even a dunk). Expect him to be be one of the more dynamic scorers this upcoming season.

Cooper Maras (Mountain Iron-Buhl): This was the second time I've seen Maras play this summer and I came away impressed again this time. I would say he doesn't have the ball in his hands nearly as much as other people on this list, but he always finds ways to impact the game. It always seems like he's getting a steal, backdoor cut, or making some other momentum play for MIB.

Ty Schingen (Duluth East): One of the better players in the area at being able to get to the hoop and finish, especially when there's contact. That physicality helps him on the defensive side as well. Pairing him and Winkels to guard opponents best players should make things tough. Same as for Winkels on the offensive side, there are going to be more opportunities for him to show his game with Nyberg having graduated.

Jayden Symiczek (Esko): It felt like if it wasn't Braxdyn Male doing something for Esko, it was Jayden. These two play off each other very well and seem to be able to identify the right moments for each of them to take over. His shooting ability stood out and that helps him be able to get downhill and score. His defense resulted in steals and fastbreak baskets for Esko.

2029

Joseph Dupree Jr (Duluth Denfeld): Coming off a season where he started as a freshman, he's going to have more asked from him. Along with a high basketball IQ, he brings a different level of energy Denfeld. You almost always see the energy shift in a game when Dupree playing. With Denfeld not having a ton of size, energy and scrappy play are needed, and he should be leading that charge. Denfeld has had some really good guards graduate the last few years, and I really hope Dupree continues that trend.

Braydon Horton (Superior): Braydon got hot in one game and made at least five three pointers. I've seen other games this summer where made a similar amount of threes in AAU. If he can continue to knock down shots for Superior, he should be able to grow into a good role moving forward.

Cooper LeBard (Superior): The main thing that stands out with LaBard is that he is a very good passer. He's able to create a lot of open shots for teammates just by reading defenses and getting the ball to teammates in positions where they can score. He saw varsity time as a freshman and he should be depended on for more as a sophomore.

2030

Louie Johnson (Northwestern): He's been one of the most consistent players showing up to summer leagues/tournaments for Northwestern this summer. There are moments that he has looked really good, and then moments when you remember he's a about to be a freshman. He does a great job handling the ball and getting the Tigers into their offense. 

Nate Schultz (Superior): Perhaps the most physically ready freshman you will see in the area. He looks like one of the most mature freshman you are going to see. Listed at 6'0", the guard plays well beyond his age. He hit multiple tough mid-range jumpers that he made. His effort and poise are the main things that stood out to me. Expect him to be a big contributor this season.

Jacob Sykes (Duluth East): One of the players I am the most excited about heading into this season, and moving forward. Seems that he's feeling more and more comfortable playing with this group. With his skillset, I expect him to become a "go-to" guy as the season progresses. I think he has some of the best shot selection for a freshman that I have seen in a very long time.