Colleges Recruiting in the DMV Area
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After June 15 Division 1 and 2 colleges can start making contact with those players who are sophomores. For this year that would be the class of 2026. For Division 3 there is no restriction on contact for digital or…
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Continue ReadingAfter June 15 Division 1 and 2 colleges can start making contact with those players who are sophomores. For this year that would be the class of 2026. For Division 3 there is no restriction on contact for digital or through the mail. However, any off campus contact cannot occur until after an athlete’s sophomore year while campus visits cannot occur until after January 1 of their junior year.
It is estimated that a little over 1 percent of high school volleyball players go on to compete at the Division I college level. That percentage rises to close to 6 percent when you include all colleges. However, that does not mean all those who play college volleyball play under a scholarship. Many even play for partial or back loaded scholarships.
A little research for those ranked in our top 150 for the class of 2024 show that 52% of them have committed to play for a college. This does not mean they are under scholarship. Also, I could be missing some players who have not publicly announced their college intentions. For the class of 2025 the percentage drops to 21% but those players having a contact date of June 15 from last year.
Players from the class of 2024 and 2025 who reside in the DMV area (DC, Maryland and Virginia) have committed to 87 colleges to play volleyball. Below are some of those players.
Big Ten
For the class of 2023 only two players committed to a big ten college. Sydney 2023 Bryant committed to Maryland and Isabela Fowlkes committed to USC. USC will begin their first year in the Big Ten this year.
For the class of 2024 again just two players committed to a big ten college, Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA to Ohio State and Kayla Foley Kayla Foley 5'5" | DS/L First Colonial | 2024 State VA to Michigan State. The class of 2025 have already seen three players commit to Big ten schools. Those are Isabelle Bardin Isabelle Bardin 6'3" | S Flint Hill | 2025 State #121 Nation VA (Purdue), Leni Stanton-Parker Leni Stanton-Parker 6'0" | OH Langley | 2025 State #116 Nation VA (Michigan) and Alexis Ewing Alexis Ewing 6'3" | OH Bullis | 2025 State VA (Penn State).
Most Popular Colleges
Last year Norfolk State (4), Navy (3), Virginia Wesleyan (3), University of Maryland Baltimore County (3) and Christopher Newport (3) snared at least three players from the DMV area in the top 150 from the classes of 2023 and 2024. Below are the most popular colleges for players in the top 150 from the classes of 2024 and 2025. It is possible that some of the same players from the class of 2024 are counted again if they did not change their commitment.
Christopher Newport – Avery Hanly Avery Hanly 5'11" | OH Kellam | 2024 State VA (Beach Elite/Kellam), Carley P Coghill Carley P Coghill 5'10" | MB Massaponax | 2024 State VA (Massaponax/ 540 Volleyball Academy ) and Anne Fielding Croft Anne Fielding Croft 5'9" | S St. Catherine's | 2025 State VA (Saint Catherines/ Richmond Volleyball Club )
Lafayette – MacKenzie Calhoun MacKenzie Calhoun 5'10" | S River Hill | 2024 State VA (River Hill/Columbia), Jada Aksu Jada Aksu 6'0" | RS Georgetown Day | 2025 State VA (Georgetown Day/Metro) and Kadi Pynchon Kadi Pynchon 5'6" | DS/L Flint Hill | 2025 State VA (Flint Hill/Virginia Elite)
Fairfield – Brianna Clay Brianna Clay 6'2" | MB Battlefield | 2024 State VA (Battlefield/ Paramount ), Harlan Wyche Harlan Wyche 5'11" | MB South Lakes | 2024 State VA (South Lakes/ Paramount ), Natalie Carlin Natalie Carlin 5'4" | DS/L Riverside | 2024 State VA (Riverside/ Paramount )
Mary Washington – Alice Holoubek Alice Holoubek 6'3" | MB Bishop O'Connell | 2024 State VA (Bishop O’Connell/Virginia Elite), Elle Jubeck Elle Jubeck 5'8" | DS/L St Mary Ryken | 2024 State VA (St. Mary’s Ryken/Virginia Elite) and Calla Petz Calla Petz 5'9" | OH Heritage | 2024 State VA (Heritage/ Blue Ridge )
Coppin State – Payton Swinton Payton Swinton 5'10" | RS Arundel | 2024 State VA (Arundel/Renaissance), Deviana Walker Deviana Walker 5'11" | OH Arundel | 2024 State VA (Arundel/Renaissance) and Kaiyana Rawlins Kaiyana Rawlins 5'8" | DS/L Paint Branch | 2024 State VA (Paint Branch/Maryland Jrs)
Other Power Conferences
The three other power conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12. From a college attendance standpoint the Atlantic Coast Conference will see six players from the DMV area attend their schools to play volleyball. The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference only have one each. The Pacific Coast Conference has lost all their teams and could rejuvenate next year.
From the Atlantic Coast Conference the six players are Ryla Jones Ryla Jones 6'4" | MB Flint Hill | 2024 State #80 Nation VA (Pittsburgh), Lameen Mambu Lameen Mambu 6'0" | OH Chantilly | 2025 State #64 Nation VA (Georgia Tech), Mailinh Godschall Mailinh Godschall 5'7" | DS/L Centennial (MD) | 2024 State #183 Nation VA (Duke), Skyler Riggio Skyler Riggio 6'1" | RS Briar Woods | 2024 State VA (Clemson), Caroline Lang Caroline Lang 6'3" | MB St. Annes-Balfield | 2025 State VA (Virginia) and Brianna Holladay Brianna Holladay 6'2" | MB Riverside | 2025 State VA (Virginia Tech). There were two players from the class of 2023 who committed to schools in the ACC, Tatum Evans (Virginia Tech) and Safi Hampton (North Carolina).
Only one player each has committed to the Southeastern Conference and Big 12. Caleigh Ponn Caleigh Ponn 5'6" | DS/L Hidden Valley | 2025 State #83 Nation VA has committed to Kansas State. and Madison Bowser Madison Bowser 6'2" | MB Bishop O'Connell | 2024 State VA has committed to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt will not compete in the Southeastern Conference until 2025 so Madison will redshirt for the 2024 season. For the class of 2023 Jasmine Okeoma committed to Auburn and Pam McCune committed to Iowa State.
Chesapeake Chirps: Nadiya Johnson Nadiya Johnson 6'2" | RS North Point | 2026 State VA has been selected to play on the 2024 U19 U.S. National team. The team will play next year in the Norceca Continental Championship in Honduras July 12-20. While 20 players have been selected only 12 will make the team.