There’s no doubt about it. The Lone Star Classic is the toughest qualifier of the season considering the depth of competition and what it’s going to take to bring home an Open bid. Vballrecruiter.com is headed to Dallas for the three-day event to provide daily coverage. Below, we offer our thoughts and predictions on how 15-17 Open might play out.
17 OPEN
Number of Teams: 42
Number of Bids Available: 3
Previously-Qualified Teams (9): TAV 17 Black; Dynasty 17 Black; Drive Nation 17 Red; Triangle 17 Black; Skyline 17 Royal; Metro 17 Travel; Hou Skyline 17 Royal; A5 17 Jing; AJV 17 Adidas
Vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (14):
- 2. Dynasty 17 Black
- 3. Drive Nation 17 Red
- 4. TAV 17 Black
- 5. A5 17 Jing
- 7. Triangle 17 Black
- 11. Hou Skyline 17 Royal
- 22. HJV 17 Elite
- 27. Madfrog 17 Green
- 28. Metro 17 Travel
- 30. Skyline 17 Royal
- 31. VCNebraska 17 Elite
- 37. AJV 17 Adidas
- 44. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder
- 49. Northern Lights 17-1
5-Star Players to Know:
- Jaela Auguste Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Florida)
- Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing (Kentucky)
- Jadyn Livings OH/RS TAV 17 Black (USC)
- Favor Anyanwu MB TAV 17 Black (USC)
- Camille Edwards S TAV 17 Black (Michigan)
- Emerson Sellman OH Metro 17 Travel (Ohio State)
- Cy Rae Campbell MB Dynasty 17 Black (Wake Forest)
- Cari Spears OH TAV 17 Black (2025)
- Gillian Pitts L/DS TAV 17 Black (2025)
- Abigail Mullen RS Dynasty 17 Black (2025)
- Reese Messer S Dynasty 17 Black (2025)
- Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black (2025)
- Lameen Mambu OH Metro 17 Travel (2025)
- Kirra Musgrove S/RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (2025)
- Samara Coleman OH Hou Skyline 17 Royal (2025)
4-Star Players to Know:
- Malayah Long S VCNebraska 17 Elite (Marquette)
- Paisley Douglas L/DS VCNebraska 17 Elite (USC)
- Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Notre Dame)
- Alice Volpe L/DS HJV 17 Elite (TCU)
- Zoe Humphrey MB HJV 17 Elite (UCLA)
- Lillian Croshaw RS Drive Nation 17 Red
- Gabriela Cornier L/DS A5 17 Jing (Florida, 2023)
- Mia Hood MB A5 17 Jing (Michigan State)
- Molly Kate Patten RS A5 17 Jing (Georgia)
- Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing (Georgia Tech)
- Savannah Skopal S AJV 17 Adidas (Rice)
- Blaykli Bobik OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (BYU)
- Lolo Lambert OH Drive Nation 17 Red (Arkansas)
- Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red (Baylor)
- Bethanie Wu S Drive Nation 17 Red (Yale)
- Shelby Burriss MB Drive Naiton 17 Red
- Carson Eickenloff S Drive Nation 17 Red (Ole Miss)
- Mikala Young OH TAV 17 Black (TCU)
- Anna Boatner MB TAV 17 Black
- Ryan McAleer L/DS Dynasty 17 Black (Purdue)
- Jade Ingram MB Dynasty 17 Black (UNLV)
- Lainee Pyles OH Madfrog 17 Green (LSU)
- Erin Debiec S Metro 17 Travel (Colorado State)
- Asia Thigpen OH Triangle 17 Black (Kentucky)
- Kiarrah Horne OH Triangle 17 Black
- Ashlyn Philpot OH Triangle 17 Black (Illinois)
- Emily Bobbitt S Triangle 17 Black (Iowa State)
- Claire Luoma L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Clemson)
- Anna Bjork MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Notre Dame)
Outlook/Prediction: We recently saw Dynasty 17 Black, Drive Nation 17 Red and TAV 17 Black together at Show Me, where TAV prevailed with the gold medal. The three highly-ranked teams in one spot made Show Me one of the stronger qualifiers of the season but Lone Star is a step up with No. 5 A5 17 Jing and No. 7 Triangle 17 Black being thrown into the mix as well. That’s a top-heavy lineup and all help make up the nine teams that already have bids. It’s going to be extremely challenging to crack the top eight considering the depth of 17 Open. However, it’s a division that has seen the unexpected happen all year so we are counting on some bids going out. There are no doubt hungry clubs looking to come through. VCNebraska 17 Elite was on the verge of qualifying in Show Me and has what it takes to make the top eight and get its bid (assuming trickle down reaches eighth place). HJV 17 Elite, Arizona Storm 17 Thunder, MKE Sting 17 Gold, Alamo 17 Premier and Madfrog 17 Green are also teams without bids to watch for. Ultimately, it is Triangle topping Dynasty for gold. HJV and VCNebraska earn bids with one going to the at-large pool.
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16 OPEN
Number of Teams: 42
Number of Bids Available: 3
Previously-Qualified Teams (10): 1st Alliance 16 Gold; Drive Nation 16 Red; Circle City 16 Purple Nebraska One 16 Synergy; Northern Lights 16-1; TAV 16 Black; Arizona Storm 16 Thunder; Austin Skyline 16 Royal; MAVS KC 16-1; Alamo 16 Premier
Vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (18):
- 1. 1st Alliance 16 Gold
- 2. Drive Nation 16 Red
- 4. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
- 6. Nebraska One 16 Synergy
- 7. HJV 16 Elite
- 9. TAV 16 Black
- 10. Circle City 16 Purple
- 18. Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- 19. Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- 26. Northern Lights 16-1
- 30. Dynasty 16 Black
- 31. Skyline 16 Royal
- 32. AVA TX 16 Adidas
- 33. Madfrog 16 Green
- 35. AJV 16 Adidas
- 37. Excel 16 National Red
- 39. Alamo 16 Premier
- 44. MAVC KC 16-1
5-Star Players to Know:
- Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 16-1
- Zoe Gillen-Malveaux MB Drive Nation 16 Red
- Suli Davis OH Drive Nation 16 Red
- Jordan Taylor MB HJV 16 Elite
- Teraya Sigler OH Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
- Abby Vander Wal OH 1st Alliance 16 Gold
- Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- Natalie Wardlow MB Nebraska One 16 Synergy
- Ella Florez S/RS Dynasty 16 Black (2026)
4-Star Players to Know:
- Kennedy Washington MB TAV 16 Black (2024)
- Chichi Nnaji RS Skyline 16 Royal
- Taylor Cook S Skyline 16 Royal
- Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 16 Royal
- Kennedi Rogers OH AVA TX 16 Adidas
- Addison Horner S/RS 1st Alliance 16 Gold
- Izzy Mahaffey L/DS Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
- Kenna Cogill MB Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
- Devyn Wiest OH Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
- Sydney Bryant OH HJV 16 Elite
- Aaliyah Smith OH HJV 16 Elite
- Alex Richter OH Drive Nation 16 Red
- Sarah Mendoza L/DS Drive Nation 16 Red
- Taryn Morris MB Drive Nation 16 Red
- Sophia Thornburg OH Drive Nation 16 Red
- Mesaiya Bettis OH Northern Lights 16-1
- Reese Jackson MB TAV 16 Black
- Sarah Pfiffner S TAV 16 Black
- Lauryn Mack OH TAV 16 Black
- Sydnee Peterson RS TAV 16 Black
- Naya Salfiti RS Madfrog 16 Green
- Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- Lily Dee Davis OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- Addison Gaido RS Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 16 Purple
- Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple
Outlook/Prediction: With seven teams from Vballrecruiter.com’s Top 10 in the field and 18 overall from the Top 50, the 16 Open division is loaded. With 10 qualified teams, who knows if any bids are going out? To qualify, clubs are going to have to breakthrough against a packed field. Heavyweights like 1st Alliance 16 Gold, Drive Nation 16 Red and Arizona Storm 16 Thunder should all finish in the top eight if not much higher. Nebraska One 16 Synergy, TAV 16 Black and Circle City 16 Purple have finished highly at the qualifiers they’ve attended. It doesn’t leave much room and there’s still Austin Skyline 16 Royal and Northern Lights 16-1, which is coming off its victory at Show Me. HJV 16 Elite is both the highest-ranked and highest-seeded team in the field without a bid and is one of the few teams that could break into the top eight in such a competitive field. Legacy 16-1 Adidas and Skyline 16 Royal are always in the mix but need to pull off a few upsets to get it done. The same goes for AJV 16 Adidas, Dynasty 16 Black, Excel 15 National Red and AVA TX 16 Adidas, there’s no way around it. The final is going to come down to Arizona Storm beating 1st Alliance. HJV cracks the top eight to get its bid but that’s it. Two bids go to the at-large pool.
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15 OPEN
Number of Teams: 39
Number of Bids Available: 3
Previously-Qualified Teams (8): Skyline 15 Royal; Madfrog 15 Green; TAV 15 Black; Austin Skyline 15 Royal; Legacy 15-1 Adidas; Hou Skyline 15 Royal; AP 15 Adidas; Pohaku 15-1
Vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (22):
- 1. Skyline 15 Royal
- 4. Madfrog 15 Green
- 5. TAV 15 Black
- 6. AZ Sky 15G
- 7. Austin Skyline 15 Royal
- 8. Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- 10. Alamo 15 Premier
- 11. AP 15 Adidas
- 13. Hou Skyline 15 Royal
- 16. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder
- 18. Dynasty 15 Black
- 19. HJV 15 Elite
- 20. Pohaku 15-1
- 25. Drive Nation 15 Red
- 28. TAV Houston 15 Adidas
- 33. Triangle 15 Black
- 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier
- 42. Sunshine 15 Westside
- 44. MKE Sting 15 Gold
- 45. High Tide 15 Elite
- 46. MAVS 816 KC 15-1
- 49. Northern Lights 15-1
5-Star Players to Know:
- Gabby Divita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Riley Malloy OH Austin Skyline 15 Royal
- Kinsley Young MB TAV 15 Black
- Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black
- Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal
- Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal
- Rayna Christianson S/RS Northern Lights 15-1
- Brooke Harwood RS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder
- Henley Anderson OH AP 15 Adidas
4-Star Players to Know:
- Taylor Clarke RS Skyline 15 Royal (2025)
- Nadi’ya Shelby MB Hou Skyline 15 Royal
- Halle Thompson OH Hou Skyline 15 Royal
- Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier
- Madeline Kraft L/DS Northern Lights 15-1
- Margaret Czajka MB MKE Sting 15 Gold
- Natalie Surges OH MKE Sting 15 Gold
- Marlee Sivak OH MKE Sting 15 Gold
- Willow Weninger RS Pohaku 15-1
- Sydney Lund S Austin Skyline 15 Royal
- Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Ella Andrews MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas
- Gabi Rodriguez L/DS Madfrog 15 Green
- Caroline Huseman OH TAV 15 Black
- Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black
- Anna Flores S TAV 15 Black
Outlook/Prediction: It’s more of the same in 15 Open in terms of will any bids go out or not? There are eight teams already qualified so it’s possible none go out. Last weekend in Windy City all six teams with bids finished first through sixth in 15 Open. It’s unlikely that happens here but it’s also not likely that all three bids go out. Skyline 15 Royal, Madfrog 15 Green, TAV 15 Black, Austin Skyline 15 Royal and Legacy 15-1 Adidas are all highly-ranked and have finished highly at qualifiers. If that remains the same, three teams would have to get in the top eight. But there are still three teams with bids in Pohaku 15-1, AP 15 Adidas and Hou Skyline 15 Royal that certainly can finish in the top eight too and leave the field with no bids being awarded. Teams to watch in terms of qualifying though include Alamo 15 Premier, AZ Sky 15G, Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, HJV 15 Elite and Drive Nation 15 Red as the top contenders. In the end, Skyline outlasts Legacy for gold. As for bids, Alamo and Drive Nation qualify while one goes back to the at-large pool.