Shore Sports Insider Girls Basketball Preseason Top 10 Rankings

Shore Sports Insider 2024-2025 Girls Basketball Preseason Top 10 Rankings

1. Red Bank Catholic – The Caseys enter the season as the top team in the Shore Conference and return all but one player from last year’s team that won the Non-Public A championship. RBC will be led by seniors Tessa Carman and Christina Liggio, who have been impact players since their freshman season. The junior class for the Caseys might be the strongest group in New Jersey, led by All-Shore player Addy Nyemchek, who averaged 15 points per game last season. Katie and Tessa Liggio are both dangerous options on the offensive end, with Katie leading the team with 65 3-pointers last season. Lola Giordano and Daniela Maletsky both provide RBC with strong defense and transition baskets. RBC will battle St. John Vianney for the Class A Coastal division title and top 10 Red Bank Regional and Rumson-Fair Haven. RBC will clash with Morris Catholic, who is ranked No. 1 in New Jersey, on Jan. 12.

2. St. John Vianney – This is the first time in a long time that SJV does not start the season No. 1 in the Shore Conference. The Lancers graduated only one starter from last year’s Shore Conference championship team — Julia Karpell. Junior Stella Lockhart and Taylor Sofikanich will both cause problems for opposing teams on both ends of the floor with their height. Seniors Aleena Dinker and Brooklyn Taylor will be the leaders on the floor, running the offense. Juniors Madison Kocis, who can score from all over the floor, and Charlotte Bradley, who can knock down the 3-pointer and play strong on the defensive end, provide SJV with experience this season. SJV started the season in the She Got Game Classic in Washington D.C. The Lancers started 2-0 with two double-digit victories.

3. St. Rose – St. Rose returns a very talented roster from last year’s team that made it to the South Jersey Non-Public B final. The Purple Roses would have been the favorites this season in that sectional, but were moved into the brutal South Jersey Non-Public A. St. Rose lost to SJV in the final of SJNPA the last time they were in that section. Prior to that, they won back-to-back Non-Public A championships. The Roses return junior Jada Lynch, who can contend for the Player of the Year this season. Senior Cassidy Kruesi will be the leader on both ends of the floor, averaging 9 points, 2 assists and 2 steals per game last season. St. Rose gets a boost with seniors Lizzy Mitchell and Gianna Rodriguez returning from injury. Juniors Brooke Missry took a nice step forward last season, averaging 7.5 points per game and Belle Alvarado became a reliable ball handler, averaging 2.5 assists per game, in a bigger role last season. St. Rose will be the favorites to win Class A Central, but coach Christine Hatfield put together a challenging schedule with games against SJV, Rutgers Prep, Red Bank Catholic, Immaculate Heart and Morris Catholic.

4. Red Bank Regional – Red Bank Regional will look to start the season off by repeating as the WOBM champions and will have a good shot at doing so as they return all but one starter from last year’s team. Senior Caroline Polloway took big steps forward last season averaging 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Her play in the post helps the Bucs get their shooters open looks at the basket. Junior Zoey Gulley is a dangerous shooter, knocking down 68 3-pointers last season and 114 in her career. Junior Synai Blychanton showed her ability to get the basket last season after transferring from Red Bank Catholic. Blychanton has the speed and explosiveness to finish at the basket and draw the foul. Juniors Riley Wheeler and Riley Joyce provide Coach Truhan with experience on both ends of the floor. RBR has the talent and experience to make a deep run in Central Jersey Group 3 this season.

5. Manasquan – The Group 2 champions will have a new look this season, graduating four important pieces with three of those playing in Division I this year. Seniors Olivia Shaughnessy and Shea Donnelly and junior Jordyn Hollawell are the three players returning who saw significant minutes last season. Manasquan lacks height this season with the graduation of Katie Collins and Carlie Lapinski. Senior Grace Love will have an important role to help control the glass. All-Shore transfer Kayden Clark will provide the Warriors with another offensive weapon when she is eligible to play. Clark transferred for her senior season from Ocean Township. Manasquan will challenge St. Rose in Class A Central this season. The Warriors picked up challenging out of division games against Ranney, Red Bank Regional, St. Thomas Aquinas and Chatham to help prepare them for another deep Group 2 run. 

6. Trinity Hall – Coming off of a 17-9 season, coach Matt McCarthy will have a heck of a time replacing All-Shore player Nina Emnace as they take on the tough Class A North.  Emnace and Siobhan Stapleton were two anchors in the Trinity Hall lineup for the past few seasons, leading a near-upset of SJV in a classic SCT semifinal game. McCarthy brings back a wealth of battle-tested talent, led by juniors Grace Feeney and Whitney Hobson. Feeney will look to build on her 9 points per game last season, while Hobson will be counted on to continue to elevate her game on the offensive and defensive end. Senior Lilly Riggi, who committed to play at East Stroudsburg University, will continue to lead this team with her tenacity on both ends of the floor. Bree Korch, Lizzy McCarthy, and Niamh Stapleton bring back experience, and Coach McCarthy will look for them to produce as they play more minutes. Tough out-of-division games vs. RFH and St. Rose, as well as out of conference games vs. Woodbury and Saddle River Day should provide a tough challenge for the Monarchs.

7. Ranney – Ranney will be the favorites along with Trinity Hall in Class A North, with all of its players returning from last year’s team. Ranney is led by Lafayette commit Haley Poser, who averaged 18.6 points per game last season. Poser can score on all three levels and will be on the Player of the Year watchlist. Sophomore Ashley Kreiger, who averaged 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, will look to provide Ranney with a dangerous one-two combo with Poser. Seniors Lola MacRae and Emily Cavanaugh will provide Ranney with experience on both sides of the floor. Ranney picked up senior transfer Michelle Steele, who averaged 8.7 points per game for Holmdel last season. Steele will provide Ranney with experience and strong defense. Ranney has a challenging out-of-division schedule with Saddle River Day, St. Rose, Manasquan, Germantown Academy, and Blair.

8. Howell – The Central Jersey Group 4 champions return all but two players from last year’s team. The Rebels are led by senior Kiera McKown, who averaged just under 12 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. McKown and sophomore Kylee Beam make it hard for opposing teams to attack the basket. Beam became a dominant player in the paint late last season when she stepped into the starting lineup for an injured player and was a key factor to Howell’s postseason run. Senior Ashley Smith helps Howell be one of the toughest defensive teams in the Shore Conference. She always gets the assignment of covering the opposing team’s best guard and scrambles on the floor to get the loose balls. Howell was realigned into Class A Central, which has five potential top 10 teams this season including St. Rose, Manasquan, Neptune and Jackson Memorial.

9. Rumson-Fair Haven – Coming off an 18-9 season and making the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group 2 Tournament, RFH will look to build off that strong season playing in the very tough Class A Coastal Division. Having lost their two leading scorers from last season, Ella Mason and Raquel Guidetti, as well as leading rebounder Abby Boyle, RFH does return a few players who have played solid minutes over the past few seasons. Senior Sylvia Notine, a University of North Carolina field hockey commit, returns her 9 points, 3 assists and 2 steals per game. Junior Erin Reid had a breakout season last year, bringing back 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. Coach Dave Callahan will also rely on sophomores Brooke Jaenicke and Grace Smith to take a step forward this season. Aside from tough division games against RBC, SJV and RBR, Callahan again has scheduled some state heavyweights to bolster the schedule: Saddle River Day, Ramapo, and Paul VI.

10. Neptune – Neptune returns a dangerous offense led by senior Christa Ramos, who averaged 16 points per game last season. Ramos along with Bre Evans provide Neptune with a fast-paced offense that can get to the basket and shoot the ball from the outside. Sophomore Lana Ellington finished third in scoring for Neptune last season as a freshman. The Scarlet Fliers have the experience and talent to make a run in Central Jersey Group 3 this postseason. Neptune plays in Class A Central, which includes No. 3 St. Rose, No. 5 Manasquan, No. 8 Howell and Jackson Memorial, who is just outside the top 10.

 

Bubble: Jackson Memorial, Point Boro, Shore Regional