Name: Anna Wypych
School/grade: Senior, Rockford High School
Passion: Basketball
Rockford — Anna Wypych’s list of high-school basketball achievements is a long one, filled with shattered school records, all-conference, all-state and MVP honors. The list is so lengthy, in fact, that the Rockford senior and Rams point guard has a hard time recalling all the accolades she’s collected during her career.
But a recent addition is sure to be a standout in her memory.
In mid-March, Anna was named Miss Basketball 2025 by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, one of the highest honors in the land for high-school players. Anna is the first Rockford student — and only the third from Kent County — to receive the award since its 1981 inception.
‘Anna is the kind of player that practices every day as if it is her last. … She brings all of her teammates up to a higher level in terms of their approach.’
— Brad Wilson, girls varsity basketball coach
Despite her already impressive résumé, Anna had a hard time processing the news that she’d won.
“My mouth just, like, dropped. I was so shocked,” she said. “I was speechless. It’s a huge award and I didn’t know how to feel after getting it, but I was just super grateful and blessed.”
Anna, who’s also a 4.0 student, said the strength of Rockford’s athletics program probably helped her nab the award, but she noted that other things played a role too.
“They factored in GPA, they factored in volunteering hours,” she said. “A lot of it’s for the athletic part, but it’s also academic, and who you are as a person as well.”
Head girls varsity basketball coach Brad Wilson said Anna earned the award on the court and off.
“Anna is the kind of player that practices every day as if it is her last,” Wilson said. “She brings all of her teammates up to a higher level in terms of their approach.”
Bound for Butler University in the fall, where she’ll continue to play, Anna said she’s toying with the idea of playing professional ball after college.
After receiving the Miss Basketball award, Anna spoke to SNN about how basketball has shaped her life.
How old were you when basketball became something you wanted to pursue, and what’s the story there? “I was 4 or 5 years old, so I’ve been playing a long, long time. Obviously I got into that because of my mom and my dad.”
Anna’s mother was an assistant basketball coach at Rockford who played college ball and is in the hall of fame at Michigan Tech, where Anna’s dad played football. Her siblings also excel on the court; her older sister is currently playing at Tech and her younger sister is a freshman varsity player at Rockford.
“We’re just a big athletics family,” Anna said.
A few related accomplishments: Again, the list is long. A four-year varsity player, Anna is a three-time OK Red Division All-Conference player; two-time BCAM Best of the Best All-State; and a two-time Cornerstone MVP, to name a few of her credentials.
She also helped lead the Rams to a state title — they were runners-up this year — three conference championships, four district championships, four regional championships, and four trips to the state finals.
Anna has broken school records for career points, single game points, career assists, single game assists, career free-throws, career steals, and more.
Wilson named Anna Offensive Player of the Year during her sophomore and senior years, and she was MVP as a junior.
Is there a teacher or teachers who have had a big impact? Anna said Wilson, who taught one of her health classes, was a big inspiration.
“He talked a lot about mental health … and I think every athlete struggles with that, whether they want to admit it or not,” she said. “I thought he affected me in a really positive way of making sure that I … put myself before athletics, and making sure that I’m doing well. …
“He’s always made sure that I push myself to be the best person I can be, and he’s always believed in me.”
Anna also noted that English teacher Lisa Avram was “someone I could always go to talk to if I ever needed.”
Do you plan to pursue basketball professionally? “I definitely have thought about it. Obviously I want to make sure that I get a good degree, too, just in case that plan falls through. I even talked to my Butler coaches about it, and they definitely said it could be something I do. I think it would be a really cool opportunity for me, I just haven’t fully decided if I’d want to do that or not.”
She’s also considering going into finance, or possibly becoming a teacher.
Envision yourself 10-20 years from now: “I’ve always talked about impacting my community and the youth, so I hope that the career I leave on the court is something that impacts a lot of people and (lets them know) that if they want something, if they dream something, then they can achieve it.”
Other hobbies/interests/little-known talents: Anna said she hasn’t had much time to pursue other interests.
“A lot of my time has been committed to basketball, but I played soccer my freshman year. I had to cut that short because of a hamstring injury and I didn’t want to sacrifice my basketball career.”
She really enjoys music, though, and she’s attending a concert by Kendrick Lamar and SZA this summer in Detroit. She’ll go with her friends just before she departs for Butler.
The biggest lesson you have learned from your involvement in basketball is… “Always being a good teammate,” Anna said, adding that she also learned the value of kindness and good leadership.
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