Herald-Leader 11: Names to know in 11th Region girls basketball this season

The 2024-25 Kentucky girls basketball season is set to tip off Monday.

Here are 11 of the 11th Region’s best players in order of how they were voted for by the region’s coaches in our @HLpreps preseason survey.

This list includes their height, class, last year’s points per game and a brief note.

1. Juliana Frazee, Franklin County (6-2 Sr., 9.8 points): A true post player who rebounds (6.5 per game) and shoots a high percentage from the field (58% over the last two seasons). She was a selection to the Kentucky Junior All-Star team and blocked a shot in that squad’s 79-78 win against the Senior All-Stars in June.

“She has the ability to not only bang and finish in the post, but her ability to distribute the ball from both the high and low post makes us a better team,” Flyers coach Joey Thacker said. “She also guards as well as any big that we’ve ever had.”

Frazee received nine of the 13 first-place votes cast by coaches in this year’s survey.

2. Jaelee Knowles, Frederick Douglass (5-11 So., 10.0 points): The rising star picked up her first Division I offer over the summer (Western Kentucky) and blocked three shots per game while finishing third on the team in scoring. She’ll shoulder a bigger burden on offense this season without Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (graduated, now at Central Michigan) and Niah Rhodes, a sharpshooter committed to Florida A&M. Rhodes moved to Tennessee.

3. Nataya Strader, Madison Central (5-6 Sr., 13.6 points): As a junior she led the Indians to their second straight 44th District championship and their second 11th Region victory in as many seasons; before her sophomore year, Madison Central hadn’t won an 11th Region Tournament game since 2017. Strader was the only other player besides Frazee to receive multiple first-place votes (two).

4. Hadley French, Madison Southern (5-4 Jr., 16.2 points): She’s one of two returning players (Southwestern senior Kinsley Molden) who led the state with 3.3 3-pointers made per game. French was slightly behind Molden in percentage (46.2 vs. 43.3) but made 14 more than the 12th Region standout (100 to 86). She’s unlikely to play before January due to an offseason surgery.

5. Leia Hogan, Franklin County (5-6 Sr., 11.2 points): The top returning scorer for the defending region champs. “She came up huge in the 11th Region championship game last season,” head coach Joey Thacker said. She went 4-for-8 from the 3-point line en route to 19 points in a 53-46 decision over Frederick Douglass that night.

6. Belle Combs, Lafayette (5-9 Sr., 13.5 points): “We have a few reliable 3-point shooters who can stretch the floor,” said Generals coach Allison Denton, and they’ll thrive in part thanks to the inside presence of Combs. The Centre College commit is a strong post scorer but especially thrives as a rebounder. “I’m aggressive, I like getting to the ball,” Combs said with a smile. “It’s fun.”

7. Kate Baker, Frederick Douglass (5-3 Sr., 5.8 points): A 39% 3-point shooter last year, Baker’s leadership skills and basketball IQ are things on which the Broncos will have to “rely heavily” this season, according to coach DJ Moberly. The Transylvania commit is one of just two seniors on Douglass’ roster.

8. Charlianne Robinson, Frankfort (5-4 Sr., 15.8 points): An “awesome floor general with a great ability to get to the basket at any given time,” Frankfort coach Maurice Garrard said. She’ll look to lead the Panthers to a deep run in the 11th Region All “A” Classic, which they haven’t won since 2016.

9. Ariyanna Sutton, Henry Clay (5-3 Sr., 8.3 points): The Berea College commit has expanded her range and has the green light to shoot from wherever she feels comfortable on the floor, especially as the Blue Devils look to settle into their rotation and establish roles on a young team. “Ari is the top point guard in the 11th Region, with the ability to see the floor and make tremendous passes,” Henry Clay coach Ashley Garrard said. “The sky is the limit for this one. Tremendously underrated.”

10. Kaleigh Potts, Tates Creek (5-7 So., 10.1 points): Potts finished on a high as a freshman, taking 43rd District Tournament MVP honors after leading the Commodores to their first title in three years. She scored 23 points and shot 50% from the floor in Creek’s 53-50 win over Lafayette in the finals, and is on pace to crack 1,000 points as a Commodore this season. “She isn’t afraid to do what it takes to lead the team,” Creek coach Jana Costner said.

11. Alivia Morris, Lexington Catholic (5-8 Sr., 13.2 points): Effectively a newcomer to the program, Morris was only eligible to play in LexCath’s final five games last season after transferring from Nelson County. She was the Knights’ leading scorer in two of those games, including a narrow loss to Tates Creek in the 43rd District semifinals; Morris had 25 points and 15 rebounds in that one.

OTHERS NOMINATED

Bryan Station: Akiyah Wade; Frankfort: Kendall Cook; Franklin County: Makiyia Wheeler; Lafayette: Anna Denton, Tess Nelson; Lexington Christian: Chapel Brown, Claire Roberts; Madison Central: Cameron Ridderikhoff; Madison Southern: Laci Sandlin; Model: Rylli Hunt; Paul Laurence Dunbar: Layla Flynn, Ellie Lavey; Sayre: Kathryn Kinder; Scott County: Maleyiah Moore; Tates Creek: Koko Castle, Miracle Morbley.

METHODOLOGY

The 11th Region’s 18 coaches were asked to rank the 10 best players in the 11th Region. The list reflects all the players put forth by the 13 coaches who responded to that question in the survey.

This story was originally published November 28, 2024 at 10:00 AM.