Class AA Most Improved Teams

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Teams are always changing. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Every year, certain teams are hyped up to be really good before disappointing for a variety of reasons. And on the flip side, there are always teams that seemingly come from nowhere to surprise people and enjoy a lot of success. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some teams that could see significant jumps in wins from last year:</span></p> <p><strong>Belle Plaine</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Tigers won 13 games a year ago and should be in good position to take another jump and potentially contend in the Minnesota River and make a run in Section 2AA. The Tigers always have good athletes ready to step into varsity roles but there’s also significant returning talent back including double-figure scorers like Josh Gregory and Dylan Kahle and starting forward Noah Schumacher. </span></p> <p><strong>Rockford</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Rockets won 16 games a year ago, so they certainly aren’t coming from nowhere. But Rockford returns a really solid core of players. Everyone knows about 7-footer Calvin Sisk at this point as he’s one of the best prospects in the state. He’s a game-changer on both ends of the floor. Carter Kuvalik is a solid big man next to him. Todd Traen was a double-figure scorer a year ago and a steadying lead guard and Ryan Boysen was solid as a sophomore and could give the Rockets another capable shot-creator. </span></p> <p><strong>Sauk Centre</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sauk Centre was solid defensively on its way to a 12-win campaign last year and will likely be stingy again this winter. 6-foot-11 center Jacob Jennissen is one of the best paint defenders in the state and a terrific finisher around the rim. The Mainstreeters are much more than a one-man outfit though as Logan Suelflow and Casey Schirmers are both back after averaging double-figures in scoring last year. This is a team that could make an extended run in Section 6.</span></p> <p><strong>Fergus Falls</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Otters were solid last year, winning 15 games despite leading scorer Matt Johnson missing a number of games with an injury. That loss hurt last year’s team; but it could help this year’s team as it forced a bunch of younger guys to step into different roles that they should be better prepared to build off of now. Junior guard Dominic Aguilar will be one of the best players in the Central Lakes this year, the senior class has solid role players like Ethan Olson, Cody Norgren and Brock Kotschevar and Chance Fazio showed a lot of improvement over the summer and could be a breakout guy down low. </span></p>