Kankakee Valley sophomore Camry Krueger has come a long way since last season.

The 5-foot-6 guard recalls being intimidated by older, bigger and stronger girls as a freshman.

“I was definitely scared and nervous because I was playing against a bunch of juniors and seniors who were like a foot taller than me,” Krueger said. “But I just had to go out there and try my best no matter who I was playing and accept that I was not as big as them and give it my all.”

With that mindset, Krueger has become the leading scorer for Kankakee Valley (20-4), whose turnaround reflects her emergence. She has averaged a team-high 12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and a team-high 3.0 steals as the Kougars, who had a losing record last season, won the Northwest Crossroads Conference title and their first sectional title since 2021.

According to Kankakee Valley coach Dave Walstra, Krueger’s leap forward after committing 5.0 turnovers per game last season comes down to one thing.

“Confidence,” he said. “When she started out as a freshman, she was going against seniors. She would get trapped by 6-foot, 6-foot-1 guards, and she’s, what, all of 5-foot-6.

“She’s still not real tall, but her confidence — she knows she can go right up against them and not back down — is the biggest thing she’s really grown with.”

Krueger is quick to credit her teammates.

“I’m more confident, and I have more experience than I had last year, so that’s really helped,” she said. “But I have my other teammates, who also have more experience from last year, to help with that too.”

Kankakee Valley’s Camry Krueger, left, listens to coach David Walstra during the Class 3A Kankakee Valley Sectional championship game against Hanover Central in Wheatfield on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Krueger and Kankakee Valley sophomore guard Jenna Walker have known each other since preschool and have played together since elementary school. Walker said they can almost anticipate each other’s decisions.

“We know how each other plays,” Walker said. “So we know what to expect from one another. And outside of basketball, we’re really good friends, and that helps us bring good chemistry onto the court.”

That makes the Kougars, who will play Fairfield (19-6) in a Class 3A Winamac Regional game at 3 p.m. Saturday, hungry for a good postseason run.

“We want to win regionals pretty badly,” Krueger said, “because we won sectionals, and that’s hard to do. So we want to go as far as we can, and if we win regionals, get to semistate and just see how far we can get as a team.”

Walstra is cautiously optimistic that Krueger and her teammates can extend the season a little further.

“You’ve got to win one game,” Walstra said. “Regionals is one game, and it’s tough. No games from here on out are going to be easy, and they’ve just got to prepare. You know, we’re trying to prepare them the best we can.

“At the end of the day, they’ve got to go in, make plays and hit shots. If we do that, we can give ourselves a pretty good shot at winning that regional.”

Kankakee Valley’s Camry Krueger (13) guards Hanover Central’s Simone Parker during the Class 3A Kankakee Valley Sectional championship game in Wheatfield on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Win or lose, Walstra believes Krueger’s trajectory is clear.

“She could be one of the top guards that has come through KV,” Walstra said. “We’ve had a lot of good guards come through, but she still has two more years to work on achieving that, and she’ll put the time in.”

Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/kankakee-valley-high-school-basketball-camry-krueger/