November 30, 2022

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, sophomore Thursday and freshmen Friday. 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 was 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. That meant Highland Park didn’t make a deep run in the state playoffs 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) 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 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 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 wasn’t featured. 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. But add the other two factors and you can see how a player like Chicoine is on the list and Stowers is not. An example specific to the junior class is with 5-star Nebraska recruit Skyler Pierce. We all know her amazing talents but Olathe Northwest did not make the final eight of the state playoffs for Kansas and thus she is not part of the Player of the Year Candidates below. Finally, we present our Junior Player of the Year Candidates. Abigail Paulson JR OH Coronado NV Addie Waller JR S Rock Canyon CO Alayna Pierce JR OH Genoa-Kingston IL Alex Acevedo JR OH Skyview ID Alex Bower JR S Skyview ID Allie Shondell JR S McCutcheon IN Aly Cox JR OH Timberline ID Alyssa Nelson JR S Lafayette MO Amanda Saeger JR S Cathedral Catholic CA Aubrey Goodere JR MB Estrella Foothills AZ *** Aubrey Hatch JR OH Colgan VA Avery Scoggins JR S Middle Creek NC Bella Faria JR OH Kickapoo MO Carlie Cisneros JR OH Liberty North MO Carly O’Brien JR OH Dorman SC Charlie Fuerbringer JR S Mira Costa CA Charlotte Moriarty JR OH Assumption KY Clara Gyomory JR OH North Branch MI Delaney Bub JR OH Eagle ID Delaney Gash JR OH Dunbar KY *** Delaney Lawson JR OH Bellmont IN Ella Demetrician JR OH Appleton North WI Ellie White JR OH Mother McAuley IL Emerson Deferme JR OH Grandview CO Emily Pruitt JR OH Sunrise Mountain AZ Emma Levingston JR OH Brandon MS Evan Hendrix JR OH Notre Dame Prep AZ Fallon Stewart JR OH Winter Park FL Grace Agolli JR S/OH Pace Academy GA *** Hannah Parant JR S Mountain Brook AL Izzy Starck JR S/RS Rampart CO Izzy Swiercz JR OH Hudsonville MI Jadyn Livings JR OH Prestonwood Christian TX Jordan Smart JR S Reagan NC Jordan Vander Veen JR OH Ripon Christian CA Julia Bohlinger JR OH Windsor CO Kate Schneeberg JR S Bishop Kelley OK Kayla Robertson JR OH St. Dominic MO Kenslee McGowan JR S Cleveland TN *** Kiarrah Horne JR OH Millbrook NC Kiera Brady JR OH Chaminade CA Kiley Gennerman JR OH Lewis Palmer CO Kinnari Atluru JR OH University CA Lauren Harden JR OH HSE IN Lauren Medeck JR OH Papillion-LaVista South NE Lauren Salata JR OH Nazareth Academy IL Leilia Toailoa JR OH Bishop Gorman NV Lilly Wagner JR S Oconomowoc WI Livi Schneider JR OH Snowflake AZ *** Logan Tusher JR S Branson CA Maela Honma JR OH Kamehameha/Hawaii HI Malayah Long JR S Lincoln Southwest NE Mamie Fromdahl JR S McGill-Toolen AL Maren Johnson JR OH Jenks OK Mayte Camacho JR L Hagerty FL Mia Tvrdy JR MB Papillion-LaVista NE Molly Kate Patten JR MB Lambert GA Morgan Glaser JR OH Papillion-LaVista NE Natalie Depaula JR OH Boca Raton FL *** Olivia Mauch JR L Bennington NE Paisley Douglas JR L Skutt Catholic NE Payton Petersen JR OH Dike-New Hartford IO Rachel VanGorp JR OH