East Marshall’s Morgan Neuroth named T-R’s Player of the Year
T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - East Marshall senior Morgan Neuroth racked up 1,340 points and 354 rebounds in her four-year career as a Mustang, capping it off with a senior year in which she averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play.
LE GRAND — Morgan Neuroth was determined from day one with East Marshall basketball.
“The first time I stepped on the court my freshman year, I knew that I was ready for the moment,” Neuroth said. “Ever since then, I felt like I’ve just wanted to be the best one on our team, and I’ve pushed myself to try and be that.”
After the final buzzer sounded on her high school basketball career, her impact at East Marshall is undisputed; she is the all-time leading scorer in East Marshall school history, a two-time all-state selection and four-time all-NICL award recipient, and the 2023-2024 Times-Republican Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Neuroth averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for East Marshall this season, accounting for over half of East Marshall’s total points as the team’s scoring leader for the fourth season in a row and her third time leading the team in rebounding.
She led the Mustangs into battle in a tough North Iowa Cedar League that produced two state tournament teams this season including four-time state champions Dike-New Hartford. East Marshall’s final record of 6-17 doesn’t tell the complete story of Neuroth’s impact on the program.
Sean Thurm, East Marshall’s third head coach in Neuroth’s tenure with the program, said he considered Neuroth a second coach and leader in the gym.
“One of the biggest things for me was learning how to be a leader,” Neuroth said, “just by doing the right things all the time and being understanding with your teammates, being positive at all times, and trying to push others to do their best as well while also making it fun for everybody.”
Playing basketball from a young age, Neuroth found inspiration in elevating her game as part of the All Iowa Attack club basketball team based out of Ames.
“I saw all these really good girls that were going to play at Division-I schools and that’s what really drove me to want to be better and prepared for high school,” Neuroth said.
Neuroth averaged 10.2 points per game as a freshman. Her scoring output was highest in her junior season, averaging 20.7 points per game.
“You just have to push yourself to be the best you can be every single day,” Neuroth said. “You have to take time outside of the season to work on your skills on your own, so you can be ready to perform when the time comes.”
She finished with 1,340 career points, breaking the school’s scoring record in a game against Grundy Center on Jan. 23, surpassing the previous record of 1,244 points from 2020 grad Olivia Terrones. She also holds the record for most career 3-pointers with 198, a record that she broke in her junior season.
“She is an incredible leader, and not just on the stat sheet,” Thurm said. “She’s always putting her team first, working to impart her knowledge of the sport on her teammates as well as the next group to fill her shoes.”
Neuroth, who was also the 2023 Times-Republican Softball Player of the Year, had a difficult decision to make when it came to thinking about her college plans.
“I had a few offers for both basketball and softball,” Neuroth said. “I could have done both, but didn’t really want to do that. I just decided that I loved the game of softball more, it’s something I’ve played my entire life like with travel softball.”
Ultimately, she landed on signing with DMACC softball. While she’s excited to join the Bears, she’s equally excited at finishing out her Mustang career on the track and softball teams.
“We’re hoping that we can get to Drake [Relays] in the shuttle hurdle and, of course, state,” Neuroth said. “And I’d like to make it in the 400 hurdles and something else as well. And our softball team should be really good this year, too. We’ve got everybody returning from last year, and hopefully we can make it to state this year as well.”
Whatever the next few months hold for Neuroth before she heads off to college, she’s cherished her time as a Mustang.
“It’s been fun and meant so much to be part of this community,” Neuroth said. “There’s so much support from everybody when my mom posts on Facebook. And it means a lot to represent the school every night performing with my teammates and making a positive impact on the younger people, knowing that they’re looking up to you and they want to be like you some day.”
2023-2024 Times-Republican All-Area Girls Basketball Teams
Player of the Year — Morgan Neuroth, sr., East Marshall
Coach of the Year — Matt Lindeman, Grundy Center
FIRST TEAM
Sia Bear, sr., Meskwaki
Bella Borgos, jr., West Marshall
Kennedy Brant, so., Gladbrook-Reinbeck
Frankie Long, fr., Marshalltown
Ellery Luhring, sr., Grundy Center
Carlie Willis, sr., Grundy Center
SECOND TEAM
Ava Breakenridge, jr., North Tama
Grace Farnsworth, so., BCLUW
Klayre Gallentine, jr., BCLUW
Jocee Mason, sr., GMG
Elly Sieh, so., Gladbrook-Reinbeck
Lily Zahnd, jr., West Marshall
THIRD TEAM
Dorothy Bear, fr., Meskwaki
Reese Dieleman, sr., GMG
Lily Dripps, jr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck
Kayla Heck, sr., South Tama
Ellie Hughes, jr., Marshalltown
Lucy Lebo, sr., Grundy Center
Former T-R All-Area Players of the Year
2022-23 — Katy Reyerson, sr., West Marshall
2021-22 — Katy Reyerson, jr., West Marshall
2020-21 — Allison Engle, jr., BCLUW
2019-20 — Olivia Terrones, sr., East Marshall
2018-19 — Jessica Musgrave, sr., South Tama County
2017-18 — Isabelle Gradwell, sr., West Marshall & Hailey Wallis, jr., Grundy Center
2016-17 — Isabelle Gradwell, jr., West Marshall
2015-16 — Katie Lindeman, sr., Grundy Center & Gabby Reyerson, sr., West Marshall
2014-15 — Shayla Dean, sr., Colo-NESCO
2013-14 — Caitlyn Riese, sr., Colo-NESCO
2012-13 — Dia Keahna, sr., Meskwaki Settlement
2011-12 — Madison Baier, sr., South Tama County
2010-11 — Madison Baier, jr., South Tama County
2009-10 — Tara Gray, jr., GMG
2008-09 — Jessica McDowell, sr., AGWSR
2007-08 — Jessica McDowell, jr., AGWSR
2006-07 — Allison Volkens, sr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck
2005-06 — Allison Volkens, jr., Gladbrook-Reinbeck
2004-05 — Chelsie Luhring, sr., Grundy Center
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- T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – East Marshall senior Morgan Neuroth racked up 1,340 points and 354 rebounds in her four-year career as a Mustang, capping it off with a senior year in which she averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play.
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