Number of Teams: 36
vballrecruiter.com National Rankings:
1. Dynasty 16 Black
2. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
3. A5 Mizuno 16-1 Gabe
4. Co Jrs 16 Sherri
5. Wave 16 Brennan
6. TAV 16 Black
7. 1st Alliance 16 Gold
8. OT 16 Jason
9. KC Power 16-1
12. Circle City 16 Purple
13. Metro 16 Travel
14. Triangle 16 Black
15. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar
16. Coast 16-1
17. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
18. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold
19. Vision 16 Gold
20. AJV 16 Adidas
21. Skyline 16 Royal
22. Madfrog 16 Green
23. SG Elite 16 Rosh
24. OT 16 Roberto
25. MKE Sting 16 Gold
26. Drive Nation 16 Red
27. Top Select 16 Elite
28. Flyers 16 Dylan
29. Gainesville 16 Black
30. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite
34. Club V 16 Ren Wayne
38. Seal Beach 16 Black
41. Norco 16 Black
42. OT 16 Will
43. Hou Skyline 16 Royal
44. OJVA 16 Gold
Unranked – Alamo 16 Premier
Unranked – Capitanas 16-1
vballrecruiter.com 5-star recruits (18):
Izzy Starck, S/RS, Co Jrs 16 Sherri
Skyler Pierce, OH, Dynasty 16 Black
Charlie Fuerbringer, S/RS, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar
Ayden Ames, MB, TAV 16 Black
Favor Anyanwu, MB, TAV 16 Black
Babi Gubbins, OH, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar
Taylor Yu, S, SG Elite 16 Rosh
Camille Edwards, S, TAV 16 Black
Carlie Cisneros, OH, Dynasty 16 Black
Jadyn Livings, OH, TAV 16 Black
Suli Davis, OH, Drive Nation 16 Red (2025)
Amina N’diaye, OH, OT 16 Roberto (2025)
Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, MB, Drive Nation 16 Red (2025)
Reese Messer, S, Dynasty 16 Black (2025)
Abigail Mullen, RS, Dynasty 16 Black (2025)
Jaidyn Jager, OH, Coast 16-1 (2025)
Gillian Pitts, L, TAV 16 Black (2025)
Macaria Spears, OH, Metro 16 Travel (2025)
vballrecruiter.com 4-star recruits (20):
Mia Hood, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe
Logan Wiley, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe
Bethanie Wu, S, TAV 16 Black
Grace Carroll, S, Alamo 16 Premier
Carson Eickenloff, S, Madfrog 16 Green
Lillian Croshaw, MB, Madfrog 16 Green
Anna Bjork, MB, MKE Sting 16 Gold
Julia Hunt, MB, NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami
Ryan McAleer, L, Dynasty 16 Black
Ava Utterback, OH, Circle City 16 Purple
Amanda Saeger, S, Wave 16 Brennan
Camden Bolane, MB, Wave 16 Brennan
Mikala Young, OH, TAV 16 Black
Lainee Pyles, MB, Madfrog 16 Green
Anna Boatner, MB, TAV 16 Black
Jade Ingram, MB, Dynasty 16 Black
Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe
Madeline Stucky, S, Norco 16 Black
Maya Witherspoon, OH, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite (2025)
Lauren Lynch, L, SG Elite 16 Rosh (2025)
Outlook: The feeling is there’s a short list of teams that can earn the gold medal. Dynasty 16 Black comes in as a strong favorite having won three national qualifiers plus Triple Crown. Dynasty has just two losses on a national stage this year – to TAV 16 Black and NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami. It’s why Dynasty garnered the top seed. TAV is on the short list of teams that could win it all. Injuries have prevented TAV from reaching its full potential but the club appears poised and on track health-wise and should be a definite factor. Yet, it appears TAV could be way under-seeded. The club is the No. 3 team in Pool 1, which is a tough pool containing Dynasty, Co Jrs 16 Sherri and TAV as the top three teams in the pool Ouch. Wave 16 Brennan has fared well all season and has the type of ball control and defense to go all the way. Wave enters as the No. 3 seed. A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe has the height and size to be a real factor. A5 begins as the No. 2 seed. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami has finished high all season long and knows how to win tight matches. NKYVC opens as the No. 2 tam in Pool 4 behind OT 16 Jason. The teams which are somewhat x-factors are Co Jrsand Metro 16 Travel. Co Jrs didn’t fare so well at the JVA West Coast Cup but has the size and talent to be any team in the country. It is just a matter of playing consistently over four days. Metro captured first at the JVA SummerFest recently and has the size and physicality to be a problem to any opponent. Metro is the No. 5 seed. Another team to watch for that could be way under-seeded is Capitanas 16-1. The Puerto Rican club is formidable but is the No. 6 team in Pool 6. Pool 6 could be the toughest one to break, as it contains Triangle 16 Black at the top followed by Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar, Vision 16 Gold, Top Select 16 Elite and Alamo 16 Premier, as well as Capitanas. There are plenty more squads that could make runs and be in contention on Day 4. OT Jason, 1st Alliance 16 Gold, Circle City 16 Purple, KC Power 16-1 and Trianglehave turned in strong seasons and it would not be a surprise to see any or all of them in the top eight. It’s part of what makes this division so intriguing is how many competitive clubs there are that can all beat each other any given outing.
Prediction: The final comes down to Dynasty and TAV. TAV prevails in three sets to earn the gold medal. Wave and A5 get the bronzes.