12 Midwest Club Teams To Make Waves in 2024
It’s here, 2024 club season is ready to go with plenty of team kicking off their season with scrimmages, power leagues, and warm up tournaments with some 18s qualifiers and some other larger tournaments starting MLK weekend. At Prep Dig,…
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Continue ReadingIt’s here, 2024 club season is ready to go with plenty of team kicking off their season with scrimmages, power leagues, and warm up tournaments with some 18s qualifiers and some other larger tournaments starting MLK weekend. At Prep Dig, it takes a few weeks for us to sort out who is playing where in regards to club changes or even players who are playing up or down an age level. Here are some teams from the Midwest to take note of that will be strong contenders in their age groups. Some of these teams have picked up some new players, others are playing with the same core that has been together for years. Take a look at these 12 teams who are ready for a big season!
1st Alliance 16 Gold
1st Alliance is always in the running come day three at qualifiers. This 16s team finished as the 15 National runner up in 2023 at USAV Nationals in Chicago. However, they are bringing two new pins to the squad in 2024. Natalie Surges is a top outside out of Wisconsin and Elle Schara was a key piece to the Michio run to qualify in 15 Open. Schara is a standout athlete from Crown Point, Indiana. The combination of Surges and Schara will team up with the top two prospects out of the Illinois Class of 2026 in middle Caroline Tarnow and setter Nikolija Bulatovic.
Sports Performance 16 Elite
Sports Performance is adding two new events to their schedule that will be exciting to see how they stack up with some of the best in the country. They will be playing in Central Zone in Indianapolis at the start of February and follow it up with a spot at Triple Crown in Kansas City. This team is loaded with 2026 talent. Haley Burgdorf is an outside hitter who was on the 16s last year and is one of the top outsides in her class in Illinois. Cassidy Cage is an athletic and physical middle blocker who played for Michio in 2023 where they qualified in 15 Open. These athletes are always well trained and disciplined and they will be tested very early in their season.
MN Select 16-1
MN Select as 15s in 2023 had a lot of really good athletes where you could see the start of something special brewing. In 2024, they have added some pieces to this team that could make a huge difference. Elena Hoecke was on the 16s last year and is the top prospect in the Class of 2026 in Minnesota as a 6’3 middle blocker. Ellery DeBoer has played up two age groups for Kandi Elite and will be playing on the MN Select 16-1’s as one of the top 2027 setters in the country. She has attended numerous NTDP sessions and will be one to have on the radar for college coaches. Eva Swenson will be one to watch as well where she was a 6’3 setter in 2023 and could do a little bit of setting and a force on the right side.
Iowa Rockets 15R
I don’t always know the 15s teams coming in since a lot of their players will be new to me, but this is a team I know will compete at a high level this season. Plenty of their athletes played at the varsity level this past high school season and many of them attended the Iowa Top 250. One of their top attackers will be Sophia Austen who can score points from anywhere in the front row. Uber athletic and dynamic. Edie Miller will be one of the top liberos in Iowa’s Class of 2027 where she earned All State honors in Iowa’s largest class this past fall. At the setter position they have Belle Seaman and Hadley Miller who were standouts this fall and have a really athletic style of play. This group finished 9th in 14 National last summer at USAV Nationals in Chicago.
Academy 18 Elite Rage
18s are always a question mark in regards to who leaves early to go to college and if there is any movement. Academy will have the benefit of picking up one of the top players in the country in outside hitter Lauren Harden, a Florida commit who had been playing club at Rev out of Indianapolis. She will join her high school teammate from Hamilton Southeastern, one of the top high school teams in the country, in Sophia Ledbetter (Ball State). Leah Richmond (Western Michigan) will run the show as setter and will look to another electric outside in Alaleah Tolliver who is a huge pick up for her hometown team in Butler University.
FC Elite 18 Elite
FC Elite has always loaded up their 18s team and has been among the top 18s teams in the country, consistently qualifying for 18 Open the past few seasons that includes a final four finish in 2022. This squad out of the Appleton area will be led by Michigan commit, Ella Demetrician who has been playing 18s since her freshman year. Demetrician will be joined by her high school setter in Emerson Van Lannen (Kansas State) and 2025 setter Jordan Czajkowski (Belmont). A prospect to watch on this team is 2026 libero Peyton Carlson. Carlson is the top prospect in Wisconsin’s Class of 2026 where she is an elite outside hitter at the high school level, but will be the libero for this team where she will be facing some of the top attackers in the country.
Legacy 16 Adidas (MI)
This team is going to be dangerous. They will have their eyes on the prize for a national championship. In 2023, they took home titles from national qualifiers and lost a tough gold bracket quarterfinal match on the final day of USAV nationals, tying for 5th place. Gabriella DiVita is one of the top outside hitters in the country when it comes to the Class of 2026 and she will be joined by two of the top middles in the country in Ella Andrews and Kayla Nwabueze. They will pose one of the most physical lineups of any 16s team. Nationally, this 16s field across the country is extremely deep.
Munciana 18 Samurai (IN)
The list goes on when it comes to elite athletes from Munciana. There are some new names to know on this 18 Samurai team who could make a big difference in 2024. Macy Hinshaw (Santa Clara) has always played a year up for Circle City and will be finishing her career playing for Munciana. Addison Tindall will be coming over from Team Pineapple. She is one of the top players out of the Hoosier state from the Class of 2025 who has committed to Purdue. This team might have the top defensive duo in the country with Lola Schumacher (Wisconsin) and Addison Applegate (Texas A&M) leading the backrow.
Dynasty 17 Adidas (KS)
This is definitely a new look to Dynasty for the upcoming club season. USC commits Reese Messer and Abigail Mullen who always played up an age level will be playing with their own age group at the 17s age group. Adding these two to this team instantly makes a difference where there are a lot of elite athletes who are uncommitted. Lauren Lopez is an outside hitter who has even done a little bit of setting who can passing, score, and make a lot of plays to boost her side of the net. Hadley Porter will be a libero college programs will look forward to watching live over Presidents Day weekend at Triple Crown where she could be a key steal at the next level.
Sting United 16 Red
This is not Milwaukee Sting, but it is a satellite of Milwaukee Sting where there are some top athletes on this team out of the Madison, Wisconsin area. They were a gold bracket team at USAV last July and even took home the American Division of the Northern Lights Qualifier. This all starts with the setter/attacker duo of Sari Marks and Addie Oeth. They play opposite of each other where they are smooth. They are high iQ and extremely dynamic. Another athlete to watch out of the middle is Hannah Mlsna who is extremely physical being able to score and block.
Adrenaline 17 Ben
Adrenaline out of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area came on very strong last season with outside hitter Chloe Meester was soaring on the radar of 2025 outside hitters. She is now committed to Louisville while a big time lefty leaper on the right side is Sydney Maue who is an Arkansas commit. This team picked up some big time athletes in the offseason in twin setter/hitter duo Molly Shafer and Kate Shafer who are heading to Northern Iowa. Dakota Mitchell is another key pick up at the libero position where she has committed to North Texas.
Pohaku 16-1
This team was on fire last year in Chicago where they were relentless. They played with an energy that was tough to match as they continued to make a run into the gold bracket of 15 Open. Grace Martin is electric, she can score points from anywhere, especially the outside. She can defend, serve receive, and handle a high volume of swings. Another attacker to keep tabs on would be Willow Weninger who does most of her damage from the right side, but she’s another one who is a huge difference maker.