What’s the Story Behind the 2026 Rankings Update?
In this article:
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<p>This rankings update has been a long time coming. Countless hours have gone into watching teams compete and taking notes on players. This class is incredibly talented across the board. Here is the story behind the 2026 rankings update. </p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Numbers</h2>
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<p>The initial watchlist for this class came out in late 2022. Since then, we have been covering tournaments across the state and Midwest and keeping an eye on this class. For this initial ranking, we ranked 30 athletes. The big numbers come on the watchlist, though. There were just over 90 athletes listed on the initial watchlist released in 2022. We now have around 150 athletes on our watchlist and 30 athletes ranked. That means athletes in this class have been exploding onto our radar at an incredible rate. </p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Only 30? </h2>
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<p>We work very hard to put a lot of time and thought into our rankings. Because we only cover athletes in high school, we take our time building up the rankings. We want to ensure we have seen these athletes numerous times throughout their Prep volleyball careers. </p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What are some of the trends? </h2>
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<p>There are some trends in this class that we haven't seen before. First, the number of clubs represented in the top 30 is larger than usual. It isn't just a couple of clubs dominating the rankings; there are athletes from eight different clubs in the top 30 rankings. This is significant. </p>
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<p>Additionally, one of my favorite new trends is in the use of six-rotation right sides and middles or athletes who play multiple positions. There is a big focus right now on versatile players, and it is so fun to see. Athletes like [player_tooltip player_id='249623' first='Addie' last='Oeth'] and [player_tooltip player_id='247272' first='Sari' last='Marks'] both set and swing for Sting United. [player_tooltip player_id='249645' first='Callie' last='Carr'] is also a talented setter and right side, as is [player_tooltip player_id='249644' first='Brooke' last='Baldwin']. [player_tooltip player_id='388473' first='Taylor' last='Lord'] is a middle who can be used in serve receive and is talented in pass to attack. Athletes like [player_tooltip player_id='277420' first='Allie' last='Beers'] can swing out of the middle and on the right side. The athletes in this class are dynamic and well-rounded. </p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What if I am not included on the list? </h2>
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<p>There is A LOT of volleyball to see. Keep playing, keep working, and keep showing up for your team. You can also create a profile on our Prospect Index. While this does not guarantee you will be ranked or added to our watchlist, it can help you get onto our radar. </p>
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This rankings update has been a long time coming. Countless hours have gone into watching teams compete and taking notes on players. This class is incredibly talented across the board. Here is the story behind the 2026 rankings update.
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