Minnesota is home to the best of the best in college sports

Minnesota could not have as many 5-star recruits in quite a few highschool sports activities as bigger states like California, Florida and Texas, however nobody can query the high-end expertise coming from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

In actual fact, the argument may be made that the most effective of the most effective in school sports activities in the present day are from Minnesota. 

• Greatest wrestler? Gable Steveson
• Greatest girls’s basketball participant? Paige Bueckers
• Greatest males’s basketball participant? Chet Holmgren
• Greatest monitor & area athlete? Joseph Fahnbulleh
• Greatest girls’s swimmer? Regan Smith
• Greatest baseball participant? Drew Gilbert
• Greatest gymnast? Sunisa Lee

There is likely to be extra, however these seven standouts are all from Minnesota and amongst, if not the, most dominant athletes of their respective sport. 

Gable Steveson – Apple Valley / Minnesota

Steveson gained 4 state championships at Apple Valley and is the three-time reigning Massive Ten champion and two-time nationwide heavyweight champ with the Gophers. Had it not been for COVID wiping out the top of his sophomore season, he would possibly very properly be the three-time defending nationwide champ. Throw in his gold medal on the Tokyo Olympics and it’s extremely clear that he is the most effective wrestler, not solely in school, however in the whole world. 

Paige Bueckers – Hopkins / UConn

Bueckers was the No. 1 recruit within the nation after main Hopkins to a state championship as a senior. She dominated as a freshman on the College of Connecticut and was named the AP Participant of the 12 months. An harm restricted her as a sophomore, however she nonetheless led UConn to the Remaining 4 earlier than dropping to South Carolina within the nationwide championship recreation in Minneapolis. 

Chet Holmgren – Minnehaha Academy / Gonzaga

After successful three straight state championships with Minneapolis-based Minnehaha Academy, Holmgren was the No. 1 recruit within the nation and instantly helped information Gonzaga to the No. 1 seed within the NCAA match. The Zags fell early within the NCAA tourney, however he is now projected to be a top-three decide within the NBA Draft. 

Joseph Fahnbulleh – Hopkins / Florida

At simply 19 years previous he completed fifth on the Tokyo Olympics within the 200m dash, and he is contemporary off successful the nationwide championship in each the 100m and 200m sprints as a famous person on the College of Florida. He gained the 200m state championship in Minnesota in 2018 and 2019, and he nonetheless owns the state report within the 200. 

Sunisa Lee – South St. Paul / Auburn

After successful gold within the girls’s all-around on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Lee dominated as a freshman at Auburn, the place she captured eight All-America honors and the nationwide championship on the beam. 

Drew Gilbert – Stillwater / Tennessee

Gilbert was a left-handed beginning pitcher who threw 95 mph and led Stillwater to a state championship in 2018, when he struck out 15 batters within the title recreation. He is gone on to construct an unbelievable profession at Tennessee, although his season ended Sunday one recreation shy of reaching the Faculty World Sequence. Gilbert hit .362 with 11 homers, 21 doubles, 4 triples and 70 RBIs in 58 video games this season. He is projected by most to be a first-round decide on this summer time’s MLB Draft. D1Baseball.com ranked Gilbert the Twentieth-best school prospect on this yr’s draft. 

Regan Smith – Lakeville North / Stanford

Good luck discovering a greater school swimmer than Smith, who gained the NCAA title as a freshman within the 200 backstroke and the 800 freestyle medley. Not a foul follow-up to her 2021 Tokyo Olympics the place she gained the silver within the 200m fly, silver within the 4x100m medley relay and the bronze within the 100m backstroke. The 20-year-old owns the world report within the 200m backstroke, setting it in 2019 when she was 18.