Class of 2018: Athletes On The Rankings Rise

The new Class of 2018 rankings are released and updated! No, I don’t pull names out of a hat. Although that would be kind of fun. The rankings were a long process in the making and one not to be made lightly. Conversations and emails with club directors, club coaches, college coaches, and going out to see athletes play for most of January and the first part of February went into all of this. Did I see every single athlete on this list? No. Do I know that some of these athletes have no intentions of play college volleyball? Yes, but some of the pick ups at the Division 3 level are made in the spring. For the athletes, if you want to play college volleyball, there are many great places for you to play! Here are some of the athletes I’ve seen that I feel have made a strong case to rise up in the rankings since the initial ones posted in November. Some are names that are very familiar, but others may be a bit new, and some are still looking for a place to take their game to the next level. Take a look at the athletes on the rise in the Class of 2018. Wucherer Moves Into The Top Five Miranda Wucherer is a huge part of the early season success behind Milwaukee Sting 18 Gold. I have seen Wucherer play in high school and a little bit of club, but this is an athlete with so many tools to help her team. Her jump serve is lethal, it's not the lollipop float, it is a nasty top spin that very few are able to do at the high school level. Wucherer and Claire Mosher are running a 6-2 on Sting 18 Gold and both are undersized compared to some of the 6 foot plus right sides that will be across the net. Wucherer is such a high IQ player that her quickness and smarts are scoring points in itself. As a setter, she has great footwork, hands, and the underlying skill in all of this is High IQ. Some athletes will wait on the offer from the Power 5 Conference programs, but Wucherer is going to be a huge impact at Northern Kentucky which is part of the Horizon League and will be making visits to UW-Milwaukee and Green Bay. Sophia Quelle, Katie Rounds: Hidden Gems From Capital Adidas Sophia Quelle is a 5’6 DS/Libero from Capital Adidas 18. In the early part of the season Capital 18 Adidas had some positional changes which forced Green Bay recruit Kaitlyn Gehler to set instead of play her normal position at libero. Quelle stepped into play libero and was extremely solid when I saw her play at GLPL. As of now, I am not aware if she has committed anywhere, but she would be a solid D3, small D2 pick up. She has had solid training at Capital, which also means she knows how to work and be a great teammate. Katie Rounds is 6’1 and also uncommitted at this point from McFarland also playing for Capital 18 Adidas. Cori Meyers and Abby Hamilton, Pin Power I have experience coaching at Appleton North and St. Norbert and most of these athletes on this list I have seen play at the high school level in some capacity. Meyers and Hamilton were actually two I hadn’t, and when I saw them play at the WVA Invite and the JVA Jamboree in Milwaukee I was extremely impressed. Meyers is committed to Winona State and Hamilton is committed to Loyola Maryland out in Baltimore. These two, along with Abby Koenen on the right side and Amanda Garvens at libero have been the key cogs for Sting 18 Blacks bid to USA Nationals. Meyers and Hamilton play extremely high and know how to use a block to score points. They are accustomed to a lot of swings from their high school season and will be able to adjust to the college game very smoothly based on the training they’ve had along with the challenging scheduling they are playing this year. Overall, very impressive! Garvens, High School Outside To College Libero Amanda Garvens of Oconomowoc was a solid outside for Oconomowoc playing in two state tournaments and being a consistent force that has led the Raccoons to one of the top programs in the state. Garvens plays libero instead of outside for Milwaukee Sting 18 Black and is incredibly athletic. A dynamic playmaker, consistency, and a leader in the backrow, Garvens has the chance to be an instant impact at the next level. She has committed to UNC-Greensboro and has all the tools to contribute at the Division 1 level. An athlete who knows how to win, has a variety of skills, and the ability to adjust is essential when making the next jump. Look for Garvens to continue to make a rise up and how her volleyball career will continue as a D1 athlete. Lauren Spaulding, Major Rise To Top 40 Spaulding has been one to follow this year and has moved up about 40 spots after seeing her play live a couple times. She is definitely a six rotation player that would be a great D3 pickup and one to build a program around. However, is she capable at playing at a higher level? Will she be a late pick up from a larger program looking for the late gem? She will have some big qualifiers coming up with WVA going out to Boston the beginning of March, MEQ, and Badger Region before Nationals are done at the end of April. This will be exciting to see how it all pans out! Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt On The Radar Boelter-Eberhardt was a major part of Pewaukee’s postseason run that fell just one match short of the state tournament. This year Boelter-Eberhardt is playing for Motion MVP 18 Blu with Katy Kluge who is also an unsigned Class of 2018 prospect. Boelter-Eberhardt is able to play on the right side or middle and has a lot of power behind her swing. Being versatile is such a positive when looking to play at the college level. Having the ability to switch positions or at least having the ability to adjust gives you huge advantage to those athletes who have only played one position their whole career.