The seven-footer is always one to watch and naturally stands out to the eye. He’s a Northern State University commit and is highly mobile for his size. Not a dominant scorer but he’s constantly impacting the game.

Calling Kuhl intriguing is an understatement! Jake had an interesting grassroots season where he had plenty of looks from college scouts and ultimately committed to Northern. Kuhl is new to West Central and they will be long and talented. Look for the Trojans to be a Darkhorse in A.

PHD: Can you tell us about your best on-the-court moment from this AAU season?

Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “My best on the court moment was back in April in Sioux Falls, I came off a pick and floated to the corner, caught the pass, ripped baseline and put it down and the energy coming from the my teammates was unreal.”

PHD: How do you work to improve your skills, athleticism, and overall basketball game? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “For me it all starts with stretching, anytime you see me about to play in a game, go to an open gym, to go workout, beforehand you will always see me stretching, stretching has definitely helped me tap into my athleticism more and more. With my overall skills, I can thank the amazing coaches and trainers for that, I’m always at the Pentagon and there is always a coach willing to work on something or do something so help me improve my individual talent and skills.”

PHD: What is your best off-the-court memory from the AAU season? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Off the court memory…This one is so hard because I love hanging out with my teammates and my coaches, but we were just in the Twin Tities At The Mall of America and we went mini golfing, shopping, and just cracking jokes the whole time, and those memories are the ones that matter most to me.”

PHD: When you are not playing a sport, what do you do for fun? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Being an athlete, you have to make sure what you’re doing for fun doesn’t hinder your chances of getting better. I’m kind of a boring guy, so I’m either driving around with my friends and going out to eat, or I’m hanging out with my brother looking for something to do.”

PHD: Outside of basketball, what sports/activities are you involved in? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Outside of basketball for my freshman through Junior year I was involved in football and track, but for my senior year I’m only focusing on basketball because that is my No. 1 sport. But I loved playing football and it sucks letting it go, but we got something special over here at WC.”

PHD: What are your individual goals for the next basketball season? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “My Individual goals for the next basketball season, well obviously to have fun, basketball season is a long winter sport, it’s going to test your patience. Basketball is a grind and a lot of guys need to know that and accept that. But obviously I want to win a State Title, go all in, winning a State Title has been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid, but it won’t be easy, Class A is loaded and there’s tough teams out there that also want that goal. It just comes down to who wants it more.”

PHD: You are new to West Central, how have things been going with the Trojans and what has you excited about the hoops season? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Things at West Central are great, I went to West Central from Junior Kindergarten through 4th grade, and then going to Irene-Wakonda for the remainder of that time, but I love these guys. I’ve know most of them since I was a kid, and what’s really cool is that I get to play with a person that’s very important to me, my brother Will. He loves it almost as much as I do and we are super competitive. Here at WC, we have a great combination of speed, skill, height, and athleticism and it’s going to be exciting how we pan out because we’re looking to do some damage.”

PHD: Any idea what you want to major in at college or what type of career you are interested in? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “I’m bouncing between two things right now, my passion is writing, I love to write. I want to become and author, but at the same time I’ve been around numbers and lines my whole life and going into accounting and marketing will also be a great fit for me. My dad is a bank president so I know a thing or two about it.”

PHD: What is the best part of your game? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Something that I take a lot of pride in is that, I’m able to shoot and a lot of big guys aren’t willing to step outside to the 3 point line and do it at a pretty high percentage. But one thing that I always get asked about is my talking. When I’m on the floor I never shut up and I think it helps my teammates out a lot, I take a lot of pride in it because it something a lot of guys aren’t willing to do and it makes me stand out from the crowd all big men.”

PHD: What can you tell us about your college recruitment? Jake Kuhl Jake Kuhl 7'0" | C West Central | 2024 State SD : “Everyone’s journey is different, it’s been fun, exciting, thrilling, nerve racking, because I’ve grown up watching some of these schools on TV my whole life. All the D1s the D2s and the NAIAs, it’s honestly been so unbelievable how it’s all panned out, but all college levels are competitive. I have interest of playing at the D2 and D1 level and I know what school I end up choosing will be the right one.”

Grabs your attention w/ height, wingspan, and mobility. He showed some nice moves on the block & he shared the ball.

WHY? He has come a long ways in the past year and it will be fun to see how his game evolves in the next 6 months. There are certainty college coaches interested and it will be fun to see how that all shakes out in terms of recruitment. Another reason to watch Mr. Kuhl is the fact that he will be at a new school this year. Jake will be at West Central and they will have one of the biggest starting lineups in state of South Dakota. The Trojans will have a tough team and PHD believes that they will have a legit chance at a trip to State. If West Central makes a deep playoff run, Jake will have a huge hand in that. I can officially say that Mr. Kuhl and the Trojans will be right near the top of my watchlist when the season gets tipped off.

Kuhl is an intriguing prospect in South Dakota’s 2024 class. Tons of length and moves well at his size. Was able to step away from the basket and knock down some jumpers, showing excellent touch on his shot. Even if he wasn’t always getting touches, he worked hard running rim to rim showing solid mobility in the process. Utilizes length to contest shots around the basket.

WHY? He is a 7-footer, that is a good enough reason right there! However, Kuhl is more than just tall. He moves very well and his lateral movement is impressive. Jake is an athletic finisher that can do it with both hands and he has a smooth baby hook. His mid-range and 3-point shots are also noteworthy. I watched Kuhl play early this spring, I am interested to see how his ball skills look and how he competes against the other BIGs at the next Prep Hoops event.