The Salt Lake City Showdown made its debut last season in March. This year, the 18s were moved up while the rest of the ages were moved back. Thus, the second go-around featuring 16 and 17 Open are taking place in April on Easter weekend. Below, we take a look at those divisions and guess how they might play out.
17 OPEN
Number of Teams: 27
Available Bids: 3
Previously-Qualified Teams (2): Vision 17 Gold; Club V 17 Ren Matthew
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (5):
- 17. SG Elite 17 Rosh
- 21. Vision 17 Gold
- 23. Club V 17 Matthew
- 38. City 17 Gold
- 46. Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar
5-Star Athletes to Know:
- Zoey Burgess MB Club V 17 Ren Matthew (Kansas)
- Charlie Fuerbringer S/RS Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar (Wisconsin)
- Taylor Yu S SG Elite 17 Rosh
4-Star Athletes to Know:
- Taylor Williams Vision 17 Gold (Duke)
- Levani Key-Powell OH Club V 17 Ren Matthew (Utah)
- Maya Baker S Vision 17 Gold (2025)
- Lauren Lynch L/DS SG Elite 17 Rosh (2025)
Outlook/Prediction: With Club V 17 Ren Matthew winning the Big South Qualifier last weekend, it makes for two qualified teams along with Vision 17 Gold. Both Club V and Vision figure to be in the mix this weekend in terms of contending and creating trickle down possibly. The other team to watch for is SG Elite 17 Rosh. SG tried qualifying at both Red Rock and PNQ and just missed out at both places. This is likely the weekend SG gets it done. Could it be a So Cal sweep when it comes to the bids? City 17 Gold and Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar are the only other ranked teams in the field. But, they are the only ones with a real chance. NorCal 17 Black, Seal Beach 17 Black and A4 Volley 17 Tyler all have great chances to rise up. It’s going to boil down to SG topping Vision in the final. Seal Beach and NorCal get bids along with SG.
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16 OPEN
Number of Teams: 25
Available Bids: 3
Previously-Qualified Teams (1): ID Crush 16 Bower
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (4):
- 28. OT 16 Roberto
- 29. ID Crush 16 Bower
- 32. AVA TX 16 Adidas
- 40. NorCal 16 Black
5-Star Athletes to Know:
- Amina N’diaye OH OT 16 Roberto
4-Star Athletes to Know:
- Tenesyn Frye S ID Crush 16 Bower
- Kennedi Rogers OH AVA TX 16 Adidas
- Elizabeth Bower ID Crush 16 Bower (2026)
- Brooklyn Hardy MB ID Crush 16 Bower (2026)
- Bellamie Beus OH ID Crush 16 Bower (2026)
Outlook/Prediction: With ID Crush 16 Bower the only team with a bid, trickle down can’t reach past fourth place. That’s going to create high drama. OT 16 Roberto is the top favorite in terms of qualifying, followed by AVA TX 16 Adidas and NorCal 16 Black. Temecula Viper 16 Costa was in the mix for a bid at Red Rock and is another team to keep tabs on. Norco 16 Black is seeded No. 4 overall and could be yet another to get its bid. A4 Volley 16 Cassie could be a dark horse. The pick is OT Roberto beating ID Crush in the final, with AVA and NorCal getting bids.
