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Aurora Central Catholic
Coach: LeVada Smith
Last season: 23-9 (5-1 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, White division)
Top returners: Sofia Corral, senior, guard; Riley Cwinski, senior, forward; Grace Grunloh, junior, guard; Brooklyn Murphy, senior, guard; Ella Oester, junior, guard
Top newcomers: Sofia Orozco, sophomore, guard/forward; Ashley Watter, junior, forward
Worth noting: The Chargers are coming off back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time in program history and were second to St. Francis in the GCAC White division. The roster is filled with three- and four-year varsity starters, including Corral, a New York University commit, and Cwinski, a University of St. Francis commit. The Chargers lost a key starter to graduation in Anna-Marie Godin, but Smith is confident the team will be as good as it chooses to be during the season they are dubbing “The Last Ride.”
Aurora Christian
Coach: Tori Henning
Last season: 0-1
Top returners: Maddy Quan, senior, guard; Makenzie Jensen, junior, guard; Anna Beaumont, sophomore, forward
Top newcomers: Jada Vizcaya, freshman, guard; Evelyn Klimek, freshman, forward; Cait Taylor, sophomore, center
Worth noting: The Eagles will be playing at the varsity level for the first time since 2021.
Batavia
Coach: Kevin Jensen
Last season: 29-6 (13-1 DuKane Conference)
Top returners: Julia Arulandu, senior, guard; Natalie Warner, senior, guard; Hallie Crane, senior, forward; Kaidyn King, senior, guard
Top newcomers: Riley Bainter, senior, forward; Payton Haslett, junior, guard; Eva Holzl, junior, guard; Sam Jansey, junior, guard; Ali Thomas, junior, forward
Worth noting: Batavia is coming off one of its best seasons in program history. The Bulldogs won the DuKane Conference, secured their third straight regional title and won a sectional championship for the first time. Batavia lost some key pieces to graduation, including 2023-24 Kane County Chronicle Girls Basketball Player of the Year Brooke Carlson. Returners include Crane, who finished top three on the team in points per game, shooting percentage and rebounds a season ago. Jensen knows filling voids will be tough, especially replacing Carlson, but he’s expecting one of his returners to step up in a leading role to help the Bulldogs get back to where they went last season.
Burlington Central
Coach: Mike Carani
Last season: 15-16 (10-8 Fox Valley Conference)
Top returners: Audrey LaFleur, sophomore, guard; Ashley Waslo, junior, guard; Jordyn Charles, junior, guard
Top newcomers: Ali Kowall, junior, guard; Lauren Meyer, junior, forward; Julia Scheuer, sophomore, forward; Kelsey Covey, sophomore, guard; Ainsley Wilson, sophomore, center
Worth noting: After losing seven seniors to graduation, including leading scorers Emma Payton and Emersyn Fry, Burlington Central comes in as a very young and athletic team. While there may be some growing pains, especially against some of the more experienced teams in the Fox Valley Conference, Carani is excited to see the group develop into a cohesive unit throughout the season.
Geneva
Coach: Sarah Meadows
Last season: 23-8 (12-2 DuKane Conference)
Top returners: Peri Sweeney, senior, guard; Gabby Webb, senior, guard; Keria McCann, junior, guard
Top newcomer: Bridget Hecker, senior, center
Worth noting: After a second-place finish in the DuKane Conference and a trip to the sectional finals last season, Geneva heads into the season with a bit of a different look. The Vikings lost two seniors to graduation – leading scorer Leah Palmer and defensive specialist Caroline Madden. Meadows said the girls are ready to play hard and aggressive in the DuKane Conference once again this season.
Kaneland
Coach: Brian Claesson
Last season: 25-10 (8-2 Interstate 8 Conference)
Top returners: Kendra Brown, senior, guard; Sam Kerry, senior, guard/forward; Charlotte Krage, senior, forward; Kyra Lilly, junior, guard; Amani Meeks, sophomore, guard
Top newcomer: Grace Brunscheen, freshman, guard
Worth noting: While the loss of Lexi Schueler is a big blow, Kaneland still is coming into the season with confidence after making an appearance in the sectional championship game a season ago. Claesson expects Brown, Kerry and Krage to be important leaders for the Knights. Brown led the Knights with 13.9 points per game last season on her way to being a special mention All-Stater. Claesson is confident Kaneland can make a run at the Interstate 8 Conference title after finishing second last season, but he also knows there might be some early struggles because the team is young.
Rosary
Coach: John Rutter
Last season: 9-22 (0-7 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, White division)
Top returners: Maddie Stumm, senior, guard; Karyna Brol, senior, guard
Top newcomers: Clara Bello, sophomore, guard; Olivia Figueras, senior, guard; Kayla Garcia, sophomore, guard
Worth noting: The Royals come into the season as a fairly young team with Stumm and Brol being the only returners. Rosary will have four freshmen on the starting roster. Rutter expects the two seniors to step up and lead the young and inexperienced team.
St. Charles East
Coach: Katelyn Claussner
Last season: 19-13 (6-8 DuKane Conference)
Top returners: Corinne Reed, senior, guard; Sofia O’Sullivan, senior, guard; Alyse Price, senior, center; Addie Schilb, junior, guard
Top newcomers: Brooklyn Schilb, freshman; Kathlyn Bainbridge, freshman
Worth noting: St. Charles East boasts a roster filled with experienced seniors heading into the season. Expected to lead the way once again is Reed, a University of Akron commit who was top three on the team in every major category besides offensive rebounds a season ago. Claussner expects freshmen Bainbridge and Brooklyn Schlib to make an immediate impact on the team and hopefully help them improve on their fifth-place finish in the DuKane Conference last season.
St. Charles North
Coach: Mike Tomczak
Last season: 27-5 (11-3 DuKane Conference)
Top returners: Riley Barber, junior, forward; Hannah Ganser, senior, forward; Sydney Johnson, junior, guard/forward; Elle Fuhr, junior, forward; Lelanie Posada, sophomore, guard; Brianna Buono, junior, guard
Top newcomers: Bronwyn How, sophomore, forward; Ella Heimbuch, sophomore, guard; Kaelie Tomalak, sophomore, guard; Keira Connolly, sophomore, guard
Worth noting: After graduating a big senior class last season that included Reagan Sipla and Laney Stark, St. Charles North will be bringing in a young group. Tomczak feels the group already has gotten extremely close very quickly thanks to some of the role players from last season stepping into leadership roles. He hopes the North Stars can play complementary, unselfish basketball and be competitive again for the DuKane Conference title.
St. Francis
Coach: Jeff Gerdeman
Last season: 17-16 (6-0 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, White division)
Top returners: Riley Austin, senior, forward; Téa Rubino, senior, guard/forward; Arianna Naples, senior, guard; Marianna Golden, senior, forward; Mia Quaranta, junior, guard; Ashley Powell, junior, guard/forward
Top newcomers: Agata Romero, junior; Shania Smith, junior; Hannah Grivetti, sophomore; Alyssa Freeman, freshman; Talia Engesser, freshman
Worth noting: St. Francis comes into the season not fully knowing what to expect. Austin (12.3 points per game in 2023-24) and Rubino (8.7 ppg) return after leading the team in scoring a season ago. The Spartans lost their three other starters, including four-year starter Dolly Smith, as well as their sixth man to graduation. Gerdeman said with Naples, Quaranta and Powell moving into starting roles and having a group of fearless underclassmen, he’s cautiously optimistic about what the Spartans can pull off this season.
West Aurora
Coach: Teresa Waldinger
Last season: 10-19 (7-7 SouthWest Prairie conference)
Top returners: Brooklynn Johnson, senior, guard; Shaine Johnson, senior, guard/forward; Serenity Evans, senior, forward; Syncere Williams, sophomore, guard
Top newcomer: Maya Rabadan, junior, forward
Worth noting: West Aurora comes into the season small but mighty after graduating nine seniors from last season. Brooklynn Johnson returns after leading the team in scoring last season, averaging 9.7 points a game. Waldinger said she’s hoping the Blackhawks are the hardest working team on the floor and make an instant impact in their return to the Upstate Eight Conference.