Check out Pueblo's Top 25 girls basketball players to watch this upcoming season

The 2023-24 winter season is upon us, making it the perfect time to feature the best players to watch for each of the major sports in the winter season.

Last year in girl's basketball, we saw Pueblo West make the playoffs and advance to the second round before losing to Durango. Jamie Suazo was named the South-Central League MVP while leading her team to the playoffs. She was also named as an Honorable Mention for the CHSAA All-State teams.

This year, the Cyclones look to return to the playoffs while teams like Centennial, County and East could look to cause some upsets along the way.

Here is a list of the Top 25 (plus a few extra) girl basketball players to watch for this upcoming winter season.

(Please note, the information in this article was provided by the head coaches of each team.)

More: Take a look at some of Pueblo's top girls wrestlers for the 2023 season

Pueblo County

• Zoey Stupnik, senior, forward

Zoey was third on the team in scoring and rebounding and second on the team in assists last season.

• Rylee Stupnik, sophomore, forward

Rylee was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. Both sisters are good players and bring a great inside-outside game. They are both solid defenders.

• Charli Kirkland, senior, guard

Kirkland is the team's floor general and sets the tone with their toughness on defense and running a solid point guard.

Pueblo South

• Trista Crittenden, senior, forward

Crittenden is the team's fearless leader. She’s dedicated. She has put in the time to prepare for this season. Her coac expects big things from her, and her motivation will be key. She will make a big impact overall. The hustle in her is just impressive.

• Trish Montoya, senior, guard

Montoya is one of the most adaptable players on the team. She brings great energy. Her confidence and quickness are admirable. Her ball-handling skills and ability to make decisions on the fly will be a major benefit to the team this season.

• Jaime Pearson, senior, forward

Pearson is all heart. She’s inclusive and a great teammate. Her discipline is top-notch. Her ability to transition and read the court is very impressive. She’s a powerful defender that can surely dominate in her position this year.

Pueblo East

• Myah Abeyta, sophomore, guard

Abeyta is coming off an incredible freshman year, leading her team in assists, and second in scoring. Last year she was second-team all-conference. She has put in the work this summer, playing in some of the top club basketball tournaments in the country as well as working on improving her defense and offense skills. The team is looking for her to step up and become a vocal leader.

• Samantha Alzate, sophomore, guard

Alzate is an incredibly hard worker, she is the first and last player in the gym (Gym Rat). She has spent the entire off-season working on her shooting and attacking skills. The team is looking for her to be the glue by motivating her teammates and pushing them to be the best they can be.

• Brailey Rowe, sophomore, forward

Rowe is coming off last year’s SCL All-Defense Team nomination. The team is looking for her to be their defense-stopper. She is extremely fast and can run the floor. She is a team player, putting her team first, making the extra pass, and sprinting the floor for transition points. The sky is the limit with her and her work ethic.

Pueblo Centennial

• Mariah Hogue, senior, guard

Hogue is a returning senior who ended the season strong. Look to her for some veteran leadership.

• Nina Orta, senior, guard

Orta is a returning senior; the team looks to her to handle most of the ball-handling and shooting abilities.

• Mia Imes, junior, guard

Imes is a returning junior, and her shooting abilities will help out this season.

Pueblo West

• Jamie Suazo, junior, forward

Suazo is a junior this year. She was last year’s S-CL MVP and honorable mention all-state. She broke the school record for points in a game with 39 against Central. She was the team's leading scorer at 12.3 ppg and second in rebounds at 5.9 rpg.

• Trynity Martin, senior, forward

Martin is a senior. She almost averaged a double-double, scoring 9.2 points per game and 9.4 boards per game.

• Teren Sanchez, senior, guard

Sanchez averaged 9 points per game and 2.7 assists per game. She just signed with Trinidad to play softball.

Pueblo Central

• Rosalia Martinez, junior, guard

Rosalia is very athletic and can score at all three levels and defend.

• Alliana Martinez, sophomore, guard

Alliana is a problem on defense and can score the ball.

• Emeri Whiting, senior, guard

Whiting is a senior who can have a break-out year. She is very athletic and loves to compete and is a natural athlete

Dolores Huerta Prep

• Lenae Guerra, senior, guard

A returning starter and returning scorer, Guerra has always been able to score the ball and this year will be no different. She's going to fill it up. But she’s really committed herself to the defensive end and is set to be a big two-way player.

• Kate Torres, senior, guard

A returning starter, Torres handles the ball and scores when we need it. She’ll score and record assists and she’s the team's best defender.

• Giselle Dominguez-Pina, senior, guard

First-year starter, Domingues-Pina has committed herself to her game all offseason. She’s put in tons of work and has become a reliable offensive contributor.

Swallows Charter Academy

• Faith DeRudder, senior, center

Faith is a senior leader; the team is going to look to her to help guide this young team this season.

• Bella Anaya, junior, guard/forward

Bella is the team's Swiss army knife. The coach can put her in any position on the court and trust her to go out and execute whatever the team needs her to do.

• Veronika Dziuba, sophomore, guard/forward

Veronika is coming into this season healthy, and will likely have a big impact on both sides of the basketball.

Rye

• Lacie Laca, junior, forwards

Laca is a returning starter and averaged about eight rebounds per game last year. The team is looking for increased production on both rebounding and scoring from her this year.

• Hailey George, senior, guard

George is an outstanding on-the-ball defender who is looking to make a big impact offensively as well.

• Morgan Gallegos, senior, guard

Another tough defender looking to help create more turnovers and help run the offense.

More: Here are the Top 50 wrestlers to watch for in Pueblo for the upcoming season

(additional players submitted by coaches)

Pueblo East

• Ilyne Avila, sophomore, center

• Emily Hutchings, freshman, forward

• Ava Andrada, sophomore, forward

Pueblo Centennial

• Ella Greenwood, sophomore, forward

Greenwood is only a sophomore, but the team will look to her for an inside presence and some physicality.

Pueblo West

• MaKenna McGraw, senior, guard

McGraw is a senior. She averaged 9.3 points per game and 4.3 boards per game.

• Katie Peterson, senior, guard

Peterson is also a senior and starter from last year. Her numbers aren’t impressive, but she does so many of the little things. She also signed to play soccer at CSUP.

Pueblo County

• Kyla Ruzich, senior, guard

• Shannon Kushner, senior, guard

• Shayla Kushner, senior, guard

• Rylee McCaffery, senior, forward

Rye

• Averi Velez, junior, guard.

Velez has shown a lot of improvement and is a capable defender, that can light it up offensively when she gets hot.

Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @chowebacca. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Top 25 girl basketball players to watch this upcoming season