If you’re unfamiliar with the name Nyajuacni Riak, let this be your introduction.
The sophomore girls basketball player at Madison La Follette has already collected a reported 40 college offers, including half of those before she even began her high-school career.
And she just threw down a dunk in game Feb. 13 in her team’s 83-30 win at Madison East.
I would bet a lot of money Nyajuacni Riak is the first 15-year-old girl to dunk in the history of Wisconsin HS 🏀 https://t.co/JBHILbxUK4pic.twitter.com/hMqNXHneD0
— Andrew Bandstra (@andrewbandstra) February 14, 2026
The 6-foot-2 standout, just 15 years old, is regarded among the best players in the country, ranked No. 14 on an ESPN list looking at the country’s Class of 2028.
Riak, who scored 48 points in her high-school debut at Madison East last season, has unofficially upped her scoring from 24.2 points per game as a freshman to a 28.3 points per game this year, unofficially the best in the state and just ahead of Rice Lake’s Adaline Shelpee (28.2 ppg). Riak already has 1,000 career points before her second season is complete.
Riak has La Follette on the cusp of something pretty impressive on the team front, too. At 18-4 and 14-3 in the Big Eight Conference, the Lancers head into the home stretch tied for first place with Madison Memorial. Either school would be the first Madison city school to win the Big Eight title since 2003, a staggering stretch of time dominated primarily by Middleton and Janesville Craig, with Sun Prairie East and Verona enjoying recent success, too.
Andrew Bandstra, the sports director at WISC News 3 in Madison, recently profiled Riak, noting that coach Will Green said she’d been dunking in practice and it was only a matter of time before she found an opportunity in a game.
La Follette will play Middleton in the regular-season finale Feb. 19, followed by its Division 1 playoff opener Feb. 27 against Kettle Moraine. The Lancers are the No. 6 seed in a tough sectional.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nyajuacni Riak, a Madison La Follette sophomore, dunks in game
