Beasts In The East: 2025 Eastern Kansas Hitting Machines

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into team camp and combine season, I would like to feature a small group of hitters from the class of 2025 who I hope I get to see at some point this summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These five athletes compete for eastern Kansas programs and have not recently been featured on Prep Dig.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='386169' first='Layla' last='Collins']</strong>, 5'11”, OH, Washburn Rural</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collins is currently ranked No. 9 in the class of 2025 by Prep Dig. She has had the least exposure on Prep Dig among athletes ranked in the Top 10 of their respective classes. There are a couple of factors in the amount she is scouted. First, I focused on scouting younger age groups during the club season, and second Washburn Rural does not post stats publicly. Collins is an intense player with excellent natural skills. Rural's program continues to produce college prospects and winners and Collins is next in line and has verbally committed to play for Washburn University after graduation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227605' first='Alex' last='Myers']</strong>, 6'1”, RS, Blue Valley West</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Myers is an outstanding hitter who has already verbally committed to a college program. The Blue Valley West prospect is currently ranked No. 15 overall and is expected to play for Florida Gulf Coast University after graduation. She heads into her senior season coming off back-to-back seasons with more than 200 kills. During her junior season, she finished with 269 kills in 98 sets and recorded 257 kills as a sophomore in 100 sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='326464' first='Bria' last='Dawson']</strong>, 6'0”, MB, Olathe North</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watching Dawson's skills improve over the past couple of years has been awesome. She is currently ranked No. 22 overall in the class of 2025 and has verbally committed to play for Central Missouri. While I have not seen Dawson play in person as much as I would like, I have seen lots of film of her in action. She worked hard to promote her athleticism via social media which helped with her early recruitment. She registered 170 kills and 34 blocks as a junior for the Olathe North Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219714' first='Ayla' last='Klingenberg']</strong>, 6'0”, OH, Rock Creek</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first thing to understand about Klingenberg is that she can dominate matches. The Rock Creek product is currently ranked No. 29 overall in the class of 2025.  She has posted back-to-back seasons with 300-plus kills. She is just 144 kills short of reaching the 1,000 career-kill threshold. She has also recorded at least 80 kills in back-to-back seasons. She is in the unique position that she plays for a small school but for a club powerhouse.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173382' first='Ashlee' last='Chavez']</strong>, 5'9”, RS, St. James Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chavez is an athlete I know well, but who I missed during the past club season. She hit's the ball with authority and is a consummate teammate who knows how to win. She plays club ball with the [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='Power']. She loves volleyball and understands how to promote herself on social media. She should get plenty of interest from college programs. Chavez is currently ranked No. 40 by Prep Dig.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->