While You Were “Quiet” Series: Molten Series Recap For Coaches
From now until Presidents Day weekend (Friday, February 15), Division 1 college coaches are “Quiet”, meaning they cannot go off campus to evaluate. This is a month later than usual with most coaches being out MLK weekend. This might change…
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Continue ReadingFrom now until Presidents Day weekend (Friday, February 15), Division 1 college coaches are “Quiet”, meaning they cannot go off campus to evaluate. This is a month later than usual with most coaches being out MLK weekend. This might change how clubs structure their schedule, an added emphasis on video, and athletes making contacts with coaches with coaches not being able to go see them live. This not only applies to athletes who are trying to find the right fit after they graduate high school, but college coaches cannot go out and see those who have already committed to their program.
No fear, I will be providing some insight to new prospects to keep an eye on, prospects that are definitely on the radar and how they are progressing, and athletes who have already committed and some of the highlights I’ve seen so far. From now until Presidents Day I will be attending the Molten Series, NLQ/January Thaw in Omaha, Big City Luau (Twin Cities), and JVA Jamboree in Milwaukee.
Here are some thoughts and updates from the Molten Series this past weekend:
*Northern Lights will always have talent that runs deep, but it was fun to see the 15’s (Class of 2022) start out their season. In their opening round match, it was hard not to notice the play of Kendall Minta who stands at 6’3, is touching near ten feet, and has such a strong defensive presence at the net. She could probably walk into a college gym next fall and physically matchup with some of the top athletes there. For the first time out, this team showed it will be a top contender not only in the region, but nationally based on their athleticism and physicality.
*Lilly Wachholz of High Voltage is a 2022 outside who could play on either pin. High Voltage is out of Waconia and has a team full of athletes who are big time contributors for Mayer Lutheran on the volleyball and basketball court, one being Olivia Tjernagel who is committed to Northern Iowa. Wachholz may be the young one on the 17s team, but she is going to see a lot of swings and will be tested with some top competition with athletes who are two years ahead of her, definitely a hidden gem that won’t be hidden by the end of the season.
*Watching Kendal Kemp as an 8th grader last year play up you could just see it was bound to all come together at some point for her. Well, she’s here, she’s powerful, and she is from the Class of 2022. Scary. She is Big Ten potential where she is so powerful at the net with her swing and block. Combine that with setter, Jasmine Weidemann and those two might be one of the top combos at the 16s level in the region and possibly even the country. Weidemann is just on point always being neutral and has a chance to distribute to multiple weapons on her MN Select 16-1 team.
*Speaking of Big Ten, Anna Wolf of River Falls, WI is a 6’4 middle/right side 2021 commit to Minnesota and the MN Select website has her listed at an approach touch of 10’5. For being the first live play out, you can see the veteran setter Izzy Ashburn (Wisconsin) teaching her, coaching her, leading the way and helping her get to the next level. Wolf looked impressive her first time out where the maroon and white of Select. Watching Ashburn play never gets old. Great footwork, hands, and just the setter mentality to lead the way. Select also had Syra Tanchin (North Dakota State) and Jasmine Mulvihill (Concordia-St. Paul) on the pin and were so efficient making the smart shot and using creativity to score points against Northern Lights 17-1 in the bracket finals.
*Kokoro 15-1 is looking to build off a strong finish at AAU’s last summer, but were faced with quite the opening round with Northern Lights 17-1. Haley Graetz, the 2018 AAU All American was a blocking machine and Kathryn Larson provided a big offensive spark from the right side with a heavy left handed swing to score points.
*One of the most entertaining series of matches was between Kandi Elite 18-1 who is full of all around athletes vs. Northern Lights 18-2 which ended with Lights coming out on top which set up a bracket final between NL 18-2 and MN Select 18-2. Between these two teams many of them having been playing with or against each other their whole club and high school careers. Here are just a few thoughts and player notes from this match.
–Tori Thompson (South Dakota State) of NL 18-2 was playing right side and was extremely physical and a real scoring threat. She was such a presence offensively and defensively.
–Sami Hilley of MN Select 18-2 continues to find ways to score points. She may be undersized as a middle, but she just finds a way. You can’t measure that. A definite student of the game, a 2020 prospect that you just can’t sleep on.
–Brenna Hesse (Green Bay) was the libero for Lights and just commands the court. She plays the game like a shortstop just all over the court and making the really difficult plays look routine and easy.
–Kelley Johnson (North Dakota State) was absolutely on fire. As an outside hitter at 5’10, she was flying high hitting shots down the line and scoring a ton of points. Such a fun player watch. Overall the Northern Lights 18-2 team played so loose throughout the day, lots of positive body language, smiles, and enthusiasm.
-MN Select 18-2 libero, Kelsie Sealock is still unsigned and definitely showed that she is capable of playing at the D1/D2 level. She was taking pace off the hard swings and was just flat out gritty holding down the back row throughout the whole match.
Solid dig, but the finish by @gabriellemm612 the @BC_Volleyball recruit to seal the set for @nlightsvball 18-2 pic.twitter.com/MgTDRu88Df
— Prep Dig Minnesota (@PrepDigMN) January 6, 2019
* Kandi Elite 18-1 is going to be dangerous with the high quality all around athletes they have on their team. With Carly Wedel heading to South Dakota State connecting with Piper Asche who is heading to Augustana on a slide is just pure money. A lot of these athletes are small town kids who are involved in everything their school has to offer from athletics to other extracurriculars, perfect example of developing the athlete from an all around perspective.
*What will be exciting is to see the development through the season of Northern Lights 17-1 right side Kathleen Bishop of St. Paul Academy. At 6’3, athletic, and a high, heavy swing she is going to be dangerous with her athleticism and continued training.
I will be heading to Omaha this weekend for the NLQ 18s Qualifier/January Thaw with coverage of teams from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Look for updates on our social media pages as well as @PrepDigChris on Twitter. Previews to come out later this week as well as other follow up articles from the Molten Series.
Prep Dig Gauntlet:
Showcase on May 31, Tournament June 1 and 2
Tournament Page: https://prepdig.com/2019/06/prep-dig-gauntlet-14s-15-club-15-open-all-tournament-team/
AES Link: https://www.advancedeventsystems.com/events/16753/divisions