Class of 2026 State Rankings Players to Know: Outsides

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Dig Texas State Rankings were updated last month in a moment that was long expected for volleyball prospects in the Lone Star State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More than moving players up and down in a list, the rankings update offers us an opportunity to paint a more realistic picture of the current scenario in Texas and highlight the prospects who experienced significant development over the last few months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The process of updating the rankings also gives us, Prep Dig scouts, the perfect excuse to learn more and more about the players, be it by attending matches or tournaments in person or researching online, and now with the list released, it's time we share some of our findings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the next few weeks, I'll go over the rankings, highlighting some players in each class. We started with the recently created Class of 2027 State Rankings last week and will now explore the Class of 2026, this time looking at some of the outside hitters who made the selection.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254302"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ranked sixth among the outside hitters and 11th overall, Jackson plays for the traditional Lovejoy High School program and for the equally famed Madrog program, as part of their 16 National Green team. A national and state champion last year, she masters every aspect of the game and her play is elite in more than one way. Jackson's outstanding ball control makes of her an outstanding defender and a reliable passer. She's also extremely productive at the net, scoring at a high volume from the left, especially when she hits angle with tremendous power, and displaying a good blocking presence with her technical and intelligent moves.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4eefb1"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19663749/6627d06410269a92fe743c09' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef1d3"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["235287"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Crayton plays high school volleyball for Allen and switches clubs this season, joining TAV 16 Black - she ranks ninth in the position and 20th overall in our Class of 2026 State Rankings. It's impossible to describe the outside hitter's game without mentioning her ridiculous athleticism as it positively impacts everything she does on the court in a strong way. Her explosiveness and leaping ability make of her a scoring machine, even if she's not as tall as most players in the position. Defensively, her mobility and quickness take her to another level when paired with her extraordinary ball control.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef24f"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17260078/6559753f9a91ca024426a49e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef278"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269777"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The 21st-best outside hitter and 63rd overall prospect in our Class of 2026 State Rankings, Love features for St. Agnes Academy in high school and represents HJV 16 Elite at the club level. She is a well-versed offensive player, who makes the most of her height and firepower to beat opposing blockers and put the ball down. Love has been clearly working on further developing her offense as she's been hitting some different sets closer to the middle, opening up new possibilities for her team. She's also one of the best blockers in the age group, going up very high with her long arms and placing them extremely well to get stops above the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef2e6"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15374647/6628702c2f5a5e95dd027e6c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef30c"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["219291"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A key contributor to her high school team Red Oak and her club team [program_tooltip program_id='510733' first='Drive' last='Nation'] 16 Red, Fitzgerald was ranked 27th among the outside hitters and 97th overall in her age group. She's not extremely tall, but can carry her team's offense as well as anyone with her impressive physical and technical tools. Fitzgerald can jump out of the gym, has one of the heaviest arms in her age group and is very accurate with her shots, sending the ball out of reach for defenders while making very few mistakes. Because she's so mobile, the outside hitter is very quick at dropping off the net and is always at full force in transition plays.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef375"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/jaywithvball26/status/1790749495627571527","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/jaywithvball26/status/1790749495627571527 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["235563"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A player of CC Veteran's Memorial High School and Prime X Volleyball Club, where she plays up with the 17s, Rincon made our Watchlist as a middle, but is now playing outside hitter, a position where she has tremendous potential as well. The move was probably intended to make the most of her offense, which is one of the main areas of her game. Rincon is big, physical and gets off the floor well to hit the ball with a lot of power. She's versatile enough to play in each of the three positions at the net and can also make a difference with her technical blocking.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-664d0cf4ef3e3"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/brooklynrincon_/status/1787308417125659076","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/brooklynrincon_/status/1787308417125659076 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->