Austin’s Takes on the New 2023 National Rankings
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Putting together a list like this is not easy. For the past couple of years, I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with the vast network of Prep Dig scouts and help cover some of the nation’s top prep volleyball talent.…
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Continue ReadingPutting together a list like this is not easy.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with the vast network of Prep Dig scouts and help cover some of the nation’s top prep volleyball talent. When you dedicate the first half of the calendar year to hopping between club tournaments, you soon realize how much the sport has grown at the junior level. Assembling rankings, therefore, involves hundreds upon hundreds of player evaluations.
Of course, we don’t have to take on these considerations alone. It’s been gratifying to collaborate with our scouting network and club coaching groups to put these rankings together. Many people fall under both of those umbrellas, too.
So, with the 2023 rankings hot off the presses, I’ve got a few personal reflections on the players and trends that I’ve seen from this class. Expect a medley of national and local perspectives here, which is at the heart of our coverage philosophy here at Prep Dig.
Never Too Late to Become a Stock Riser
Though the Class of 2023 is about to embark on its final season of high school competition this fall, that doesn’t mean there’s not some room for late movement among this group.
As I look down our list of 2023 athletes, I see a ton of players who used this year’s club season to boost their stock ahead of this rankings release. Reese Robins Reese Robins 6'5" | MB Timberview | 2023 State #15 Nation TX and Jurnee Robinson Jurnee Robinson 6'0" | OH Mauldin | 2023 #16 Nation SC are two names that jump out right away. These two spectacular athletes clashed for the 17U title at Triple Crown NIT in February and gave us plenty of reason to move them up this high in the rankings. Chris Fitzgerald and I left Kansas City marveling at the impact of Robins and Robinson on such a big stage.
@a5volleyball takes the first!
Jurnee Robinson Jurnee Robinson 6'0" | OH Mauldin | 2023 #16 Nation SC is going OFF. #TCVolleyballNIT pic.twitter.com/Qdam20cm7C
— Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) February 21, 2022
I can point to a few other Triple Crown NIT stock risers on our rankings, too. The Sunshine duo of Olivia Babcock Olivia Babcock 6'3" | OH Sierra Canyon | 2023 State #13 Nation CA and Torrey Stafford Torrey Stafford 6'0" | OH Marymount | 2023 State #20 Nation CA dazzled us throughout that weekend and showed they have the physicality to match up with anyone. Ava Sarafa Ava Sarafa 6'0" | S Marian | 2023 State #14 Nation MI also staked her claim as one of the nation’s top setters when she performed with Michigan Elite at NIT.
Others made their mark during national qualifiers. The 1st Alliance hitter pair of Kennedy Wagner Kennedy Wagner 6'1" | OH Valparaiso | 2023 State #24 Nation IN and Grace Egan Grace Egan 6'1" | OH Sterling | 2023 State #41 Nation IL made early waves with a spectacular weekend in Omaha for January’s NLQ. That tournament also gave rise to players like OTVA’s Zeta Washington Zeta Washington 6'1" | MB Ponte Vedra | 2023 State #31 Nation FL and Skyline’s Harley Kreck Harley Kreck 6'0" | S Rains | 2023 State #27 Nation TX . It shouldn’t be a surprise that big tournaments yield the best opportunities for players like these to stand out.
Around the Map
We’ve got some nice regional variety here.
The nice thing about having a state-focused platform is that you can call on experts from tons of different areas to get input for a national-scale project. Of course, covering events with a national focus has given me some nice scouting opportunities from outside my home base in Nebraska.
But, I might as well start by getting a word in on the Midwest. The Class of 2023 is absolutely stacked here in the Great Plains, with many of these athletes regularly battling week after week at the same tournaments. Ella Swindle Ella Swindle 6'2" | S Rock Bridge | 2023 State #6 Nation MO and Ashley Mullen Ashley Mullen 5'10" | S Liberty | 2023 State #9 Nation MO are two elite setters from just the Kansas City area, while South Dakota’s Bergen Reilly Bergen Reilly 6'1" | S O'Gorman | 2023 #4 Nation SD has also represented the Plains well at the setter position.
It’s also worth mentioning the pin hitter standouts in this class from the Great Lakes down to the Ohio Valley. Three of the top four overall 2023 prospects are from this area, with Harper Murray Harper Murray 6'2" | OH Skyline | 2023 State #2 Nation MI , Chloe Chicoine Chloe Chicoine 5'9" | OH McCutcheon | 2023 State #1 Nation IN , and Caroline Jurevicius Caroline Jurevicius 6'2" | OH NDCL | 2023 State #5 Nation OH all part of this ever-growing section of the volleyball landscape.
The West Coast will always have a major foothold in the prep talent pool, and that’s not changing with the Class of 2023. The Wave combination of Julia Blyashov Julia Blyashov 6'3" | OH Cathedral Catholic | 2023 State #3 Nation CA and Auburn Tomkinson Auburn Tomkinson 6'4" | RS Carlsbad | 2023 State #54 Nation CA was one of my favorite pairs to watch this year. Claire Little brings that same kind of firepower for Coast. Don’t forget about the Oregon volleyball scene, though, as players like Sophie Gregoire-Salagean Sophie Gregoire-Salagean 6'2" | OH Newberg | 2023 State #49 Nation OR will continue to put that state on the map.
However, if there’s a geographical region that is exhibiting the most growth with the Class of 2023, it might be the Southeast. Yes, you can always expect Florida to be set on prep talent. Jordyn Byrd Jordyn Byrd 6'4" | RS Cardinal Mooney | 2023 State #22 Nation FL and Maddie Snider Maddie Snider 6'4" | RS Bishop McLaughlin | 2023 State #99 Nation FL are just a couple of names to know there. But adjacent success is also being seen throughout Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. A5 has been a major catalyst for that success in the Atlanta area, and players like Sydney Bray Sydney Bray 5'10" | S Etowah | 2023 #83 Nation GA and Ashley Sturzoiu Ashley Sturzoiu 6'0" | OH Buford | 2023 #82 Nation GA keep proving that the Southeast will be a force to be reckoned with.
Powerhouses Reloading…and Parity Emerging?
In the world of volleyball recruiting, it’s often true that “the rich get richer.” You get used to seeing familiar schools on these rankings.
The Class of 2023 will bring high-level talent to most of the college programs that are expected to be at the top of the pack. Nebraska claims three in our top ten with the aforementioned Murray, Jurevicius, and Reilly, while Texas snags two with Swindle and Nya Bunton Nya Bunton 6'5" | MB DuPont Manual | 2023 State #7 Nation KY .
Overall, the Big Ten leads all conferences with 23 commits from our list. The Pac-12, often thought to be in a struggle with the Big Ten for conference supremacy in college volleyball, has 13 commits in our 2023 rankings, though a couple more may be coming soon.
Sure, we expect those conferences to be here, but let’s mix in a bit of parity. If you’re looking for reasons to believe that the college volleyball hierarchy is becoming more diverse, it’s probably wise to look at the SEC and the ACC.
The Southeastern Conference hoisted its first-ever NCAA volleyball national championship trophy in April 2021 thanks to Kentucky’s triumph in Omaha. Later in the calendar year, the Atlantic Coast Conference placed two teams in the national semifinals with Louisville and Pittsburgh making unprecedented appearances for both of those schools.
Tallying up the Class of 2023 commitments for these conferences yields 11 for the ACC and 14 for the SEC. We’re not seeing a total one- or two-team monopoly in either of these conferences, so intra-conference competition ought to start flourishing alongside inter-conference parity.