vballrecruiter.com’s first season of high school coverage had us witnessing a dominant run by Cathedral Catholic of California, which dropped just one set in going undefeated and landing in the top spot of our final National HS Top 50 Rankings. It doesn’t get any easier or more straight-forward when it comes to anointing the mythical national champion than it did with Cathedral Catholic this fall.
If only our postseason awards were as easy! We are in holiday season which also means we are in award season for our national players of the year. Over the next few weeks we’ll be selecting and naming our Player of the Year for the senior, junior, sophomore and freshman classes.
First, let’s take a look at the process and what you can expect. We begin this week by naming our Player of the Year candidates, starting with the senior class Tuesday, juniors Wednesday, sophomores Thursday and freshmen Friday. The list is senior-heavy, as seniors typically are the ones leading their respective teams. For example, we have roughly 120 seniors listed below compared to roughly 40 freshmen who will be named.
The next step after announcing our candidates is to narrow the list to our Player of the Year finalists, beginning next week in which we’ll have more depth on each player and why they are a finalist. From there, we will name and award the Player of the Year for each class.
I’ve been handing out awards in some capacity for nearly 20 years. There is always a cutoff point and therefore there is always excitement and disappointment depending which side of that cutoff a player is on. This is a relative selective list that is of course subjective. There’s no way to make a list like this all-inclusive and we acknowledge that in a country as large as ours there are so many talented players who fly under the radar and may never receive press.
At the same time, we set forth to honor those we feel qualify for Player of the Year candidates.
Again, making a list like this is subjective. Here’s what we are ultimately looking for in our Player of the Year winners. It involves looking at three parts – the athlete, their impact on their team and the team’s overall success.
In terms of team success, it’s relative but we are looking for a deep run in the state playoffs. Take Highland Park of Texas for example. The Scots had a tremendous regular season – including beating eventual 6A champion Dripping Springs in the finale – but was upset by Guyer in the regional quarterfinals. By our definition that meant Highland Park didn’t make a deep enough run and as a result a player like senior outside Sydney Breon – who could have been a Player of the Year candidate – is not featured.
As for the impact an athlete had on their team, for a top player like Chloe Chicoine of McCutcheon (Indiana) it is quite obvious. She had an enormous impact and it’s just as obvious the Mavericks would not have had the season they did without her. This holds true of most all the top talented players like Chicoine. It’s much different to gauge with someone like Kyndal Stowers of Guyer. She missed more than half the season with injury but clearly her presence made a difference in the upset of Highland Park. Still, Stowers played less than half her team’s sets this fall and therefore she also won’t be featured below.
Then there’s the matter of the player, which we gave a few examples of above. Both Chicoine and Stowers are top-tier, 5-star players and that alone would have them in consideration if we looked at nothing else. But add the other two factors and you can see how a player like Chicoine is on the list and Stowers is not. The list, however, is not reserved just for players of that caliber. We took into consideration lower divisions and levels as well.
Finally, we present our Senior Player of the Year Candidates.
Aaliyah Mitchell SR OH Sun Valley NC
Abby Reck SR OH Northville MI
Abby Wachal SR OH Lincoln Lutheran NE
Abigail Lagemann SR OH Benton AR
Addison Hurst SR OH Cleveland TN
Alanna Bankston SR OH Millard West NE
Alexa Gobel SR OH Lincoln Southwest NE
Alexis Massey SR S/RS Las Cruces NM
Allie Hazelwood SR S Madison Central MS
Ally Cavanaugh SR OH Bishop Kenny FL
***
Amaya Hall SR S Sun Valley NC
Amber Keen SR MB Reno NV
Anna Claire Froehlich SR OH St. Thomas More LA
Anna Grace Sparks SR OH McGill-Toolen AL
Ashley Reynolds SR S Venice FL
Ashley Sturzoiu SR OH Buford GA
Ava Blascziek SR S Lakeville North MN
Ava Hoying SR OH Bishop Watterson OH
Ava Jackson SR OH Dunbar KY
Ava Sarafa SR S Marian MI
***
Avah Armour SR OH Rampart CO
Avery Burks SR OH Perry AZ
Avery Hobson SR OH HSE IN
Avery Van Hook SR S Marion IO
Betsy Goodenow SR RS Aquinas KS
Bre Mahoney SR OH Aiken SC
Brielle Kemavor SR MB Colgan VA
Brooke Bultema SR MB Ursuline Academy OH
Brooke Green SR MB Clearwater Central Catholic FL
Brooke Rockwell SR OH Fayetteville AR
***
Brooke Stephens SR OH Hagerty FL
Brooklyn DeLeye SR OH Washburn Rural KS
Caitlyn Little SR OH Lafayette MO
Calli Tanielu SR OH Westminster Christian AL
Camryn Chatellier SR OH Dominican LA
Camryn Wise SR OH Wapahani IN
Caroline Jurevicius SR OH Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin OH
Cassidy Hartman SR OH Iowa City Liberty IO
Chloe Chicoine SR OH McCutcheon IN
Cindy Tchouangwa SR OH Tompkins TX
***
Claire Dewine SR S/RS The Woodlands TX
Claire Little SR OH Vista Murrieta CA
Destiny Ndam-Simpson SR OH Omaha Westside NE
Drew Wright SR OH Mira Costa CA
Ella Sanders SR OH La Cueva NM
Ella Swindle SR S Rock Bridge MO
Ellie Schneider SR MB Metairie Park Country Day LA
Elsa Snipes SR OH Archie Williams
Emilee Hill S Yorktown IN
Emma Fairchild SR OH Westminster Christian MO
***
Emma Sanders SR OH Wando SC
Erin McNair SR OH Valor Christian CO
Eryn Jones SR OH Millennium AZ
Grace Heaney SR RS Elkhorn North NE
Grace Mitchener SR OH NRCA NC
Grace Purichia SR S Providence IN
Hailey Brockway SR OH Graham-Kapwsin WA
Halle Schroder SR OH Reedy TX
Halle Vice SR OH Pleasant Valley IO
Harper Murray SR OH Skyline MI
***
Havanah Hoeft SR S St. Francis CA
Hayley Hillman SR MB Teurlings Catholic LA
Ireland McNees SR OH Mountain Ridge UT
Jalyn Stout SR S/RS Santa Fe FL
Jalynn Brown SR OH New Smyrna Beach FL
Jessica Horwath SR OH Barrington IL
Jordyn Byrd SR OH Cardinal Mooney FL
Jordyn Harvey SR OH Bountiful UT
Joya Screen SR OH North Gwinnett GA
Julia Blyashov SR OH Cathedral Catholic CA
***
Jurnee Robinson SR OH Mauldin SC
Kait Wood SR MB Sheldon OR
Kalia Kohler SR S Lone Peak UT
Kate Goudreau SR OH St. Charles East IL
Katia Nikolic SR OH Lake Central IN
Kendal Murphy SR OH Horizon AZ
Kenna Wollard SR OH Illinois Valley Center IL
Kennedy Phelan SR S Fayetteville AR
Kierstyn Barton SR OH Corona del Sol AZ
Kinley Kerbs SR S Madison ID
***
Kirsten Krammer SR OH Benet Academy IL
Kitty Sandt SR S Nazareth Academy IL
Lauren Yacobucci SR S Magnificat OH
Lexi Yoza SR S Notre Dame Prep AZ
Lily Dykstra SR OH Urbandale IO
Lindsay Walch SO MB Jensen Beach FL
Lindsey Green SR S Ursuline Academy OH
Lucy Perez SR OH Mountain View UT
Mackenzie Plante SR OH Dripping Springs TX
Madelyn Onan SR OH Edmond Memorial OK
***
Madelyn Peterson SR OH New Smyrna Beach FL
Mak Carter SR MB Viera FL
Makayla Page SR OH Mt. Carmel LA
Maya Imoto-Eakin SR S ‘Iolani HI
Mia Tuman SR S North Allegheny PA
Milan Rex SR OH Alexandria City VA
Morgan Burke SR OH Skutt Catholic NE
Nayeli Gonzalez SR MB Cornerstone Christian TX
Neomi Beach SR OH Hamilton AZ
Olivia Babcock SR RS Sierra Canyon CA
***
Paige May Giehtbrock SR OH Clarkston MI
Payton Woods SR OH Lake Creek TX
Reagan Fox SR OH St. Teresa’s Academy MO
Reagan McGee SR OH Norfolk Academy VA
Riley Roberts SR S/OH Norman North OK
Saren Rogers SR OH Victory Christian CA
Stella Adeyemi SR OH Papillion-LaVista South NE
Stella Winterfeld SR OH Western Christian IO
Sydney Bryant SR OH Flint Hill VA
Sydney Dunning SR OH Lamar CO
***
Sydney Mitchell SR OH Gulfport MS
Sydney Nolan SR OH Notre Dame Academy KY
Taliah Lee Sr OH Timpview UT
Tatum Lane SR S Palos Verdes CA
Taylor Polivka SR S Keller TX
Tess Fuqua SR OH Centennial NM
Torrey Stafford SR OH Marymount CA
Whitney Woodrow SR S Assumption KY
