Catching up with Chloe Johnson as she closes on No. 1 ranking in the nation in 2028 girls basketball class

Duluth’s Chloe Johnson first gained notoriety on social media as a seventh-grader playing AAU basketball at the 17-under level.

Constantly striving for ways to improve since then, Johnson, now a sophomore, went from promising middle school sensation in northern Minnesota to being in the conversation for overall No. 1 prospect in the country for the 2028 class.

This summer, the 6-foot Duluth Marshall star was ranked by ESPN as the top point guard and third-best player in the country, the highest rating for a Minnesota native since former Hopkins, Connecticut and now WNBA guard Paige Bueckers was No. 1 in 2020.

“I’m super grateful for it,” Johnson said. “But I feel like that doesn’t define me and who I am as a player. I just want to keep getting better.”

Johnson’s progress pushes on when she can stick to a certain routine. That gets challenging, however, with a hectic schedule that has her traveling across the country with All Iowa Attack’s AAU program. She also competed in Team USA trials in Colorado for the U16 national team in early June.

Last weekend, Johnson played with her All Iowa Attack 17U team in its Summer Sizzle tournament in Waukee, Iowa, which included other Nike EYBL programs.

The previous week, she decided not to rest a sore ankle to play in Minnesota for the last time this summer in the North Tartan Summer Jam, the state’s premier AAU girls tournament.

“There’s a certain routine, pattern and comfort that she has to have the way she’s wired,” Johnson’s trainer and AAU coach Dyami Starks said. “[The last few weeks] were the furthest thing from simple.”

In a loaded 17U field in Shakopee on June 20-22, Johnson teamed up with Minnetonka sophomore Ari Peterson and Hill-Murray junior Mya Wilson on All Iowa Attack 16U EYBL playing up.

It was an adjustment, but Johnson embraced learning how to best distribute the ball on a team she hadn’t played for this year. She thrives in AAU on being more of a pass-first playmaker like Bueckers than a high-level scoring point guard like Iowa great and WNBA standout Caitlin Clark.

“We practice together sometimes, so I know most of the girls,” Johnson said. “But I had to figure out each of their roles and how to help them do well in the game. On my 17U team, I’m one of the point guards, but I’m also a shooter.”

At the end of the Summer Jam, All Iowa Attack 16U fell 56-55 in a thrilling third-place game against North Tartan 17U. Providence Academy senior and Kentucky recruit Maddyn Greenway was tough to stop, but Johnson’s new team appreciated playing with her.

“Chloe and I are very close,” Peterson said. “We’re not on the same team usually, so I really tried to make the most of it. She does everything well. Really good all-around player and team player. She’s always looking for her teammates.”

Johnson facing Greenway, ranked as the No. 11 player in the 2026 class by ESPN, was an unexpected treat for local fans. They both competed in USA Basketball tryouts this summer, Greenway with the 19U team.

“It was exciting,” said Johnson, who had 42 points in a loss to Greenway’s Providence Academy squad during the high school season. “I always love playing against her.”

Greenway and Gophers four-star 2026 recruit Tori Oehrlein from Crosby-Ironton are the nationally ranked girls from Minnesota’s senior class. Another Gophers recruit, Rosemount’s Amisha Ramlall, a junior guard, also played in the Summer Jam.

In Minnesota’s 2028 class, Johnson, Peterson (ranked 20th) and Lakeville North’s Sahara Wilson (23rd) are in ESPN’s top 25. Andover post Logan Miller also picked up offers from Ohio State and the Gophers after helping Minnesota Fury win the Summer Jam 15U title.

“It’s super fun,” Johnson said about the state being so deep in girls talent. “Minnesota basketball has become a big thing. It’s just fun watching and playing against a bunch of great players.”

Johnson’s jersey number in AAU and high school, No. 5, is the same as former Duluth Marshall guard Gianna Kneepkens, an All-Big 12 player who transferred from Utah to UCLA. Kneepkens also recently made the USA women’s team in the FIBA AmeriCup.

Johnson and Kneepkens train together in the offseason with Starks, who said they have the same mentality and work ethic.

“Gianna is very similar,” Starks said. “They’re both from Duluth and are small-town kids. I’ve known both since the sixth grade. They could be in the gym for six hours a day and have the time of their lives. Chloe will keep getting better. She has several more levels to get to.”

In only her second varsity season last year, Johnson was already a walking bucket. She averaged 28.9 points per game as a freshman, surpassed 2,000 career points and now has more than 30 scholarship offers, including the Gophers and teams from every power conference.

Having a “pro mindset” helped Johnson compete at age 12 with high school seniors on the AAU circuit, but her game keeps evolving.

“The thing that people always talked about with her is basketball IQ,” Duluth Marshall coach C.J. Osuchukwu said. “Now she creates separation and shoots with range. She lifts and takes care of her body. As she gets stronger, the game gets even easier.”