Way to Early 2022 5A/6A School Preview

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.  In 2021 we saw: Jenks win the 6A title over Norman North Mount St. Mary’s win the 5A title over Carl Albert Victory Christian win the 4A title over Regent Prep Community Christian win the 3A title over Cascia Hall   6A- Jenks and Norman North will likely be the front runners again this season. Jenks lost only two starters from last year’s title team in Mikiah Perdue Mikiah Perdue 5'10" | MB Jenks | 2022 State OK and Megan Salyer Megan Salyer 5'5" | DS/L Jenks | 2022 State OK 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 Brynn Roberts Brynn Roberts 5'9" | S Jenks | 2023 State OK and Ellie Smith Ellie Smith 6'2" | MB Jenks | 2023 State OK , 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 Katie Kolar Katie Kolar 5'3" | S Norman North | 2023 State OK and UCO commit Riley Roberts Riley Roberts 5'10" | S Norman North | 2023 State OK coming back, you better believe they will be firing up their teammates and looking for revenge.  Teams to watch- Owasso was such a young team last year and multiple of the girls returning had great club seasons, such as Jada Bishop Jada Bishop 6'0" | OH Owasso | 2024 State OK and Kirsten Harper. If they can find a replacement for OBU commit Rylee Martin Rylee Martin 5'8" | S Owasso | 2022 State OK , they will have the hitters and passers to be dangerous. Bishop Kelley has been a perennial powerhouse for years under coach Jerri Berna. She has since stepped down and taken over the girls basketball position. Can Curry Kendall Curry Kendall 6'1" | OH Bishop Kelley | 2024 State OK and company maintain the course without their legendary leader? If so, they will continue to be in the hunt for a gold ball. 5A- I will say Mount St. Mary will be the front runner again this season. Losing Hadley Moses Hadley Moses 5'10" | OH Mount St. Mary | 2022 State OK hurts but key returners like Jane Ertl Jane Ertl 6'0" | MB Mount St. Mary | 2023 State OK and Livia Ward 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. Grace Smallwood Grace Smallwood 5'7" | OH Bishop McGuiness | 2023 State OK is an All-State caliber player and will torch a ton of 5A teams by herself.  Teams to Watch- Lawton Mac will only get better. They have a batch of young guns that are only getting more seasoned and hungry. Alayna Vines is looking deadly this club season and really deserves to be much higher in our rankings. Carl Albert is about as athletic of a school you will find in Oklahoma across all sports. They have OBU commit Emily Boyer Emily Boyer 5'11" | S Carl Albert | 2023 State OK and Madison Stuart returning and looking to get back to the title match.    I could be way off on my guesses on how 5A and 6A will look but we can’t wait to see the high school matchups and the student sections back in action for the 2022 season. We will keep covering Oklahoma teams and players throughout the summer ahead.