Girls Basketball Division 3 Preseason Top 10

Oostburg rolled to a Division 3 state championship a season ago and are loaded up to make a return trip to Ashwaubenon. Head coach Isaiah Ketterhagen will get to coach a trio of his daughters one last time as Ady and Riley are both seniors while Kinsley is a sophomore. Riley and Ady are both committed to Green Bay next season while Kinsley is a Division 1 prospect. Macy Bruggink and Josie Spielvogel were key contributors last season for the Flying Dutchmen. Oostburg has the top tier talent and abundance of experience that make them our number 1 in Division 3 going into the year. Oostburg will have non-con matchups with Notre Dame, Pewaukee, Whitefish Bay, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Lutheran, and Arrowhead that make for a grueling 2025-26 season.

Edgerton fell one game shy of the state tournament last season, losing to Laconia in a sectional final matchup. Head coach Chris Jenny returns nearly 99% of the production from that team. UW-Whitewater commit Gracee Langer and Marti Rebman are the top two returning scorers and will provide senior leadership for the Crimson Tide. Claudia Jenny (2027) is a coach’s kid and has the intangibles and IQ that come with it. Sophomore Reese Zellmer averaged 10.0 points per game as a freshman and will have one more year of development under her belt. The Crimson Tide roster is balanced and has a good mix of upper and lowerclassmen. Edgerton will play Mukwonago, Sun Prairie East, and Brookfield East in non-league games.

The Dells will have plenty back from a team that won a regional title a season ago. Headlined by seniors Natalie Backhaus, a DII University of Sioux Falls commit, and Ashiya Hopkins, the Chiefs will have a balanced lineup with size, speed, and skill. Jazlyn Alwin averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman and with another year of development gives head coach Bob Buss a trio of proven scorers. The Dells have consistently been a top contender in Division 3 for some time, and usually put together a tough non-con slate to prepare. That’s no different this year as the Chiefs will play Winneconne, Luther, and La Crosse Central among others.

Five of the top six scorers are back from a Wittenberg team that won 27 straight games before falling to Xavier in a sectional final. Western Illinois commit Melaina Granquist (5-11 senior) averaged 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a season ago and has 1,293 points and 811 rebounds in her career. Classmate Rory Salvesen has scored over 1,400 career points and a stellar multi-sport athlete as she’s committed to Minnesota for softball. Head coach Nick Mechelke will have rotational versatility with the experience back and has scheduled non-cons with Mosinee and Medford among others to prepare for the posteason.

Aquinas has consistently been a contender for a deep playoff push having made six state tournament appearances since 2017 under the tutelage of Dave Donarski. The Blugolds came one game shy of a seventh last season and despite moving into Division 3 this season, are a favorite to get to the Resch. Samantha Davis, a Bradley recruit, is a three-year starter coming into her senior season and has tallied over 1,500 career points and 650 rebounds. Juniors Olivia Passehl and Ava Fernholz were the second and third leading scorers a season ago and bring quickness and ballhandling at the guard position. As long as Donarski is at the helm, the Blugolds will be disciplined and fundamentally sound enough to make deep runs come March. Pacelli, Edgewood, and Platteville are just a few of the top non-conference games

Winneconne, like the teams listed above, is stacked with returning experience and talent from a group that won 23 games and fell in a close sectional semifinal matchup against now Bay Conference foe Xavier. Moving from the newly disbanded East Central to the Bay conference this season, Winneconne will play the likes of Shawano, Menasha, and Xavier twice. Grace Mitchell (2027) has offers from a few Division II schools and leads the returning squad that also has double-digit scorers in classmates Harper Neace and Jada Kaiser. Head coach Troy Buelow will challenge his squad with non-con games with Oostburg, Wisconsin Dells, Laconia, and Lourdes.

Head coach Brian Krysiak has a good group coming back that won 19 games and a regional title a season ago. Senior forward Hanna Bultman is a DII Minnesota Crookston commit that averaged over 20 points per game last year and has scored over 1,100 in her career. Behind her is a senior dominant group, with a mix of juniors, that has progressed as a group and individually up to this point. That experience will be a big advantage especially as the season drags on in February and March. Whitnall, and Pius XI Catholic are two tough non-cons for the Cavaliers in 2025-26.

The Angels won 17 games a year ago, return the entire roster, and will be a contender in the Metro Classic and Division 3 this season. Laila Collier-White has been a skilled scorer for three seasons with St. Cats, having tallied 1,259 career points. Head coach Jerome King has a full roster back to explore the depth and versatility of his potential rotations. Not only is this group back in full, but ten of the 13 players that were on the roster last year were either a freshman or sophomore.

Falls won 22 games last season and fell to eventual champion Oostburg in a regional final matchup. Paul Houwers brings back nearly his whole group, but will have to replace his top scorer. Seniors Makenzie Schroeder and Mollie Schliewe score and rebound at a high level while junior Lilly Gahagan will handle the point guard duties for the Falcons this season. Falls has the pieces in place to be competitive, though Oostburg does loom in their half sectional again.

Turner will be balanced in 2025-26 as head coach Nick Faralli returns his entire roster from the 20-win squad a year ago. Seniors Jayla Hodges, Kaylee Kramer, Portia Segerstrom, and junior Kennedy Crall all averaged over nine points per game a season ago. That group is balanced inside and out with the ability to knock down shots and get points in the paint. The Trojans will have Edgerton in their half sectional, the team that ended its 2024-25 season in the regional finals.

Colton Wilson serves a contributor and member of Bound Wisconsin. Wilson has worked in high school sports for 10 years, covering the state of Wisconsin in various sports. He has had roles in content creation, boys basketball coverage, director of events, and data management. Wilson is a graduate of Richland Center High School where he will currently serves as the Varsity Reserve boys basketball coach, entering his eleventh year coaching at the high school level. Wilson also has officiated basketball and organized youth tournaments for multiple years. You can follow him on Twitter at @ColtonWilson23 or reach him at [email protected].