2028 Kansas Prospects Make Arguments To Be Added To Rankings

As I mentioned earlier this week on Prep Dig, summer is one of the perfect times of the year to scout young talent.   Plenty of 2028 talent was on display at Butler CC's junior varsity and freshman tournament on June 11. There was a ton of coaching and learning taking place during the event.   Here is the second of two reports from today's competition at the Power Plant. This report focuses on athletes from the class of 2028.   Prep Dig Kansas currently has 50 ranked athletes from the incoming freshman class and I hope to double that number before the prep season starts in August.   Here are a group of freshman players who impressed me at the event hosted by Butler.   A reminder that new athletes can create their profiles for free on Prep Dig Kansas or claim their profiles created by scouts for the purpose of the rankings. Each athlete in this report posted performances worthy of being considered as additions to the ranking moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id='551346' first='Bailey' last='Garrels'], 5'7”, OH, Maize, ‘28   The Maize Eagles are a perennial state contender and the cupboard at Maize is stocked with young talent. Garols is the first of three freshmen whose play stood out at the summer tournament in El Dorado. She plays with a ton of enthusiasm and is a “big-time” jumper. She currently plays club ball with Shockwave and will be added to the next round of updated rankings.   [player_tooltip player_id='551348' first='Kennedi' last='Baker'], 5'7”, S, Maize, ‘28   Bake caught my eye because of her leadership and physical frame. She is a strong setter who I feel could possibly morph into a six-rotation prospect. Like Garols, she also plays club ball for Shockwave. She did a nice job digging in the first match of the day and shared setting duties. One tip I would share with her is just to continue to improve her quickness.   [player_tooltip player_id='551350' first='Addi' last='Wisdom'], 5'8”, S/RS, Maize, ‘28   Wisdom was the third member in the class of 2028 who plays for Maize and Shockwave. Wisdom has an athletic frame built for volleyball. She shared time setting with Baker. I would tell her the same thing I tell a ton of young prospects and that is work on improving her upper-body strength. Wisdom made consistent first passes when on the back row an has an older system who plays for Maize's varsity squad. It is easy to see that volleyball skills run in the family.   [player_tooltip player_id='551352' first='Bentlea' last='Sampson'], 5'4”, S/DS,  Arkansas City, ‘28   The biggest surprise performance came from Ark City's Sampson. She might be just 5-foot-4 right now, but she has rocket-launcher serve. She by far had the most dangerous serve I witnessed during Tuesday morning's action. Her serve is a hard line drive with plenty of hot sauce on it. Sampson is quick as a setter and could evolve into a six-rotation player.   [player_tooltip player_id='551354' first='Gracie' last='Phillips'], 5'9”, OH, Arkansas City, ‘28   Phillips might have one of the highest ceilings of any of the incoming freshmen. She is long and lanky. She hits well, plays with poise, and will continue to gracefully grow into her frame. She hits the ball with authority and next to Sampson had the second most effective serve of the day. She puts a funky spin on her ball that makes it difficult to receive. Both Ark City freshmen have a “Bulldog Mentality” when it comes to attacking and pin pointing weak serve receivers.   [player_tooltip player_id='551356' first='Ever' last='Wiley'], 5'5”, DS/L, Belle Plain, ‘28   Belle Plain's Wiley was one of the more impressive defensive specialists at the event. She is a raw talent, but I could tell she has an appreciation and passion for the game. She has quick feet, but did jump at the ball at times. She needs to work on her overall confidence and her serve if she aspires to play college volleyball.

As I mentioned earlier this week on Prep Dig, summer is one of the perfect times of the year to scout young talent.