Big Ten Recruiting Battles, Securing Home State 2024s: Attackers
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The Big Ten is always a topic of conversation in college volleyball from the number of teams that get into the NCAA Tournament, the overall RPI of the conference, to recruiting, and even the transfer portal. This is a battle…
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Continue ReadingThe Big Ten is always a topic of conversation in college volleyball from the number of teams that get into the NCAA Tournament, the overall RPI of the conference, to recruiting, and even the transfer portal. This is a battle ground when it comes to recruiting. I am going to take a deeper dive into the “local kids” who come from states representing the Big Ten Conference and who Big Ten teams could be eyeing in the Class of 2024.
As a disclaimer, I don’t pry when it comes to “Who is your top five?”, “Who do you have offers from?” when it comes to athletes. I want athletes to find their fit and the last thing they need is me bugging them about their process.
However, for these coaching staffs within the Big Ten, they are going after not only the top players in the country, but the top players in the world. They also want to make sure an athlete in their backyard doesn’t get away to a conference rival. Here are the attackers in the top 100 who could be on the radar of Big Ten programs.
Outsides (Top 100 From Big Ten States)
5 – Ava Utterback Ava Utterback 5'10" | OH Plainfield | 2024 State #24 Nation IN – Plainfield (IN) – Circle City
22 – Lauren Medeck Lauren Medeck 5'10" | OH Papillion-La Vista South | 2024 State #31 Nation NE – Papillion-LaVista South (NE) – Premier Nebraska
23 – Lauren Harden Lauren Harden 6'3" | OH Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #36 Nation IN – Hamilton Southeastern (IN) – REV
30 – Grace Nelson – Oak Park River Forest (IL) – 1st Alliance
36 – Ava Pratt – Glenbrook South (IL) – Adversity
52 – Ellie White – Mother McAuley (IL) – 1st Alliance
60 – Sophia Adkins – Mercy McAuley (OH) – Tri-State Elite
61 – Avery Jesewitz – Wayzata (MN) – Northern Lights
64 – Ella Demetrician Ella Demetrician 6'2" | OH Appleton North | 2024 State #40 Nation WI – Appleton North (WI) – FC Elite
65 – Morgan Gaerte Morgan Gaerte 6'4" | OH Angola | 2024 State #26 Nation IN – Angola (IN) – Team Pineapple
74 – Reese Wuebker – Springboro (OH) – Tri-State Elite
76 – Payton Peterson – Dike-New Hartford (IA) – Six Pack
94 – Aowyn Schrader Aowyn Schrader 6'1" | OH Ankeny | 2024 State #147 Nation IA – Ankeny (IA) – Nebraska Premier
I have said this before, but the state of Indiana is so deep with talent. There are three outsides in the top 100 from the Hoosier state, but also plenty of other athletes who are right on the bubble of the top 100 who will get looks from top programs. Ava Utterback Ava Utterback 5'10" | OH Plainfield | 2024 State #24 Nation IN will be a major target for Big Ten programs coming out of Indianapolis where her jumping ability is tough to top. Right behind her is Lauren Harden Lauren Harden 6'3" | OH Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #36 Nation IN who might have the biggest upside in this class, consistently improving her all around game where she is becoming a threat in every rotation. Morgan Gaerte from the Ft. Wayne area (Angola) is 6’5 and a very long, physical athlete where she has the ability to contribute on both pins.
The Illinois athletes of Grace Nelson, Ava Pratt, and Ellie White will have an exciting recruiting process. Nelson has an older sister who playedvolleyball at Kansas and her mom is a former Hawkeye playing for the University of Iowa. Ava Pratt has shown she can score points in a variety of ways where she can score with her power, but has also proven she can handle the ball and use some finesse to score. Her ceiling is extremely high and with the Adversity staff having plenty of Big Ten connections, she has to be on the radar to plenty. Adversity is sending two athletes from the Class of 2022 to Penn State and could Pratt be the next?
Ella Demetrician Ella Demetrician 6'2" | OH Appleton North | 2024 State #40 Nation WI (title photos) is the top outside hitter from the Wisconsin Class of 2024. She is a physical six rotation pin who can score on the right side as well. She was part of the FC Elite 18 Elite team who was in the final four of 18 Open earlier this spring. Her club teammate, Saige Damrow, a 2023 libero is heading to Wisconsin where she committed as an 8th grader. Demetrician could be on the radar for the Badgers as well as other Big Ten programs where she has plenty of physicality, but can also contribute on both pins. She’s got a high IQ and a really solid all around game.
Iowa has two outside hitters who have a little bit of a different route to where they came to be some of the top players in their class. Payton Petersen Payton Petersen 6'0" | OH Dike-New Hartford | 2024 State #55 Nation IA of Dike-New Hartford/Six Pack has already won two state volleyball titles and two state basketball titles. She has such a knack for the game and has quite the volleyball family tree with her mom, Bobbi Petersen being the Head Coach of Northern Iowa, her older twin sisters now at Northern Iowa and a twin sister, Jadyn Petersen being a talent six rotation outside as well. Aowyn Schrader Aowyn Schrader 6'1" | OH Ankeny | 2024 State #147 Nation IA has made plenty of strides this club season where she is still settling into being an outside hitter after spending most of her career as a middle blocker. She also has an older sister in Phyona Schrader who is a setter at Notre Dame. The University of Iowa and new coach, Jim Barnes, will be looking to get the top prospects in the state and continue their connections to Minnesota and Illinois.
Middle Blocker
12 – Alec Rothe Alec Rothe 6'3" | MB Dublin Scioto | 2024 State #14 Nation OH – Dublin Scioto (OH) – EliteVBTC
17 – Kaia Caffee Kaia Caffee 6'4" | MB Buffalo | 2024 State #16 Nation MN – Buffalo (MN) – MN Select
47 – Anna Bjork Anna Bjork 6'3" | MB Oconomowoc | 2024 State #54 Nation WI – Oconomowoc (WI) – Milwaukee Sting
62- Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #102 Nation MI – Saline (MI) – Legacy
78 – Mia Trvdy – Papillon-LaVista (NE) – Premier Nebraska
The middle blocker position is always interesting because at the next level, some colleges like to turn their middles into a pin or right side. Some programs are more concerned with how dynamic their middles can be with the different types of tempos they can run while others just want someone who is long and provides a big block. Middles now come in many forms, but in the Big Ten, they have to be able to move laterally, have a high IQ, and have to find their way to get the hands on the ball.
Alec Rothe Alec Rothe 6'3" | MB Dublin Scioto | 2024 State #14 Nation OH will be on the USA U19 Youth National Training group in Tulsa. She touches incredibly high and has such a high ceiling. There is a lot of raw athletic ability where she could be a middle/right side combo player where she can do a lot of things for her side of the net. Being out of the Columbus area, she has Ohio State in her backyard as well as plenty of other big time programs who will be knowing on her door.
Kaia Caffee Kaia Caffee 6'4" | MB Buffalo | 2024 State #16 Nation MN for @MNSelect – 2024 middle blocker. Scary potential! Select and TAV trading big swings like this back and forth. Some of the top 2023 and 2024s in the country. #meq pic.twitter.com/LTx6e7uDKL
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) March 26, 2022
Kaia Caffee Kaia Caffee 6'4" | MB Buffalo | 2024 State #16 Nation MN has been soaring to the list of top middles in the Class of 2024. Minnesota has built a fence around their state when it comes to top middle blockers. Could she be a package deal with her setter on MN Select, in top 2024 setter Stella Swenson? Those two could rival some other in state setter/middle combos who have their names all over the record books at “The U”. Caffee has a blend of speed, power, and is incredibly dynamic. She was dominant at the 17s level this past club season.
Anna Bjork Anna Bjork 6'3" | MB Oconomowoc | 2024 State #54 Nation WI is another who has been a solid combo with her high school and club setter, Lilly Wagner for Oconomowoc High School in suburban Milwaukee and Milwaukee Sting 16 Gold. Bjork is the top middle in Wisconsin’s Class of 2024 where she can find the corners and puts so much pressure on the other side of the net. She also has a high IQ of where to anticipate the next set from the other side of the net. There are so many positive intangibles in her favor.
Mallory Bohl Mallory Bohl 6'3" | MB Saline | 2024 State #102 Nation MI has been an athlete plenty of college coaches have an eye. Legacy has quite a pipeline of middles to the University of Michigan with former middles, Jessica Robinson and Serena Nyambio heading down the road to Ann Arbor. Bohl keeps it simple, yet efficient because she knows how to avoid the block, does a great job of running the slide, and is a major presence defensively.
Mia Trvdy of @Premier16_G out of Omaha absolutely coming alive. Uber athletic middle, huge block here @TCVolleyballNIT pic.twitter.com/f4JT6jFKbN
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) February 19, 2022
I was really impressed seeing Mia Trvdy live at Triple Crown and the Northern Lights Qualifier. This Nebraska Premier 16 Gold squad got better each time they touched the floor and Trvdy was a key piece to this. She came up with some big swings and major blocks. She could be on the radar of Big Ten coaches, but with Creighton in the backyard, she could be a big time prospect for the Jays. With her ability to move and how dynamic she is, there are plenty of options for her at the next level.