Thirty-two teams full of talented players filled Williams Arena and Target Center for five days for the 2026 boys basketball state tournament, but five players stood out above the rest.

Dothan Ijadmibola

Totino-Grace senior guard

Idjadmibola, a 6-foot-6 forward committed to Drake, had played big minutes in the Eagles’ 2024 Class 3A championship win as a sophomore. After falling in the state quarterfinals last season to eventual champion Alexandria, Ijadmibola and Totino-Grace were intent on getting back to the top of Class 3A by winning the program’s fourth title in five years.

Ijadmibola posted double-doubles in both the Eagles’ quarterfinal victory over Minneapolis South (22 points, 11 rebounds) and in the 72-70 championship victory over DeLaSalle (13 points, 10 rebounds). He had a game-high four steals, plus a block, in the semifinals vs. Northfield.

“Obviously, there’s a standard here [at Totino-Grace], and for me to go out on that standard, it means a lot to me,” Ijadmibola said. “Couldn’t have done it without these guys and the rest of guys in the locker room. This team meant so much to me this whole entire year.”

Jamin Metzger

Hills-Beaver Creek senior forward

The 6-5, 210-pound Division II Sioux Falls football signee proved that he was one of the best players on high school’s biggest stage for football and basketball.

Metzger led the Patriots to the Nine-Player football title vs. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy as a quarterback. He didn’t miss a beat on the hardcourt as HBC’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, which helped the program reached its first ever state tournament.

In three state tourney games, Metzger averaged nearly 19 points and 11 rebounds, highlighted by his 22-point, 13-rebound performance in their 64-33 victory against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in the Class 1A championship Saturday, March 28.

“We knew we had the experience coming back,” Metzger said. “We just kind of had to put all the pieces together. Last year we came up short in the section championship. This year was our year.”

Kellen Troup

Minnehaha Academy junior forward

If Troup were a few inches taller, he might have been mistaken for Chet Holmgren out there in Minnehaha Academy’s 81-69 Class 2A victory against Goodhue at the Barn. Wink. Wink.

The bouncy 6-7 junior scored 20 of his team-high 24 points in the second half, including 4-for-4 from three-point range. Troup hadn’t hit a three-pointer (0-for-5 in first two games) in the tourney until that moment.

The Redhawks used a game-changing 10-1 run to stretch their lead to 12 points in the second half after back-to-back threes from Troup, who also finished 10-for-15 from the field and with nine rebounds.

In three tournament games, Troup averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds, but what his teammates remembered most were his rim-rattling dunks, especially during Minnehaha Academy’s rally to put away Goodhue in the title game.

“Not just us on the floor, but everybody in the gym kind of felt that dunk and it made everyone stand up and go crazy,” said junior Ayden Green, who had 20 points Saturday. “At that point, we realized that it was that time and we needed to just keep going.”

Trey Parker

Apple Valley senior guard

Apple Valley coach David Collier knew he had something special when he convinced Trey Parker and Camare’ Young to stick around all four years at his program.

That might sound funny talking about high school players, but college basketball isn’t the only transfer portal. Parker and Young both shined in the Eagles’ run to the program’s first title game since 2018.

But the 6-2 Parker was scorching hot from three-point range in the state tournament. He shot 8-for-16 from three-point range combined in wins vs. Wayzata and Maple Grove in the first two games.

In Saturday’s Class 4A final against Chaska, Parker finished with a game-high 33 points, which included six three-pointers.

“I would just say, trust the process,” Parker said. “It’s not always going to be all good things. It’s going to be a lot of adversity throughout the way, but stay the course and stick together. Believe in yourself and believe in the team and good things will always come.”

Kalin Jochum

Chaska junior forward

You could really pick between several of Chaska’s starters to make this list, including Tyler Forest, Jed Keenan and Chase Maetzold. They had their moments in the title run.

Kalin Jochum flew under the radar, though, until a free throw shooting clinic iced a too-close-for-comfort game down the stretch in Saturday’s Class 4A championship.

Jochum went 8-for-8 from the foul line, all in the second half Saturday. His biggest two shots were first from the charity stripe when Trey Parker nailed a jumper to get the Eagles within 57-55 with 90 seconds remaining.

The 6-3 junior forward eventually sealed the game with six straight free throws, including the last ones to make it 63-55 with 26.2 seconds left. He finished tied with a team-best 12 points and added four assists.

Jochum, the team’s second-leading scorer this season, also tied for a team-best 17 points in Chaska’s victory over No. 1 Tartan in the tournament semifinals.

“At the end of the year in sections, I knocked them down,” Jochum said of the foul shots. “We do a little game in practice called free throw golf. So if you swish it, you get minus one. If you make it, you’re even. And if you miss it, you got a bogey. So I just think of that and think, ‘make it’.”