North Dakota Preview: Class A Most Improved Teams

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s never too early for too-early-season. With fall sports and school underway, it’s only a matter of time before the winter sports season is upon us. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the teams that should be improved in 2020-21:</span></p> <p><strong>Bismarck St. Mary’s</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Saints won just five games last season but should be much-improved in 2020-21 thanks to experience gained by a bevvy of underclassmen. [player_tooltip player_id="1046359" first="Evan" last="Gross"] was a bright spot last year, averaging 12 points per game as a sophomore. [player_tooltip player_id="1046361" first="Nick" last="Schumacher"] and Jaxon Uhler were main rotation players last season and had their share of moments. And guys like [player_tooltip player_id="1046367" first="Nate" last="Fedorchak"], Ben Morman and Brit Senftner are all moving into upperclass years with expectations. Add in seniors Zach Haas and Carson Rohrich and there’s enough there for a team to sneak up on some people this winter. </span></p> <p><strong>West Fargo</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Packers went into last season with huge expectations and fell short of them in just about every way. Despite graduating their two best players, there’s a chance this iteration of West Fargo exceeds expectations and has more success. For one, the rest of the EDC is younger than it was last year. And the Packers have two of the best returning players in the league in [player_tooltip player_id="812219" first="Carson" last="Hegerle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="731900" first="Carter" last="Birrenkott"]. Add in solid juniors in [player_tooltip player_id="812231" first="Brett" last="Limke"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1046355" first="Parker" last="Nelson"] and returning pieces including Joel Pease and the Packers have the talent to be one of the best teams in the EDC.</span></p> <p><strong>Grand Forks Central</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Knights looked like one of the most improved teams in the EDC around the halfway point last year before fizzling down the stretch. There are some questions for Grand Forks Central to answer - namely who fills in around the top three returners - but the Knights have the talent to see solid improvements. [player_tooltip player_id="750164" first="Mason" last="Gravseth"] is one of the best big guys in the league. [player_tooltip player_id="750180" first="Mason" last="Love"] and [player_tooltip player_id="750187" first="Alex" last="Barbot"] are both rock-solid returners as well. </span></p> <p><strong>Turtle Mountain</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Turtle Mountain will go into next season with one of the best duos in the state in [player_tooltip player_id="750177" first="Tristin" last="Davis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="750157" first="Wyatt" last="Enno"]. Enno was one of the best sophomores in the league two years ago before missing his junior season with an injury while Davis took his game to another level last winter, averaging 15 points, nearly seven rebounds and better than four assists. Blue Kellogg and Jalen Poitra are back after seeing rotation minutes as sophomores as well. </span></p>