2022 Players to Watch – Houston Updates
Come with us as we take a trip to the Houston area to explore some updates on a few players from our State Rankings List. These H-town vballers have been tearing it up on the court this past high school…
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Continue ReadingCome with us as we take a trip to the Houston area to explore some updates on a few players from our State Rankings List. These H-town vballers have been tearing it up on the court this past high school and current club season. We couldn’t be happier to give them kudos for their hard work. Here they are:
Sophia Keene Sophia Keene 6'1" | OH Concordia Lutheran | 2022 State #100 Nation TX [2022] 6-1 Outside (HS: Concordia Lutheran/Club: Houston Skyline/Verbal: Baylor)
Sophia is currently listed as the 19th ranked prospect according to our Prep Dig State Rankings list. In our previous article we wrote the following, “The Baylor commit will have no problems adapting to the college game. She has been a true point scorer for the past couple of years. She has been dominant on the left side of the court since she was a young player. Gifted with extremely long arms, she skies over blockers and hits with ferocity. This kid has a cannon for an arm. She hits the ball with absolute power. She started with TAV Houston and now is with Houston Skyline and their dominant team. We expect this young lady to soar up the rankings later on this year with more training. She has a very high ceiling and will be one of the top hitters in the area once again in 2020-2021.” This past season was cut short a little but she was able to still be an asset when she was on the court. Over two years on varsity she has amassed 86 kills, hit .289, and 35 digs. This past season Concordia went 22-4 overall. She and her Houston Skyline club have been on a tear so far this club season. She is playing up on the 18 Royal team and they are dominating. We are excited to see what she does to get ready to play for Baylor in a few years.
Reaghan Thompson Reaghan Thompson 6'0" | MB Clear Creek | 2022 State TX [2022] 6-0 Middle (HS: Clear Creek/Club: Club South/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Reaghan is currently ranked as the 46th best high school prospect in the 2022 class in the State of Texas. In our previous article we wrote the following, “Miss Thompson is a middle who turns on a dime out of transition to blast away at opponents. She powers through blockers at will on a 51 set. Her timing is impeccable on a shoot set in the three position on the net. She is one of the best point scorers I have seen out of the middle in a while. She is able to hit both to zone five and across her body to zone one also. She plays for a small club in the south side of Houston called Club South. She has a great rapport with her setter at her Clear Creek high school team and they have no problems with their timing on any of the quick sets. Reaghan can explode in the air at will to pound the ball out of the middle. She is a force to be reckoned with in her district. We are looking forward to seeing her grow over the next two years on the court.” Over three years on varsity she has accumulated 522 kills, hit an impressive .281, had 33 aces and totaled 160 blocks. She helped Clear Creek go 14-11 overall and 9-3 in district. She is so quick off the ground that it is difficult to time her from an opponent’s perspective. When you match that with her explosive arm, you have a player who will continue to tear it up during her senior season next year. She is no stranger to playing at a high level as she has been on a USA High Performance team in 2019. Keep your eye on her as we are.
Cassidy Drapela Cassidy Drapela 5'11" | S Lamar Consolidated | 2022 State TX [2022] 5-11 Middle/Outside (HS: Lamar Consolidated/Club: Texas Tornados /Verbal: Houston Baptist University)
Cassidy is currently ranked as the 56th top prospect in the 2022 class according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. In our previous article we said, “She is blessed with an amazing hang time on her vertical approach. It almost seems as if she is floating in the air when you watch her jump. She is considered an athlete by college coaching standards seeing as she excels in multiple facets of the game of volleyball. She is a hybrid player who can do quite a bit with the ball. She is gifted with large and soft hands, which allow her to control the ball on emergency techniques in the back row. She can attack both in the front row on quick tempos and also in the back row on high tempos. I haven’t seen a middle explode to the setter after transition the way she does in a long time. She is lightning quick toward her setter and equally as explosive off of the ground. Opposing blockers don’t stand a chance with her cannon for an arm either. She is someone who I would take in a heartbeat on a college program.” It turns out it didn’t take long for a college program to take notice. She is verbally committed to Houston Baptist University. She is one of the best players for her high school team and will continue to lead them to a competitive season next year during her senior season She has been a 1st Team All District player each year since her freshman year at LCHS. In the meantime her Texas Tornados squad is on a mission to qualify for nationals.
Chandler Lee Chandler Lee 5'11" | OH Katy Taylor | 2022 State TX [2022] 5-11 Outside (HS: Katy Taylor/Club: Houston Skyline/ Verbal: Uncommitted)
Chandler comes in ranked as the 78th top prospect in the great state of Texas according to our Prep Dig State Rankings. In the article we wrote about her early last summer we stated, “She plays for a great club program in the Houston area, Houston Skyline. She mainly plays on the right pin, but can hit high tempo on the left as well. She touches high and truly hits at the peak of her jump to sky over blockers. What is great to watch about the way Miss Lee plays is her determination to do what it takes to keep the ball in play. She can be seen flying out of the court into the stands to save a ball. That in itself should be commended. She plays with a great fire that all players should have. She is a solid pin attacker who can score in a variety of ways.” She is now a member of the famed 10 foot club meaning she can approach touch ten feet high. In two years on varsity at Katy Taylor she has amassed 506 kills, hit .202 had 57 blocks, 262 digs, and also 24 aces. She made the Greater Houston Volleyball Coaches Association 2020 post season 6A team for her play on the court. She is no stranger to success as she won the 2019 USA Open Division National Championship with her Houston Skyline squad. She is back on killing it for Skyline now that club is back on and we are excited to watch her keep growing into a wonderful player. Coaches take notice now.
There are many more amazing 2022 players that we have on our State Rankings. Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following Texas Family!