File photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Morgan Mathiowetz (3) was unanimously named the All-Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season.

SLEEPY EYE — After coming up short in the Class A State Girls Basketball Tournament last season, Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Morgan Mathiowetz worked to make sure she got her chance to get to that stage once more.

Mathiowetz was one of the top players in Class A this year, and one would be hard pressed to find a player with a more impressive statistical season. Mathiowetz averaged 33.8 points, 7 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 6.2 steals per game and totaled 1,115 points this season, sixth-most all time in a single season in the history of Minnesota girls basketball. Mathiowetz and the St. Mary’s Knights earned that trip back to state, and Mathiowetz scored exactly 100 points over the course of that tournament, including a 41-point performance against Mayer Lutheran in the opening round.

The Knights made it to their first-ever state championship, where they defeated Mountain Iron-Buhl to earn the program’s first state title, completing the greatest season in St. Mary’s girls basketball history.

“It was amazing,” Mathiowetz said. “Everything about it was surreal and I’m blessed to be in that position and to play in the state tournament. Before that game, we said, ‘We’ve made history already being in the championship, and we’re just going to go out and play, play together and stick together, and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Regardless of the score at the end, we had a great season already.’ But we just came out so strong, and you could tell we were playing for each other and we were leaving everything on the court for each other.

“Our love for each other and support for each other shows on and off the court, so I think that was really cool. I think we played our best basketball game as a team of the year, and that’s exactly the game you want to save it for. I think it was a really cool experience, and just knowing that a dream like that can happen to somebody at such a small school, it can always happen to anyone. So just trying to inspire the little girls out there watching it, that if they have those dreams and they continue to work hard, things are going to go their way.”

Not only did St. Mary’s capture its first-ever state championship, but it also won a school-record 32 games this year in what will go down as the greatest season for the team to date.

“It just really shows that we show up and work every day at practice and our willingness to get better,” Mathiowetz said. “We could just say that we don’t need to work hard in practice because we’ve already won so many games or things like that, but nobody says that and we show up every day. Practices are as intense as games, and I think that shows what we have around here. We showed that at the state tournament that we’re not only some of the best players in our area, but we’re the best team in the state. I think it was really cool that we were able to back up our season and prove to people that a small school can do those things and bring awareness to our area.”

Mathiowetz earned her second Tomahawk Division Player of the year, her second All-State selection, and her section Class A All-Tournament nod this year. For her achievements, her play, and her team success, Morgan Mathiowetz has been unanimously named as the All-Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, as voted on by The Journal’s sports staff.

“It’s super special,” Mathiowetz said. “Obviously this season was one for the history books. Just looking back and reflecting on it, it was a dream come true. Not a lot of people get to experience being a state champion, so I think just taking a step back and looking at all the hard work we put in as a team and myself individually to get where we are. Nobody can take that away from us anymore. We had such a special season.”

Mathiowetz said that the experience she gained at the state tournament helped her and the team take that extra step this season to becoming state champions.

“Last year was all of our first time getting to the state tournament, and there was a lot of nerves, especially for me,” she said. “Nervous going into the game, not knowing what to expect. This year, after we reached the state tournament and won the section final, I was like, ‘Whatever’s going to happen at state is going to happen. Just going to leave it all on the court, and after that, look back and appreciate that we got there.’ But obviously this year, we did better than we did last year. I think just knowing that it took a lot of hard work and diligence to get to where we got.

“I think just for me over the summer, I changed AAU programs and I got better at the little details that I continue to improve on, which added up in the end to be a lot. We saw team success and individual success as well.”

Mathiowetz said a lot of her improvement this season came in knowing how to react when a defense keyed in on slowing her down.

“Last year, having the great season we had and the success, I knew that teams were going to expect that from me and try to do what they can to shut it down,” she said. “Just being more creative in the ways that I can score and create for my teammates and try to get everyone involved, because it’s a lot harder to stop all five of us then maybe one or two.

“That was a big thing for us. Obviously Olivia [Schieffert] had a great year this year and she got a lot better over the summer, so trying to get everyone involved in that. Putting my head down and working throughout the summer, staying hungry and trying to get after the goals that I want to accomplish.”

For every citizen of Sleepy Eye, Mathiowetz has scored a point, as she now sits at 3,628 career points, 10th-most in the history of girls basketball in Minnesota. Mathiowetz said that being among the top scorers in state history continues to motivate her.

“It’s a cool thing to look back at and look up to,” she said. “There’s been a lot of amazing players before me that set the standard there, so just being inspired and motivated by that. Seeing a lot of other people have success — obviously, Maddyn Greenway is the number one scorer in Minnesota, and how she goes out and competes and has five championships is really inspiring and really cool that she’s been able to do that, especially with all the attention she’s gotten. Just looking at people like that and all the work that they put in, it shows that your dream is never too big and you can accomplish it if you work hard and continue to put your head down and work at it.”

Mathiowetz and the rest of the Knights have their eyes set on another state championship next season, but the junior knows that they will have to earn it all over again for her senior year.

“Just knowing that nothing is guaranteed,” she said. “Especially with last year and this year, our section final games were 2- or 3-point games, so knowing that nothing is ever guaranteed and you have to show up for every day and you have to show up and compete every time out step on the court. We’re definitely not going to be guaranteed back to that state title, so if we want it, we have to go prove it and we have to go work for it.

“Just keeping our heads down and staying humble throughout the year and staying hungry, because you can never be satisfied with what you have, there’s always more that you can achieve. And I think knowing for me, I have one more season left at St. Mary’s, and just really grateful for my time with them so far, but I want to go out my senior season with stuff to be proud about and give it my all. I’m looking forward to that.”