February 15, 2023

When it comes to the Triple Crown NIT, there is no debating the event has established itself as the premier tournament outside the season-ending national championships. The same rings true as the latest version rolls around this coming President Day’s weekend in Kansas City, once again delivering an unmatched depth of the field with the format allowing for something we don’t see elsewhere throughout the season. It is really a perfect combination. That’s the beauty of Triple Crown. There is no national championship on the line. No team in the field is chasing any bids to qualify. The results really don’t mean much in the big scope of the season and yet because so many of the top teams from around the country are in attendance, there is undeniable prestige when it comes to winning the one-of-a-kind tournament. Like the national championships and qualifiers, teams do begin Day 1 of Triple Crown in pool formats. However, that’s about the only similarity between the tournaments. The format of Triple Crown varies in that it uses a Power Pool format for the opening day, in addition to traditional pool play. The 15-18s have four, eight-team power pools, while the 14s have three, eight-team power pools. These teams are guaranteed to make the 64-team bracket. That’s another difference, with bracket play starting on Day 2. Also, teams not in Power Pools can still advance to the 64-team bracket. It’s unique in that there is no Open, Premier or Club divisions, so any team entered in a respective age division has a chance to win it all regardless of initial placement. The fact remains that we get to see so many high-octane matches from first serve is what truly separates this tournament. It’s even different than USAV’s national championships, which feature 36 of the best teams in the country. Even then, the top teams are split up and don’t play each other over the course of the first two days. At Triple Crown, we are going to see powerhouse clubs going head-to-head on the first match of the weekend! Get ready, it doesn’t get any better than what’s ahead. Below, we run through the 14-18s divisions, highlighting the teams in the Power Pools and where they are ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings, as well as spotlighting Players to Watch and providing brief analysis and predictions (that are sure to fail!). (Updates, fixes, changes or questions please email chris@vballrecruiter.com) 18s POWER POOL A (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL B (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL C (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL D (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   Other vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs Outside Power Pools   5-Star Athletes   4-Star Athletes   OUTLOOK/PREDICTION: The 18s are in a much different spot than the rest of the age groups. The 18s have already started their qualifying season and thus have played more volleyball on bigger stages than the youngers. In fact, 17 of the 19 Open qualifiers are in attendance. Metro 18 Travel and Paramount 18 VBC are the only two with Open bids so far not here. Every team from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 10 is here, and Circle City 18 Purple joins Metro as the only Top 20 teams missing from the field. Overall, 42 of the 50 teams in our national rankings are participating. Last year’s USAV 17 Open gold medalist 1st Alliance 18 Gold starts off in Power Pool B. Drive Nation 18 Red has captured two qualifiers so far and is looking to keep its hot start going. Historically, tournament winners come from Power Pool A but the depth of teams in Power Pool B could upset that fact this year. 1st Alliance and Wave 18 Juliana are both capable of coming out of Power Pool B and winning it all. But of course the top suspects are coming from Power Pool A. Drive Nation, Coast 18-1, Sunshine 18 LA and A5 18 Marc are among the handful of teams I’m picking from to win it all. Munciana 18 Samurai came on and surprised last year in an upset, so we can’t discount Munciana. However, the feeling here is the title match is going to come down to Drive Nation and Club V, with Drive Nation leaving with another trophy to add to its collection so far this season. *** 17s POWER POOL A (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL B (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL C (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   POWER POOL D (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings)   Other vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs Outside Power Pools   5-Star Athletes   4-Star Athletes   OUTLOOK/PREDICTION: There are only five teams missing from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 national rankings! That’s how loaded this division is. The storyline of the 17s is can anyone touch the very top of the division? Dynasty 17 Black, TAV 17 Black and A5 17 Jing lead an unbelievable field but we want to know if anyone can surpass them? Yes, HJV 17 Elite has defeated TAV this season, so we know it’s definitely possible. But will it happen? Dynasty, A5 and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold already have secured their Open bids, but for many of the rest Triple Crown represents the first big travel tournament of the season. It’s much less predictable than the 18s. That’s the fun of this division, is we are going to see teams rise up and establish themselves as the next tier of teams behind the Big 3. I was a bit surprised not to see Co Jrs 17 Kevin and 1st Alliance 17 Gold both land in Power Pool A. Instead, both are in Power Pool B. They are a pair of teams to watch as both could make very deep runs and wind up in medal contention. Two dark horses – if you can call any team from any Power Pool a dark horse – are Vision 17 Gold and Triangle 17 Black. Both are strong enough to be in Power Pool B, but are both in Power Pool D. I