Way to Early 2022 5A/6A School Preview

<p>It is WAY too early to know who will be winning the gold ball this year but not too early to try and guess. With graduating classes, the possibility of changing classes for schools, and up and coming stars, there are teams that will take a step back while others make their way forward. We are looking at a few schools that will likely be fighting for the state title in 2022. </p> <p>In 2021 we saw: Jenks win the 6A title over Norman North</p> <p>Mount St. Mary’s win the 5A title over Carl Albert</p> <p>Victory Christian win the 4A title over Regent Prep</p> <p>Community Christian win the 3A title over Cascia Hall</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>6A</strong>- <em>Jenks</em> and <em>Norman North</em> will likely be the front runners again this season. Jenks lost only two starters from last year’s title team in [player_tooltip player_id="144111" first="Mikiah" last="Perdue"] and [player_tooltip player_id="144134" first="Megan" last="Salyer"] to graduation. They were both solid players and will be missed but that is a large majority of the team coming back. I’m looking at <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145981" first="Brynn" last="Roberts"]</span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145994" first="Ellie" last="Smith"]</span>, who play on the same club team this season, to connect well and be big play makers for the Trojans. I think Norman North lost a little more firepower than Jenks did, but with returning starters like West Virginia commit <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145961" first="Katie" last="Kolar"]</span> and UCO commit <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145968" first="Riley" last="Roberts"]</span> coming back, you better believe they will be firing up their teammates and looking for revenge. </p> <p><strong>Teams to watch</strong>- <em>Owasso</em> was such a young team last year and multiple of the girls returning had great club seasons, such as <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="177224" first="Jada" last="Bishop"]</span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Kirsten Harper.</span> If they can find a replacement for OBU commit <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="144125" first="Rylee" last="Martin"]</span>, they will have the hitters and passers to be dangerous. <em>Bishop Kelley</em> has been a perennial powerhouse for years under coach Jerri Berna. She has since stepped down and taken over the girls basketball position. Can <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="156860" first="Curry" last="Kendall"]</span> and company maintain the course without their legendary leader? If so, they will continue to be in the hunt for a gold ball.</p> <p><strong>5A</strong>- I will say Mount St. Mary will be the front runner again this season. Losing [player_tooltip player_id="144096" first="Hadley" last="Moses"] hurts but key returners like <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="145991" first="Jane" last="Ertl"]</span></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Livia Ward</span> will be a big reason they are still in the drivers seat. Rumor of Bishop McGuinness dropping back down to 5A would immediately put them in contention. [player_tooltip player_id="145990" first="Grace" last="Smallwood"] is an All-State caliber player and will torch a ton of 5A teams by herself. </span></p> <p><strong>Teams to Watch</strong>-<em> Lawton Mac</em> will only get better. They have a batch of young guns that are only getting more seasoned and hungry. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alayna Vines</span> is looking deadly this club season and really deserves to be much higher in our rankings. <em>Carl Albert</em> is about as athletic of a school you will find in Oklahoma across all sports. They have OBU commit <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="143130" first="Emily" last="Boyer"]</span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Madison Stuart</span> returning and looking to get back to the title match. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I could be way off on my guesses on how 5A and 6A will look but w<span style="font-size: 1rem;">e can’t wait to see the high school matchups and the student sections back in action for the 2022 season. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">We will keep covering Oklahoma teams and players throughout the summer ahead.</span></p>