PD Preview: Top Six Athletes from 2028

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had the pleasure of watching the class of 2028 from San Marcos tonight at the Prep Dig Preview. These are the top six athletes from the class that impressed me tonight. Let's talk about it and see what caught my eye.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Emily Barr</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barr is a 6' middle blocker from Frontier High School. Barr impressed me with her timing. Many middles fresh into high school still need to develop this talent but Barr was spot on. She has a ton of raw talent and I cannot wait to see her growth in the next two years. She has strong hands and in conjunction with the timing I mentioned before she is a no on letting a ball get past her. She has power and is good at hitting it straight down the middle over her opponent's block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jasmine Bautista</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bautista is a 5'1" defensive specialist from High Tech High Chula Vista. Bautista is quick on her feet and is not afraid to go to the ground to dig up a hard-hit ball. She has a great platform and sends amazing passes. She is very precise in serve/receive and always gets it to her setter. She is the first touch and handles the ball exceptionally well. She is fast to the ball and back to get another.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='557446' first='Piper' last='Coady']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coady is a 6' outside hitter from Newport Harbor High School. Coady was surprising for me at the event tonight. I did not see her as a power hitter when I first started watching her court. But she does have power. She has a great vertical, an amazing swing, and power/precision when she hits. She is good at avoiding a block and getting the ball down. It will be exciting to watch this player develop over the next couple of seasons as she adjusts to high school. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":395130,"width":"302px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"left"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/05/Dartfrog-14-Ameira-Hardin-OH-crop-2156x1416-1684782088.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-395130" style="width:302px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='507980' first='Ameira' last='Hardin'], outside hitter from Frontier HS, class of 2028.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='507980' first='Ameira' last='Hardin']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hardin is a 5'8" outside hitter from Frontier High School. Hardin has power and a great vertical. Her timing is great and she is very athletic. She will be an impactful player whenever she is on the court in whatever position she is in on the court. She is that good. She is one I would keep my eye on to see how much more she develops while in her high school years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Caleigh McDaniel</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McDaniel is a 5'7" setter from Redondo Union High School. McDaniel was an impressive setter who caught my attention with her fantastic defensive skills. She was digging up balls and hitting from the back row when she first caught my eye and ran across the court to dig up a ball that got away from them to keep the rally going. She is a very unselfish player and seemed very happy setting her teammates up for success. It is a rare setter that can resist dumping the ball onto the opposing team's court. McDaniel did what was best for her team in all circumstances tonight and they were successful because of her play. She had a large impact on her team's success. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seraphine Rodriguez</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rodriguez is a 5'4" defensive specialist from Mater Dei High School. Rodriguez is a very determined athlete who sacrificed her body on more than one occasion to dig the ball up and get it perfectly to her setter. She has amazing feet, a great platform, and is a rock for the defense. She was very impressive at the preview and will only grow and develop more and more through the next few years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->