Iowa 2026 Watchlist – How It’s Made, How To Use It As a Tool
The Iowa Class of 2026 Watchlist is LIVE! I wanted to give a peek behind the curtain to explain the process of how I come up with names for this list and how these athletes can utilize their profiles on Prep Dig.
How The List Is Made?
Prep Dig is focused on hyper local coverage where we try and do a deep dive on each state where we look to identify 100 players per class to start throughout their volleyball careers. Each year, this list grows as we continue to see more athletes. In some states, by the end of their senior year we have over 200 athletes listed.
How did the names come together in Iowa?
I have seen many of these athletes play live at the high school or club level. They were quick to go into the database. However, I know there are more athletes out there so I included athletes who made an All District team as a freshman or were on a one's club team that had finished in the top eight of the region.
This is a starting point. These athletes are finishing their freshman year of high school. There is a lot of volleyball left to be played and plenty of growth. I see so many gains between the freshman to sophomore year as well as the 15s to 16s club season. This is a process, and these lists and rankings are simply a tool in that process. Here is how you can use a player profile as a tool in your recruiting process. Through this process, I still miss kids that deserve to be on this list.
How To Use a Player Profile
When athletes are entered into our database, they can claim their profile (highly suggest). If athletes claim their profile they can take control of their information with being able to edit their club, high school, and player information. Position change? Claim your profile and make the change yourself, same goes for any other changes throughout your prep career. Athletes can also add highlight videos and there is a place where you can see any article or photo thats been tagged to your profile.
The Challenge in Creating a Watchlist
Athletes at the 15s level don't have a lot of information available in regards to volleyball. Unless they've been written about in a newspaper, I had a hard time finding information in regards to high school attending (If athletes claim their profile they can update that themselves). Most of the information I was able to find was off AES or Prep Dig articles. The two top club websites I have to give a shout out to would be MVP United out of the Sioux City area and Iowa Select. As athletes progress in their prep career, I would recommend making sure you have a profile of some sort that has high school with the grad year and what club you are currently playing for. There are plenty of recruiting sites out there, but having information with some of the basics can be extremely beneficial to college coaches (and Prep Dig scouts too :).
What Kids Do I Miss First Time Around?
If there are athletes that are in the Class of 2026 that are playing up or down an age group, I usually miss them. I focus a lot on the 15s age group when compiling the names and I know there are some that slip through the cracks. This is always a work in progress and I continue to take notes on athletes. I also know with Iowa kids they play club in other states. Omaha is always a popular spot as well as Kairos in SIoux Falls, SD. I have also opted to take in some athletes who are on the border and play in Iowa such as the Quad Cities area and Dakota Valley (SD) who play for MVP United in the Sioux City/Dakota Dunes area.
What's Next?
For athletes, even though you are 15, take the driver's seat of your recruiting. Parents and coaches are there for support, but at the end of the day it needs to be the athletes who are sending the messages, sharing the highlight videos, and driving the process.
At one of our showcases, the lead coach shared with the athletes some very simple advice if they wanted to get recruited and that was, “Get Better”. You want to get recruited and noticed? Focus on a growth, focus on the things that will get you to become a better athlete and volleyball player. For the athletes in the Class fo 2026, I have been so impressed with what you have done so far before even finishing your freshman year of high school. Please remember these lists or rankings do not define you as a person. Keep getting better, keep rooting for each other, at Prep Dig, we're all rooting for you!
