Digging Into the 2027 Rankings Update

The Class of 2027 is receiving the first Prep Dig Washington rankings update in the March/April rankings timeline. Two solid months of club competition allowed our scouts to add another 25+ athletes to the player database, and the ranked players are now in the top 75 total. Freshman athletes are still young and growing and have a big ceiling for developing their games. Our top three remain the same- OH [player_tooltip player_id='460680' first='Cadence' last='Bigby'] from WVBA 15 Adidas leads the way. Bigby is long with a great swing and has the makings of a terrific six-rotation prospect.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/QtqpQLtpekA?si=mqnXOypV_-T3TtNX </div></figure>   Right on her heels are two 6"2 right sides, Peyton K. Frederick and Maddy Connor. Size is a difference maker in our rankings; the cold, hard truth is length can't be taught in a vertical sport—particularly one where players don't contact one another. These two will only improve as their game continues to be fine-tuned. [player_tooltip player_id='459079' first='Kathryn' last='Harris'] is our top setter and #4 player overall. She is among the best competitors, if not the best in the class. As a setter, it's about winning and improving the players around you; Harris more than checks those boxes.   Teams are starting to separate slowly.   Washington players compete in three USA Volleyball Regions: Evergreen, Puget Sound, and Columbia Empire. The shifting landscape in club volleyball also means teams may not compete in USAV events, choosing AAU and JVA (Top Court) exclusively or a combination that suits their club, players, and parents best. Sometimes, we may not see some of the top teams in an area face off head-to-head, making it a bit more challenging to know who the absolute top squads are. For Rankings, you need to watch the best teams play; players win matches, and better players win more matches. That doesn't mean we aren't looking at all the players we can across the state, but we start at the top teams and the teams playing at the highest possible levels of play (Open, etc.).   CRU Max out of Central Washington has just started the tournament phase of its season, throwing another wrench into the works. CRU has a solid roster at the 15s; we look forward to watching them on the court. Shockwave 15, CPA Benson 15, and RVC 15 Kady all look good in the Evergreen Region—and none have played head-to-head yet. The West Side has teams from Whatcom to Portland playing at a high level with class of 2027 players from Washington. WVBA, Puyallup Juniors, Blu Royals, Dakine, NPJ, Skagit Island, Sudden Impact, PSVBA, and Oly Reign have excellent talent. Southwest Washington has terrific teams that compete for top players with Oregon-based teams like Athena and OJVA.   Washington squads are competing well nationally.   It's fantastic when the players and teams from our state can compete effectively at National events. Washington teams from multiple age divisions have had outstanding finishes at large tournaments across the country in 2024, and the 15U age group that most 2027 athletes compete in is no exception. Shockwave 15 took home a championship at the Las Vegas Classic, and players like libero [player_tooltip player_id='499824' first='Mallory' last='Raines'], right-side [player_tooltip player_id='515090' first='Mia' last='Young'], and OH [player_tooltip player_id='505821' first='Grace' last='Hammond'] played their way into the updated rankings. The Blue Royals 15 team went 8-2 at the Fiesta MLK Classic in Arizona, and NPJ Seattle National won four matches at the Adidas Bluegrass and three at the Triple Crown Invite. These are terrific wins at extremely tough tournaments. The level of play in the state may not be at a Texas, Nebraska, California, or Florida level, but it's headed in the right direction.   Prospects Playing "Up"   Coaches seemingly have wide-ranging views on players competing at a higher age division; regardless, some of the best players in the class of 2027 are playing on their club's 16s team. Most are physically ready to compete and are starters or serious contributors to the team, and in some cases, it splits up two terrific players who may be the same age. Raines starts at libero for Shockwave 15's, while fellow 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='499386' first='Avery' last='Beck'] is the starting libero for the Shockwave 16's team. Players like [player_tooltip player_id='459079' first='Kathryn' last='Harris'], [player_tooltip player_id='499395' first='Shannara' last='Peebles'], [player_tooltip player_id='412070' first='Mara' last='Sandberg'], and [player_tooltip player_id='484727' first='Brooklyn' last='Larrabee'] play at the 16's level and are highly ranked.   My favorite take on volleyball players playing up in age comes from Matt Sonnichsen, longtime volleyball coach and creator of the collegevolleyballcoach.com website. "The Volleyball Coach" summarizes his terrific article: "In short, play up to 16's/17's, then spend the last two or three years with the appropriate age group." Here is a link for the whole post on his website: <a href="http://www.collegevolleyballcoach.com/2008/11/playing-up-in-age-for-club-volleyball.html">http://www.collegevolleyballcoach.com/2008/11/playing-up-in-age-for-club-volleyball.html</a>; it's an interesting read.   Why Have Rankings?   Our rankings aim to bring exposure to the maximum number of athletes pursuing the recruiting process with a chance to play at the next level. I encourage you to read our detailed section on "How We Rank."     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-prep-dig wp-block-embed-prep-dig"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://prepdig.com/how-we-rank/ </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">HOW WE RANK</figcaption></figure>     Please set up your free player profile- it truly is free! Add highlights, high school and club teams, height, and your picture for the profile! It's a great way to give our scouts access to even more information on players as we cover volleyball in the state.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-prep-dig wp-block-embed-prep-dig"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://prepdig.com/prospect-index/ </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Prospect Index</figcaption></figure>

The Class of 2027 is receiving the first Prep Dig Washington rankings update in the March/April rankings timeline. Two solid months of club competition allowed our scouts to add another 25+ athletes to the player database, and the ranked players are now in the top 75 total. Freshman athletes are still young and growing and have a big ceiling for developing their games. Our top three remain the same- OH Cadence Bigby Cadence Bigby 5'11" | OH Kamiak | 2027 State WA from WVBA 15 Adidas leads the way. Bigby is long with a great swing and has the makings of a terrific six-rotation prospect.