Sneaky 16s - Under The Radar Athletes From Triple Crown

Navigating Triple Crown NIT from a Prep Dig perspective can be a little tricky.  Every court has matches worthy of watching.  From wall to wall of the convention center there are high caliber athletes.  Where to even start?     For me, I wanted to find new players. Athletes who are under the radar. However, after this weekend they are definitely on the radar. None of these athletes were in the power pools to start, but some did make it into the Elite Bracket come Sunday. From California to Texas, Illinois, and Florida there and a few inbetween here are some 16s who need to be on the radar.   Ashlynn Reilly - Colorado Juniors 16-Shannon   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09483.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-325700" width="322" height="214" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Reilly</figcaption></figure>   Class of 2025 Libero   Reilly has a ton of range as a libero, she's also 6'2. This Colorado Juniors team is legit, they have a lot of length and athleticism where they made it to the top 32. Erika Sayer is a 6'2 middle who is extremely dynamic and explosive, Bridget Malone is a long, athletic six rotation outside hitter who can score a lot of points. With Reilly as libero, she can cover a lot of ground, she anticipates well, and can be used in a variety of ways for her team. They were in the USAV National Division last year, but they definitely are an open level threat in 2023.   [player_tooltip player_id='152050' first='Aubrey' last='Anders'] - AVC 16 Red   Class of 2025 Outside Hitter   Extremely explosive, Anders was a top scoring attacker for AVC this weekend who won their pool and played their way to the sweet sixteen. Anders is an attacker who can score from the pin, but is also a big time threat out of the backrow. She can handle a heavy dose when it comes to serve receive while transitioning from passing to attacking. Her contact point is high, she will be able to score points at a high level and is always an outlet no matter what.   [player_tooltip player_id='182108' first='Thalia' last='Yancey'] - San Antonio Juniors 16 Adidas (Title Photo)   Class of 2025 Outside HItter   So smooth. Yancey was extremely impressive as a six rotation outside hitter for SA Juniors where she does a little bit of every very well. She can serve receive with ease and transition to attack where she can plenty of shots to use. She is the type of player who brings a presence where everything will be ok on her side of the net. She can use power, finesse, and whatever her team needs her to do. She was a fun athlete and can be one at the next level who has a big upside.   Nadia Ewton - JJVA 16 Team   Class of 2025 Outside HItter   I saw Ewton and JJVA take on Boiler Juniors who always has a top tier defense.  They had their work cut out for them with Ewton on the pin.  Ewton is extremely physical, she can attack anywhere in the front row.  She can score from the left side, a two ball down the middle, or out of serve receive on the right side.  Its a really heavy ball that makes it tough for the other side of the net to defend.    [player_tooltip player_id='314730' first='Simone' last='Baskin'] - AJV 16 Adidas   Class of 2025 Middle Blocker   I knew I would see Takyla Brown run the show as a setter, she is so great on her feet and gets all of her attackers involved, especially Parker Duncan on the pin.  A new athlete on this team who is so explosive out of the middle is [player_tooltip player_id='314730' first='Simone' last='Baskin'].  She's fast, athletic, and a tough matchup.  There is a huge upside to her game.  This is a really fun AJV squad who I think can find their way to the USAV open level once again come July.    [player_tooltip player_id='311412' first='Devynn' last='Schulze'] - VC United   Class of 2025 Libero   I was watching the VC match against AJV and AJV sent a little free ball over and Schulze has the moxy to send the ball back, deep to the corner to score a point of her own.  She has grown up around the game with her dad, Eric Schulze as her coach and older sister Kylie who is on the VC United 181 Elite team and a Loyola-Chicago commit.  [player_tooltip player_id='311412' first='Devynn' last='Schulze'] plays with poise, a high IQ where she gets the game, she's always in position.  This VC United team is going to be real dangerous come late March and April where they have a big time pin in Rebecca Ring and plenty of other pieces that can knock off some big teams.    <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09505.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-325701" width="317" height="211" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='224272' first='Cambria' last='Gaier']</figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='224272' first='Cambria' last='Gaier'] - FaR Out 16 Black   Class of 2025 Outside Hitter   I know a lot of these athletes are probably standouts locally, but this was a time they had a chance to standout on the national stage and that is the case for [player_tooltip player_id='224272' first='Cambria' last='Gaier']. She's from a small town in Western Michigan, just south of Grand Rapids where she is a big time point scorer.  I was able to see her score from the backrow and being extremely active from the pin, a really fun athlete.  Her scoring ability with a hard swing that can go down the line or hard cross is tough to stop.    Kennedy Cherry - Boiler Juniors 16 Gold   Class of 2025 Libero   I've watched this Boiler Juniors teams over the past couple of years, they are so scrappy, and very balanced across the board.  This weekend I kept seeing plays made by libero Kennedy Cherry.  She keeps things simple, she's balanced, and makes the difficult plays look routine.  She is a libero who needs to be high on the radar of coaches throughout the Midwest.  She is in the heart of a lot of great collegiate volleyball conferences and will definitely be one to follow.    Natalia Silva - SA Magic 16 Elite   Class of 2025 Outside HItter   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09523.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-325703" width="452" height="301" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ellie Barker</figcaption></figure>   What a fun athlete.  On my notes I put stars and noted her swing, when she hits the ball it just sounds different - she puts a hurt on it.  Aside from her electric play on the outside, she is a really solid defender.  I could see her being a high level DS or dabble in being a libero with her serve receive and defense.  However, she is a pure point scorer where she has great vision and can terminate and score points in multiple ways.    Ellie Barker and Bridget Cassady - Illini Elite 16 Cardinal   Class of 2025 - Pin Hitters   I really like this Illini Elite team.  There are a lot of athletes I'll be covering on this team in the next couple of months.  Barker and Cassadey are athletic, physical, and provide so many scoring opportunities for this team.  Their libero, Kinley Quast gets these athletes in system with her first contact and it's a well balanced attack.  They turned some heads this past weekend in Kansas City and will be ones to watch this season.    [player_tooltip player_id='194575' first='April' last='Rice'] - Adversity 16 Adidas   Class of 2025 - Setter   Tag this athlete on your recruiting radars, I think she could be a big time impact player at the next level.  The 5'11 setter out of Chicagoland is so springy, I could use adjectives for her that I usually do for outside hitters with her athleticism.  I was able to sit courtside for a match for Adversity and she was extremely impressive.  With her jump setting and finding the right hitters at the right time is a great combination.  Oh, and she's 5'10 and left  handed.  She puts so much pressure on the defense in multiple ways.

Navigating Triple Crown NIT from a Prep Dig perspective can be a little tricky. Every court has matches worthy of watching. From wall to wall of the convention center there are high caliber athletes. Where to even start?