What to Expect from Nebraska’s Upcoming Rankings Update
It’s time to refresh the rankings once again. As we reach the “lull” between qualifiers and GJNC, we’re ready to crank out our next set of rankings updates for the 2024s, 2025s, and 2026s. It all starts early this week…
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Continue ReadingIt’s time to refresh the rankings once again.
As we reach the “lull” between qualifiers and GJNC, we’re ready to crank out our next set of rankings updates for the 2024s, 2025s, and 2026s. It all starts early this week with the 2024s, where we still have plenty of edits and additions to make based on what we’ve seen throughout this year’s club season.
Let’s get you primed for this update, as this is bound to be a big one. Consider this feature a refresher on the rankings update process and a preview of what you can expect from this latest overhaul.
These next few weeks are sure to be exciting.
Small Towns Loom Large
What a club season for the small-town gems.
We’re about to see a wave of additions across the board from Nebraska’s smaller towns and cities, particularly in the central part of the state. This trend is largely being fueled by the emergence of clubs like Nebraska Pride, which placed teams at Nationals in both the 16s and 17s via the Great Plains Bid Tournament.
But there’s plenty of credit to go around for this growing storyline. Nebraska ONE has brought some of its own small-town talents to the forefront, as has VCNebraska just across the road. We’ve been taken aback by just how many names are poised to join our next rankings update, even from the 2024 group that has been in the spotlight for a while. As we start to do breakdowns of these rankings releases, this theme will keep popping up.
On the Move
Stock risers are back. This is nothing new, but the rankings are about to be particularly shaken by our next refresh.
We’ve now had a handful of months in the 2023 club season to update our evaluations on dozens of ranked players, and that’s as good of an opportunity as any to make informed edits. In particular, we have certain players in mind who have elevated their stock significantly in recent action. Our new releases ought to reflect that movement. More details will be given in the post-release features that we’ll have rolling out for the next few weeks!
Establishing a 2026 Hierarchy
Now that we have solid sample sizes from the Class of 2026 in both high school and club venues, we can start to transform our watch list into numerical rankings.
The number of ranked entries we’ll have in our 2026 update is yet to be determined. Our first release of a numerical hierarchy for the Class of 2025 featured an initial Top 25, and that might be the number we aim for this year. But the 2026s have also given us a lot of exciting moments and chances to be seen, so we may aim even higher. Stay tuned.
Just Getting Started
Perhaps the most important message here is the last one. Rankings are merely a snapshot in an ever-evolving glimpse at a state’s talent base.
Spots in the rankings are interchangeable. and we’re always splitting hairs between one spot and the next. These small distinctions are subject to tweaks and updates as players develop, necessitating a handful of updates throughout the calendar year.
So, wherever a player may land in this upcoming update is far from final. We have so much more volleyball to watch and things to learn. Nationals will surely be a stark reminder of this, and we haven’t even gotten started with this fall’s high school season.