2022 HS Senior POY Candidates
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