2025 Recruiting Rolodex: Stars of the Southeast Pt. 1
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There are certain parts of the country that I have a little more knowledge in than others. I have the Upper Midwest and Mideast that I feel pretty good about, and surprisingly I feel very confident in the athletes from…
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Continue ReadingThere are certain parts of the country that I have a little more knowledge in than others. I have the Upper Midwest and Mideast that I feel pretty good about, and surprisingly I feel very confident in the athletes from the Southeast. A lot of these teams from this part of the country will come up to big time national events in Indianapolis for Central Zones and MEQ as well as Windy City in Chicago and Northern Lights Qualifier in Minneapolis. Here are athletes out of the Southeast that coaches will want to make sure are a priority.
Georgia
Asia Harvey Asia Harvey 6'0" | OH Sandy Creek | 2025 #10 Nation GA – A5 16 Gabe
Outside Hitter
Speed and power. That is the name of the game of Asia Harvey Asia Harvey 6'0" | OH Sandy Creek | 2025 #10 Nation GA who plays for A5 16 Gabe out of Atlanta. Lightning in a bottle is another way to describe her because she can strike from anywhere. This A5 team has improved tremendously since I saw them at Central Zone where they had an early exit in the gold pools. They will be a USAV 16 Open team and will be looking for an AAU 16 Open national title. As far as recruiting, she will be a high priority for the SEC and ACC to keep her local. I’m sure Kentucky down the road would love another dynamic pin and Georgia Tech would like to keep her real close to home. This will be a fun process for Harvey as well as the rest of her A5 teammates.
Florida
2025s are loaded in the state of Florida. I saw plenty of them live and will do my best to highlight a few. Whether these teams are competing in their backyard at AAU Nationals or coming to the Midwest for USAV in Chicago, there’s plenty of talent to go around the Sunshine State.
Charlotte Glass Charlotte Glass 6'1" | S Saint Andrews | 2025 State #14 Nation FL – Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
Setter
Glass is one of the most dangerous setters in the Class of 2025. She shows flashes of Micha Hancock, the former All American at Penn State and gold medalist for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. Glass is strong, athletic, physical, and incredibly dynamic. She can dominate the front row where she can nail all the tempos, block, or turn and swing. There is so much pressure on the opposite side of the net. Glass is also one where I think she has big time potential in the world of NIL. With over 20k in her volleyball instagram account and plenty of other volleyball sites using her highlights for content, she has found a way to market herself. Texas and Nebraska are winning the NIL game in women’s sports, but a program who is dominating NIL across all women’s sports is LSU.
Kelly Kinney Kelly Kinney 6'2" | OH The King’s Academy | 2025 State #15 Nation FL – Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal
Outside Hitter
This past spring, Kinney was able to train with the USAV U19 squad where she was among some of the top players in the country. I saw Kinney as a 15s playing for Boomers and saw a different player a year later playing for Tribe. She has always been springy with a fast arm, but her overall athleticism and physicality has really improved. Her ball is so heavy where it just explodes off of her hand. This is anywhere on the court. She is just as dangerous in the backrow as she is in the front. She can also run various routes where she is terminal off a variety of sets in different spots from the front line. Tribe played in a lot of big matches all season and will look to make a deep run in a couple weeks when they take on the 16 Open field at AAU Nationals.
Lily Hayes Lily Hayes 5'9" | DS/L Berkeley Prep | 2025 State #23 Nation FL – OT-16 T JP
Libero
Hayes was unable to play at USAV Nationals in 2022 where she had an arm injury, but this 2023 season she has shown she is one of the top liberos in the country. She has a lot of length and just glides on the court making her movement look easy. When I’ve seen her play, she keeps composed, not getting too high or low with her emotions remaining a consistent force for her team. Her athleticism stands out among liberos in this class. Does she stay South? She would be a great player in the Big Ten or Big 12. Now that UCF is in the Big 12, that can really change the dynamic for these Florida kids to play close to home and give them another option to play against some of the best in the country.
Izzy Mogridge Izzy Mogridge 5'10" | S Steinbrenner | 2025 State #32 Nation FL – OT – 16 T JP
Setter
She’s going to be big time – she is big time. Mogridge and Hayes team up for OT T 16 JP where they will be another team doing double duty with nationals at 16 Open at AAU and qualified 16 Open for USAV. Mogridge can do it all. She has the length as a setter to play in the front row at a high level, and is a very strong defender in the backrow. Body control and awareness is another strength where she remains neutral and can set any tempo in front or behind. Going back and watching video on Mogridge I still had a hard time predicting where she was going with the set because it looks the same every time. She will have a busy summer of recruiting calls and camps I’m sure. In the meantime she will be looking for another podium finish for her squad at AAU and USAV.
Amina N’diaye – OT – 16 O Roberto
Outside Hitter
So dynamic. I saw N’diaye play last year when she was playing up a year on the 16s OT squad. She’s back at it and is another dynamic attacker out of Florida. She is long, athletic, and has a violent armswing where she can get on top of the ball and hammer. What is exciting about her game is that she can score points from anywhere. She will score from the outside, but she also looks very natural coming out of the middle or on the right side out of serve receive. Her length and leaping ability is going to draw plenty of college coaches to her court where her ceiling at the next level is extremely high.
North Carolina
Caleigh Ponn – NC Academy 16 Diamond
Libero
Liberos can be tough for me to evaluate. A lot of them never get served at so I can’t always see what they can do in serve receive. A lot of outsiders will evaluate liberos based on their diving flags, which if liberos are all over the ground diving I do tend to question their ability to anticipate and their footwork. However, when I ask college coaches how they evaluate liberos the constant attribute I hear is they must have a presence on the court beyond passing the ball. That is something the Ponn has who is out of Virginia and plays club for NC Academy. She has a major presence where she is positively interacting with teammates. She’s also not afraid to do the dirty work where she always there in block coverage, covering her setters, anticipating the next play. She has a strong volleyball IQ, but also a really great court sense and athleticism that allows her to shine at a high level.
Ryan Hunter Ryan Hunter 6'2" | RS Cox Mill | 2025 #30 Nation NC – Triangle 17 Black
Right Side
I forget that Hunter is only a 2025 when she has been playing up an age group for the Triangle 17s team who has put together a really strong season. The 6’2 lefty right side is a really tough matchup for the other side of the net with a fast, active left handed swing. She touches high, establishes a strong block, and is one the other side of the net has to think twice when it comes to going head to head for the outside to swing against. She knows how to compete and win at a high level. With her location, she will be a priority for the ACC to keep close to home.
Bre McMillan – Triangle 16 Black
Setter/Right Side
If we’re picking teams for volleyball, I want someone like Bre MacMillan on my side. She does it all for her Triangle squad where she is involved in every play. In the backrow she is the setter where she gets her hands to the ball anywhere on the court. She connects extremely well with her middles and rightside behind her. When she goes to the front row, she is a terminal right side. I would be really curious to see her play in the front row as a setter and see what she can do offensively. She finds a way to score points and be part of big points when her team needs it most. This team will be competing in the 16 Open field in Chicago at the beginning of July.
Kentucky
Isabela Haggard Isabela Haggard 5'9" | S Dunbar | 2025 State #65 Nation KY – KiVA 16 Red
Setter/Right Side
I have a little philosophy that before you are a position in volleyball, you are a volleyball player. That is what Isabela Haggard Isabela Haggard 5'9" | S Dunbar | 2025 State #65 Nation KY is for KiVA where she plays on the right side and sets. She is also a top tier defender where she can do everything, making her greatest strength is that she doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. I really don’t like making speculations, but I’m guessing that she will go the setter route in college. No matter what position she chooses or school she goes to, she is making that gym better.