The second half of the Sunshine Classic takes place Friday-Sunday in Orlando. Last weekend, the youngers punched their tickets to Junior Nationals in Chicago this summer. Who is going to join them by earning bids this weekend? Below, we take a look at the 16 and 17 Open divisions and make the guess as to who is going to win it all as well as gain the bids.
17 Open
Number of Teams: 39
Number of Bids Available: 3
Previously-Qualified Club (1): A5 17 Jing
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (10):
- 1. A5 17 Jing
- 4. TAV 17 Black
- 5. Triangle 17 Black
- 10. OT 17 Aaron
- 24. OT 17 Felix
- 25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio
- 27. Skyline 17 Royal
- 30. MKE Sting 17 Gold
- 33. Top Select 17 Elite
- 43. Rock City 17-1
5-star Athletes To Watch
- Nayelis Cabello S/RS Top Select 17 Elite (Louisville)
- Favor Anyanwu MB TAV 17 Black (USC)
- Jadyn Livings OH TAV 17 Black (USC)
- Cari Spears OH TAV 17 Black (2025)
- Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black (2025)
- Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing (Kentucky)
- Camille Edwards S TAV 17 Black (Michigan)
- Gillian Pitts L/DS TAV 17 Black (2025)
4-star Athletes To Watch
- Fallon Stewart OH OT 17 Felix (Cincinnati)
- Taylor Parks S OT 17 Aaron (Florida)
- Sarah Brodner OH/RS Jupiter 17 Elite (Virginia)
- Asia Thigpen OH Triangle 17 Black (Kentucky)
- Kiarrah Horne OH Triangle 17 Black
- Ashlyn Philpot MB Triangle 17 Black (Illinois)
- Samantha Bowron OH Top Select 17 Elite (Coastal Carolina)
- Mia Hood MB A5 17 Jing (Michigan State)
- Molly Kate Patten RS A5 17 Jing (Georgia)
- Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Notre Dame)
- Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing (Georgia Tech)
- Chelsea Sutton MB OT 17 John (Tennessee)
- Claire Luoma L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Clemson)
- Anna Bjork MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Notre Dame)
- Mikala Young OH TAV 17 Black (TCU)
- Anna Boatner MB TAV 17 Black
Outlook/Prediction: I’m excited to see what the 17s bring in Orlando. Triple Crown was wild in that division with big-time upsets rocking the final standings. I’m looking for A5 17 Jing and TAV 17 Black to re-establish themselves after finishing out of the running in Kansas City. For TAV, that means earning an Open bid. A5 doesn’t have that concern, as it’s the only club in the field with an Open bid after qualifying at Northern Lights in January. Everyone else, including TAV, is chasing one of the three available bids. It can’t trickle down past fourth place, that’s if A5 finishes in the top three. Triangle 17 Black showed strong at Triple Crown and is a team to pay attention to. Miami Hype 17 Emilio is an intriguing team, having beat Dynasty 17 Black in KC. And of course OT 17 Aaron earned the silver in KC, so that club is going to be feeling confident about bidding this weekend. As for the picks, I think A5 tops Triangle in the final. Triangle gets its bid, as does TAV and OT Aaron.
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16 Open
Number of Teams: 40
Number of Bids Available: 3
Previously-Qualified Club: n/a
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (16):
- 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- 8. A5 16 Gabe
- 9. OT 16 JP
- 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno
- 15. Dynasty 16 Black
- 16. Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- 17. Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- 18. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
- 20. Skyline 16 Royal
- 22. OT 16 Roberto
- 30. HPSTL 16 Royal
- 39. MAVS KC 16-1
- 41. Top Select 16 Elite
- 42. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite
- 43. No Name 16 Sarah
- 44. GP 16 Rox
5-star Athletes To Watch
- Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 16-1
- Kelly Kinney OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
- Amina N’diaye OH OT 16 Roberto
- Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas
- Charlotte Glass S Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
- Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe
- Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal
4-star Athletes To Watch
- Zoey Matias L/DS Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
- Lily Dee Davis OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal
- Kayden Green S/RS GP 16 Rox
- Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Ella Lewis OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Taylor Porter OH/RS Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 16 Royal
- Taylor Cook S Skyline 16 Royal
- Leni Stanton-Parker OH Metro 16 Travel
- Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 16 Royal
- Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe
- Camryn Jeffery RS A5 16 Gabe
- Addison Gaido OH/RS Austin Skylin 16 Royal
- Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe
- Izzy Mogridge S OT 16 JP
- Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno
Outlook/Prediction: This is the first qualifier of the season for the 16s, so teams must finish in the top three to earn one of the three Open bids. It’s going to make for an exciting weekend. The favorite without question is Hou Skyline 16 Royal, which is both the highest seeded and ranked team in the field and is coming off a silver medal at Triple Crown. It would be shocking if Hou Skyline doesn’t earn a bid here. A5 16 Gabe is looking to keep its good play going. After struggling at Central Zone, A5 did very well with a bronze at Triple Crown. If A5 can keep with that type of consistency this weekend, it’ll bid for sure. OT 16 JP, OT Roberto, Austin Skyline 16 Royal and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno are other teams to watch for in terms of bidding, as well as Dynasty 16 Black. MAVS KC 16-1, Legacy 16-1 Adidas, Skyline 16 Royal and HPSTL 16 Royal could bid as well but are longer shots to do so. In the end, Hou Skyline tops Mich Elite for gold. Both qualify, with A5 beating Austin Skyline for the final bid.
