2025 Rankings: Top Five Middle Hitters

The first rankings for the 2025 class in Ohio are now posted. As this is a working list focused upon the youngest prospects we rank, this means the list will undoubtedly grow and rankings will shift as we evaluate and add more prospects and as athletes improve their skills and value. Here are the initial top-five middle hitters among the 2025 Ohio rankings, which was challenging to determine given the quality of athleticism and skill among these athletes this early in their careers. Abbey Emch Abbey Emch 6'3" | MB Crestview | 2025 State OH - Overall Ranking = #4 Emch has big potential. Her size alone at 6’3 creates a lot of opportunities and advantages for her to be a big impact contributor every time she steps on the court. However, some of the best elements about her are not in her physical tools but in her energy, work ethic, and competitiveness. Couple these with the developing skills as a point scorer and her ability to fill up big space at the net defensively and she has the makings of becoming a big-time prospect before her prep career is over. Emch has a raw quality to her game right now but can score on quick options around the setter and is developing good range to terminate off of one foot overhead. She helped her Crestview team to a regional appearance this past fall averaging 2.7 kills per set at a .432 efficiency in addition to 3.8 blocks per match. Kayla Channell Kayla Channell 6'1" | MB Gilmour Academy | 2025 State OH - Overall Ranking = #7 Don’t be surprised if Channell climbs the rankings in her position and overall here in Ohio over her prep career. Her skills continue to progress as an offensive threat and she has good size and length to be a big impact contributor on the defensive side. Additionally, the quality of her competitive experience will be a huge benefit as she has a solid core of athletes around her at ECJ and will return to Gilmour Academy in the fall where she helped them to the Division II state title this past high school season. She averaged 2.7 kills per set in terminating 62% of her opportunities for Gilmourt. Channell also added 3.7 blocks per match. Some key areas for her improvement are in increasing her foot speed and creating more lift and balance in the air with her arm work at the end of her approach pattern.  Lindy Radaszewski Lindy Radaszewski 5'11" | MB Ursuline | 2025 State OH - Overall Ranking = #8 At 5’11, Radaszewski may be undersized by comparison to the other top middle prospects here but she is fiery and has a big offensive skill set that makes her a point scoring threat that opposing defenses need to focus upon. She has the most polished footwork in the transition phase of any middle in this class and understands well how to get off the net quickly to be explosive with her step-close action to the ball. She also has a deliberate double-arm lift that helps her elevate and create balance in the air that influences her ability to hit with power and range around the defense in front of her. Defensively, she has good patience and gets her hands over the net fast to put good pressure on opposing hitters. Her quickness and athleticism are among the best of any attackers in the 2025 class.  Aubrey Anders Aubrey Anders 6'0" | MB Gilmour Academy | 2025 State OH - Overall Ranking = #9 Anders is a solid athlete. She was a very vital member of a deep Independence team that finished the most recent high school season with only one loss that came in the Division III state championship match. She led her team with 2.7 kills per set, which was second overall in conference play. These numbers were supported well by her .429 attack efficiency and balanced by her conference-leading 61 total blocks. She also was top-10 in total service aces. At 5’11, she has good elevation and a high contact point that is difficult to slow down. She will return to Independence in the fall for a team that returns a solid core group of athletes and should be among early-season favorites for another deep postseason run. The experience she continues to grow during the club season on the national level with AVC will undoubtedly increase her success and impact this fall.  Brooke Kostyack Brooke Kostyack 6'1" | MB North Royalton | 2025 State OH - Overall Ranking = #12 The North Royalton middle led her team offensively last fall with 3.0 kills per set and a .332 efficiency, while on the defensive side added 1.4 blocks per match. At 6’1 she has good fluidity to her movement around the court and plays with an assertive and mature quality in her competitiveness for being just a freshman and leading key stat categories for her varsity team. She creates good timing and spacing as a middle and swings with a high elbow to challenge the block well with good power. Her impact was showcased by her terminating double-digit kills in over half of the Bears’ matches. Developing a double-arm lift in her approach work will improve every aspect of her swing with better balance in the air as well as torque and range ability. More deliberate patience and eye work when blocking will increase her efficiency in that phase of the game also. Keep an eye on her development as she moves through her prep career.  *Rankings note: If there are prospects we should consider for future rankings updates please email our prospect scouts at ohipprepdig@gmail.com.