Iowa Girls High School Basketball: Top Returning Freshman

We have officially closed the book on the 2025-26 Iowa girls high school basketball season with the crowning of state champions and individual all-state and player of the year awards being handed out by High School on SI.

Now, we take a sneak peek towards 2026-27 with a look at some of the top freshman players in Iowa girls high school basketball having already released a look at the top juniors and some of the top sophomores. All numbers are from those listed on Bound.

Iowa Girls High School Basketball: Top Returning Freshman

Emily Tanny, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic

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If you didn’t know about Tanny before state, you definitely did after. She averaged 20.5 points with six rebounds, 3.4 assists, three steals and a block per game.

Bryndall Paterson, MVAOCOU

At just under 19 points per game, Paterson was one of the top ninth-grader scorers in the state, adding six rebounds, six steals and five assists.

Albany Reinke, Spirit Lake

Reinke played a vital role to the success of the Indians, and she has three more years to grow. She averaged 18.5 points and 11 rebounds with four steals.

Tenley Levin, Solon

The next standout Iowa high school prospect, Levin will look to build off a freshman season that saw her post 18.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, two assists and over a steal and a block.

Eden Horn, St. Edmond

Horn showed incredible growth over her first season on varsity, ending it with 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks a game.

Hayden Keith, Ottumwa

Keith was nearly a double-double a night, averaging 14 points with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Kate Limbaugh, Algona

Cracking the rotation on a defending conference champion team is tough, but there was no denying Limbaugh her minutes, as she averaged 14 points and nine rebounds a game.

Sophie Bird, Grand View Christian

Bird did a little of everything for the Thunder, scoring 13 points with nearly six assists, 5.5 rebounds, three steals and a block.

Chloe Homan, Remsen St. Mary’s

After losing key players to a preseason auto accident, Homan jumped right in, averaging a double-double with 12.4 points and nearly 11 rebounds in addition to three steals and two assists.

Paeytn Peterson, Pleasant Valley

Peterson found minutes for Pleasant Valley where he averaged nearly 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Quinn Sievers, Newell-Fonda

The Mustangs could be looking at multiple state titles after winning it all with Sievers a key player, as she averaged 12 points, 4.4 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Ava O’Rourke, Shenandoah

Another young standout for Shenandoah is O’Rourke, as she put up 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals per game.