December 1, 2022

Next up in are holiday season awards release is our Sophomore Player of the Year Candidates! 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 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 for her class. The same goes for Pierce’s club teammate Abigail Mullen of Liberty. Despite her amazing talents her team also didn’t advance far enough to make the cut below for sophomores. Finally, we present our Sophomore Player of the Year Candidates. Abigail Li SO S Walton GA Ada McCoy SO OH Musselman WV Addy Horner SO MB St. Francis IL Addy Tindall SO OH Homestead IN Alani Taliloa SO OH Mt. Rainier WA Alivia Eikenberg SO OH Rock Canyon CO Alyssa Aguayo SO OH Corona del Sol AZ Anna Jelenik SO OH Norris NE Anya Schmidt SO S/RS Rogers MN Ashlyn Tafoya SO S Thompson Valley CO *** Asta Hildebrand SO S Iowa City Liberty IO Ava Poinsett SO OH Francis Parker CA Avery Gibbs SO OH Thompson Valley CO Bailey Warren SO OH Fulshear TX Bayleigh Minor SO MB Fort Bend Christian TX BreAnna McMillan SO S/RS Millbrook NC Campbell Flynn SO S Mercy MI Cari Spears SO OH Prestonwood Christian TX Carly Fonda SO S Floyd Central IN Cassie Jenema SO S Cadillac MI *** Charlotte Vinson SO OH Yorktown IN Chloe Elarton SO S Valor Christian CO Claire Payne SO MB NorthWood IN Elena Fischer SO OH Branson CA Ella Craggs SO S Northville MI Ella Lewis SO OH The Woodlands TX Elle Heckenlively SO MB Gretna NE Evan Polsgrove SO OH Brookland AR Haedyn Crumbley SO OH Morgan County GA Hannah Leftridge SO OH St. Pius X MO Izzy Busignani SO OH Marian MI *** Jackie Carle SO S Jesuit OR Jaeden Pratt SO MB Ankeny Centennial IO Jaidyn Jager SO OH La Costa Canyon CA Josephine Hensley SO S Clearwater Central Catholic FL Kaci Demaria SO OH Palos Verdes CA Karyna Werley SO S La Cueva NM Kassidy O’Brien SO S Cinco Ranch TX Kennedy Vaugh SO OH Bob Jones AL Keri Leimbach SO L Lincoln Lutheran NE Kirra Musgrove SO S/RS Lutheran South Academy TX *** Lauren Hurst SO OH Cleveland TN Lauren Lopez SO OH Bishop Miege KS Libby Fandel SO OH Xavier IO Logan Parks SO S/RS Blue Valley North KS Lydia Pitts SO MB Southside AR Madison Quest SO OH DSHA WI Maggie Dostic SO OH Plant FL Maria Nix SO OH Cannon NC Marie Laurio SO OH Saline MI Marlie Davis SO OH Gilmour Academy OH *** Maya Witherspoon SO OH Lafayette MO Megan Fitch SO OH Cornerstone Christian TX Misty Kate Smith SO OH Baysida Academy AL Navea Gauthier SO OH Shelby MI Raegan Durbin SO OH Western Boone IN Reese Messer SO S