Five Stock Risers From The Class Of ’27

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finding stock risers with SO many freshmen doing great things on their respective club teams. Admittedly, this was a tougher task than normal, simply because of the numbers. However, we did find five kids from five different clubs that have definitely showed out in this half of the club season. Here they are.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='435867' first='Lila' last='Bruszewski'], 6-0 MB, Carmel, Circle City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seeing this young lady first hand, I was so used to seeing her play middle that watching her put balls away from multiple spots during Hoosier Regionals was a pleasant surprise. She's learning that her super-high attack touch can be useful from all front-row positions, and is learning how to continue staying aggressive no matter what level the competition is across from her. Those are traits that just can't be taught, and can only be tried in real match action---of which she is excelling.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='443858' first='Milana' last='Mays'], 6-2 MB, Fishers, Munciana</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a possibility that I've misread Milana's height, so hear me out. When you use all of your length and attack at your max jump, you have the <em>appearance</em> of being taller, which is why I list her as 6'2". Realistically, she might be closer to 6', but you wouldn't know it because of her ability and her athleticism. Now, add the multiple All-American nods she's received at AAUs over the years, and you can understand how this young lady's stock has risen as much as it has. Plus, she's getting some high-level training at Munciana. The sky is truly the limit for Miss Mays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='435862' first='Jada' last='Cripe'], 5-7 OH, South Newton, Boiler Juniors</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger sister of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='161191' first='Taylor' last='Cripe'] (Central Michigan commit),</strong> Jada is just as explosive and might be a better passer than her older sibling. She finds the edges of blocks and hammers away, she has every shot in the book, and can do it all with pace that just isn't seen at this age group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='479286' first='Kyra' last='Joostberns'], 5-8 S, Lawrence North, Rev</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet another kid that <em>really</em> showed out at Hoosier Regionals, Kyra is a relentless floor general that did everything from defending her position to attacking to firing away from behind the baseline. She even had the wherewithal of directing out-of-position players to where they needed to be to be as successful as possible. She appears to have that chip on her shoulder---that "hate-to-lose-more-than-love-to-win" mentality, which works fine for me as a recruiter. She can run a 5-1 right now for any level team, and is doing just that for her club roster. I look forward to her progress in the coming months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499064' first='Ella' last='Miller'], 6-0 OH, Benton Central, NSIVBC</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing up THREE age groups is a kid that, in the span of a couple of weeks, had gone from "newborn giraffe" to putting balls away at the Windy City 18s qualifier outside of Chicago. She's learning how pass-to-attack works, and can put pace on the ball more than you would expect from someone as lithe as she. Her meteoric rise might have something to do with the level of play she's currently going against, but I'll go one further---kids this age are usually scared to "go for it" at this age level. At this point in the club season, it's refreshing to see a kid this age not only play without fear of error, but learn and improve in the process, all while playing around a bunch of juniors and seniors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->