Once the calendar turns to April, the home stretch hits in terms of qualifying season. It’s officially crunch time, as teams without bids need to capitalize this month or else their hopes fall to the at-large process. If there is one. As of now, there are no at-larges in 17 Open. One of the most fun qualifiers of the season is ahead this weekend with Show Me in Kansas City. Below, we take a glance at the 15-17 Open divisions, list players to know, as well as offer up our predictions on the weekend. 17 OPEN Number of Teams: 31 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (2): Hou Skyline 17 Royal; MAVS KC 17-1 Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11): 3. Hou Skyline 17 Royal TX 11. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno MI 17. Northern Lights 17-1 MN 18. Dynasty 17 Black KS 25. Adrenaline 17 Ben IA 30. MAVS KC 17-1 KS 35. GP 17 Rox FL 37. Austin Skyline 17 Royal TX 42. Academy 17 Tsunami IN 47. HPSTL 17 Royal MO 48. KC Power 17 Black KS 5-Star Players to Know: Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 17-1 Amina N’diaye OH OT 17 Felix (Miami) Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Kentucky) Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Wake Forest) Reese Messer S Dynasty 17 Black (USC) Abigail Mullen RS Dynasty 17 Black (USC) Lydia Chinchar RS No Name 17 Sarah (2027) 4-Star Players to Know: Brookelyn Hatton L/DS MAVS KC 17-1 (Arizona) Elena Maynulet OH GP 17 Rox (Columbia) KK Green S/Rs GP 17 Rox (Holy Cross) Taylor Porter RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Vanderbilt) Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Baylor) Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Florida International) Mesaiya Bettis OH Northern Lights 17-1 (Iowa State) Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 17 Mizuno (Cincinnati) Ashlyn Paymal RS NE Elite 17 Mamba (Creighton) Outlook: What sticks out is while Hou Skyline is the highest-ranked team in the field, the club already has its bid. After that, the highest-ranked teams in Mich Elite, Northern Lights, Dynasty and Adrenaline don’t have bids yet. All are looking at this weekend like it’s time to make it happen. However, the field has a lot of parity and that is going to make for mix-match results. With it, the seedings and pools are going to get topsy-turvy for Days 2 and 3. Teams are playing to get into one of two, four-team gold pools. The farthest trickle-down can reach is fifth-place. While I fully expect to see Hou Skyline make the top eight, there is no guarantee MAVS will. That could make things interesting in a hurry. The flip side is if both qualified teams make the gold pools, three of the remaining six will earn bids and that’ll make its own thrill of a ride. Prediction: I see Hou Skyline taking care of business and leaving with the gold. Hou Skyline tops Northern Lights in the final. MAVS and Mich Elite tie for three, with Mich Elite earning a bid. Dynasty and KC Power play off for the final bid, with Dynasty prevailing. ****** 16 OPEN Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (4): Boiler Jrs 16 Gold; MN Select 16-1; HJV 16 Elite; Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11): 4. Skyline 16 Royal TX 8. Boiler Jrs 16 Gold IN 18. MN Select 16-1 MN 23. Pohaku 16-1 KS 24. HJV 16 Elite TX 34. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold NE 36. TAV Houston 16 Adidas TX 39. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar CA 41. OP2 16-1 Elite OK 42. Kairos 16 Alpha SD 49. OT 16 Roberto FL 5-Star Players to Know: Rayna Christianson S/RS Northern Lights 16-1 Elena Hoecke MB MN Select 16-1 Ella Florez S Pohaku 16-1 Bennett Raterman MB HPSTL 16 Royal Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (2027) 4-Star Players to Know: Elle Vandeweghe MB Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Taylor Stanley RS Dynasty 16 Black Sarah Hickman RS HJV 16 Elite Katherine Byergo MB HPSTL 16 Royal Sophia Stallworth MB OT 16 Roberto Maddie Kraft L/DS Northern Lights 16-1 Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Eva Swenson S/RS MN Select 16-1 Willow Weninger RS Pohaku 16-1 Addison Haberthy S Circle City 16 Purple Outlook: For starters, this looks to be the weekend for Skyline. After coming up a victory short at Sunshine, Skyline is the both the top seed and highest-ranked team in the field here. However it plays out, it stands to reason Skyline is going to be one of the three teams earning a bid. After that though, who knows? The next three of the four highest-ranked teams already have bids in Boiler Jrs, MN Select and HJV. Pohaku does not. But even if Pohaku is able to get it done, it still leads the last remaining bid up for grabs. Will it go to Premier Nebraska? Or TAV Houston or OP2 or OT Roberto? Or is an unranked team poised to surprise? The format calls for four, three-team gold pools on the last day of play. With four teams qualified, there are a number of ways this weekend could play out, but almost all of them will deliver plenty of drama. Prediction: While I think Skyline will qualify, I’m picking Boiler Jrs to beat HJV in the final. Skyline and Pohaku tie for third to qualify. The last bid goes to TAV Houston outlasting Premier Nebraska in a winner-take-all meeting. ***** 15 OPEN Number of Teams: 24 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (6): Skyline 15 Royal; OT 15 Randy; VCNebraska 15 Elite; Premier Nebraska 15 Gold; TAV 15 Black Fifer; NE Elite 15 Revolution Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11): 3. OT 15 Randy FL 4. Skyline 15 Royal TX 19.
