College-level basketball talent abundant in Minnesota’s Class of 2027

The transition of a high school freshman playing sparingly on varsity to emerging as a go-to performer can take time.

It doesn’t always happen, but several sophomores across Minnesota have made significant strides this season, and the byproduct has become more wins for their high school boys basketball teams.

At the very top are players with Division I basketball offers, including from the Gophers. Combined with under-the-radar prospects that have impressive size, length and athleticism, Minnesota’s class of 2027 is arguably the deepest in the state with college-level talent.

High school sophomores can’t make official visits and aren’t allowed to receive calls, emails, texts or social media messages from college coaches until mid-June after this season.

Here’s a top-10 performer list of the 2027 class in Minnesota:

No sophomore raised his recruiting profile more than Schlagel, who already has offers from the Gophers, Iowa and Wisconsin. He also has interest from several other high majors, including Iowa State, Indiana and Purdue. The 6-7 wing is leading the Raiders with 18 points per game. With Notre Dame recruit and senior center Tommy Ahneman nursing an injury, Schlagel and Joe Mitchell III combined for 40 points to escape Stillwater on Tuesday.

Ann, at 6-5, might have the most potential of any guard in his class. He possesses the combination of clutch shot making ability and explosive leaping ability to posterize defenders. He has offers from the Gophers and Arizona State. He’s also received interest from Iowa State and St. Thomas.

Nur, at 6-9, has been the top three-point shooter (57% through 14 games) on a loaded Hopkins team that includes standout guards Jayden Moore and Anthony Smith. His breakout performances so far are 25 points against Waconia and 26 points against Eden Prairie. He also has an offer from Arizona State.

A tremendous wingspan and the mobility of a guard make Mohamed, at 6-10, one of the most intriguing prospects in the state — regardless of class. He averaged roughly 14 points through nine games before missing games due to injury, but D-I college coaches are still keeping tabs on him.

In a state known for producing point guards, Hill is making a case to be the best floor leader in Minnesota’s 2027 class. He’s averaging 14 points for Totino-Grace, but also distributes the ball to four-star recruit junior Dothan Ijadimbola and Wofford recruit Chace Watley.

Scoring is Udean’s specialty. The DeLaSalle guard led his team with nearly 19 points per game through Thursday. In a matchup of top sophomore guards this year, he outscored Ann 22-13 in a win against Maple Grove. He opened the season with a 36-point game against California’s Oakland Tech.

Thelen is from Monticello, the same town that produced ex-Gophers and NBA center Joel Przybilla, Thelen, but plays for St. Michael-Albertville. At 7-feet, there were some growing pains as a freshman, literally. A 31-point performance against Sauk Rapids-Rice this year showed how far he’s come as an inside scoring threat.

One of the surprise teams in Class 4A this year, the Storm received a boost from their gifted 6-5 sophomore. Cook, who moved to Minnesota from Arizona as a freshman, finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds against Detroit Lakes and had 26 points and 11 rebounds against Alexandria this season.

What he lacks in size, Silikpoh (5-10) makes up for with speed, toughness and shot-making prowess. Silikpoh mostly plays the sidekick role to standout senior Tyler Wagner, but his 42 points against Blaine was an eye-opening performance in mid-December.

Two years after the Ponies produced all-state guard Max Shikenjanski, Taban, at 6-6, seems to be taking on a similar role as the team’s leading scorer. His top-scoring games this season include 31 points against Irondale and 25 points in a narrow loss Tuesday against Cretin Derham-Hall, the top-ranked team in the Star Tribune’s Top 25.