Sunshine Classic Showcase Top Performers Vol 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are so pumped to renew our partnership with USA Volleyball.&nbsp; We were super excited to run our second session of the Sunshine Classic Showcase in conjunction with the Sunshine Classic National Qualifier in Orlando, FL on Thursday, March 2^nd.&nbsp; We had some of the best players from many states attend.&nbsp; Many players stood out to our court coaches and scouts throughout the entire showcase for a variety of reasons.&nbsp; Some players stood out for their dynamic physical skills and some stood out for intangibles like leadership, effort and attitude.&nbsp; Let's meet a few of the players who earned the honor of Top Performer at the Sunshine Showcase.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='303612' first='Sloan' last='Cleveland'] [2025] 5-6 Libero (HS: Prestonwood Christian/Club: Dallas Skyline/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":335030,"width":101,"height":152,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/152-Sloan-Cleveland.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-335030" width="101" height="152" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sloan is currently ranked as the 74^th best overall prospect in the 2025 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.  She plays for Prestonwood Christian High School and also plays club for the Dallas Skyline program.  I was very intrigued to see Miss Cleveland on the top court with some of the older players to see if she could showcase the skills that I have seen so far this club season.  She definitely held her own and showed that she belongs with the elite level of players.  What I love about her back row play is how tenacious she is on the defensive end.  There is not a ball that she will not give her full effort for.  As coaches, we talk a lot about relentless pursuit of the ball on the defensive end and that is exactly how Sloan plays.  While she was on the top court she was able to separate herself by not shying away from anything that her coaches asked her to do.  The ball contacts her platform so well and she uses great spacing from her body in order to soften contact with hard driven balls.  I also loved her awesome serve, which was stifling the opposing side during both the positional drills and during the scrimmage at the end. <strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/alyssa-manitzas/"></a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='490530' first='Katelyn' last='Baxley']&nbsp;[2024] 6-0 Middle (HS: Providence/Club: Powers Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"left","id":334993,"width":102,"height":153,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/100-Katelyn-Baxley.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-334993" width="102" height="153" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Katelyn is an unranked prospect in the 2024 Class according to our Prep Dig Florida State Rankings, but is on our watch list now with what we saw at the showcase.&nbsp; She plays at Providence School and also for the Powers Volleyball club.&nbsp; Katelyn showed some awesome potential to be a shut down blocker at the net during the showcase during the scrimmages.&nbsp; Her court coaches remarked at her strong upper body, high motor, and awesome teamwork.&nbsp; One of her court coaches urged me to go over and watch that high motor in action during one of our transition drills, which really highlights middle footwork.&nbsp; During the drill, Miss Baxley was definitely a star amongst stars.&nbsp; I loved how supportive she was to everyone on her court.&nbsp; This kind of motivational teammate can do wonders for a team's moral.&nbsp; She is the type of player that every coach would love to have on their roster as she adds that extra off the court camaraderie that is necessary for every winning program.&nbsp; I will have our Florida scouts watch her very closely.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='337345' first='Avery' last='Webb'] [2026] 5-3 Libero (HS: Ponte Vedra/Club: OTVA/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":334985,"width":109,"height":163,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/23-Avery-Webb.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-334985" width="109" height="163" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Avery is an unranked prospect in the 2026 Class according to our Prep Dig Florida State Rankings, but that is only because we have not released them yet.&nbsp; There is no doubt that she will make the list once we do release it.&nbsp; She plays at Ponte Vedra High School and also for the OTVA program.&nbsp; I was blown away by this young lady's ball control as it was top notch and definitely stood out amongst all of the defensive specialist/liberos at the showcase.&nbsp; Court vision is one of the cornerstone attributes that differentiate good liberos from great liberos and Avery is a perfect example of it.&nbsp; Many things truly stood out when I watched her compete and one was definitely her range.&nbsp; She was able to extend that range well beyond her wingspan and it was an amazing sight to see.&nbsp; This young lady is no stranger to playing at a high level and she brought that to the courts during the showcase.&nbsp; I love that she was able to use her hands when passing and digging at a very high level.&nbsp; Miss Webb was a no-brainer for one of our top prospect honors when we discussed who was standing out.&nbsp; We will be watching her very closely as she continues to show her abilities to the world.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are many more amazing players that will be written about.&nbsp; Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:nov8vb@yahoo.com">nov8vb@yahoo.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->