Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's top girls' basketball players heading into 2023-24

The preseason edition of the 2023-24 Dominant Dozen for girls' basketball is here as we project who the top players in the Ozarks are as we head into the season.

With a lot of roster turnover heading into the year, there will be a ton of names who aren't listed here or in our upcoming player previews. That's a part of the beauty of high school basketball as new names emerge every time the ball is tossed in the air.

Nine names from our preseason Dominant Dozen last year made the list at the end of the year.

The News-Leader is in its fourth year releasing Dominant Dozen lists for high school basketball. We also brought back our postseason All-Ozarks basketball teams last season.

2020-21 — Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best girls basketball players of the 2020-21 season

2021-22 — Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best girls basketball players of the 2021-22 season

2022-23 — Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's best girls' basketball players of the 2022-23 season

The list has a chance of being very different by the end of the year. At some point during the season, we will publish a watchlist before naming the 2023-24 Dominant Dozen once the season concludes.

Our 2023-24 preseason Dominant Dozen follows and is in alphabetical order by last name.

Brooke Daniels, Fair Grove

The only player coming off a state championship on this list, Daniels is one of two superstar juniors returning for Fair Grove heading into this season. She did a bit of everything for the Lady Eagles by averaging 10 points, five rebounds, nearly six assists and three steals as a sophomore. Daniels' presence could help the Lady Eagles repeat at the end of the year.

Grace Frazier, Diamond

Maybe the best scorer in the region, Frazier is coming off a season that saw her average 24 points per night while shooting 50% from the field. The Missouri Southern commit also had 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game as one of the best-rounded players in the region.

Jacie Gavisk, Walnut Grove

Not many put up numbers quite like Gavisk did a year ago. She averaged 16.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She developed into an all-state-level player and we should see Walnut Grove back in contention for a championship as soon as this year.

Laila Grant, Nixa

Grant is a player we expect to see take off for Nixa over the next two seasons. She's one of the area's better athletes and averaged 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. After a few Nixa graduations, Grant should be put into the spotlight as a 6-foot-2 athlete who shot 60% from the field last season.

Bre Hurd, Waynesville

Hurd is the top basketball recruit in the region as a 6-foot-1 forward bound for Virginia and former Missouri State head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. She averaged a ridiculous 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Tigers last season while knocking down 52% of her shots. She's been among the best players in the area since she stepped on the court as a five-star freshman. She's an early favorite for area Player of the Year honors.

Kya Johnson, Kickapoo

The Missouri State volleyball commit showed that she was one of the better basketball players in the area last year. She was a Next Dozen selection while being recorded as one of the great defenders in the Ozarks. She also added 10 points, five boards and three assists per game.

Allyssa Joyner, West Plains

Joyner will cap off a phenomenal career in West Plains this season trying to go a few games further after a third-place Class 5 finish last season. She averaged 16 points and seven rebounds, hitting 52% of her shots and 43% beyond the arc. She enters the season as the best player for one of the best programs in the Ozarks. Expect another all-state-level season with player-of-the-year-type possibilities once the season concludes.

Elsie Larsen, Strafford

Larsen showed that she's one of the better players in the area throughout a fantastic freshman season as the starting point guard for the proud Strafford program. She was the lone Class 3 freshman to make the all-state team while averaging 15.4 points, six rebounds, five assists and 2.4 steals per game. She's only going to get better and could be one of the best, if not the best, players in the area over the next three years.

Lauren Luebbert, Marshfield

Marshfield has reemerged as one of the great programs in the area and Luebbert has helped it get back there. She averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals per game as a junior while hitting 58% of her shots and 37% from deep.

Tara Masten, Parkview

Masten has been one of the better scorers in the area since she first started at Parkview. She's coming off a season in which she averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 steals.

Kylie Scott, Carl Junction

Scott is starting to attract some big attention heading into her senior year. She averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She'll have more opportunities to put up bigger stats following the graduation of Carl Junction star Destiny Buerge.

Ellie Smith, Walnut Grove

Smith has been on our radar since before her freshman season and she's done nothing but live up to the hype. She's a two-time all-state performer who averaged 15.9 points, 5.4 boards, 4.7 assists and 3.2 steals per game last season. She's one of the best point guards in the state and could be in contention for area player of the year honors at the end of the season.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Dominant Dozen: News-Leader preseason girls team 2023-24