New Series: Kansas Multi-Sport Prospects

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The great thing about high school sports is that plenty of athletes still compete in multiple sports.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a scout for three different sports working in an era when focusing on one sport happens earlier than ever, I sometimes forget that the athletes I scout are just teenagers, and some have no idea what they want to do this weekend, let alone after high school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rise of club sports in the past 20 years has completely changed the youth sports scene since I graduated from high school in 1995. Athletes have more options to compete in multiple sports at the same time of the year. In fact, I know of one elite Kansas prospect who competes for her high school basketball, softball, and volleyball team, as well as four club teams in all three sports.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanks to an awesome graphics designer at Prep Network, I am ready to roll out a new feature series that will focus on multi-sport athletes, including those who may be considering or have already decided to play a sport other than volleyball in college. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Network currently does not have sites dedicated to girls's softball or soccer in Kansas. I would like to make more of an effort to highlight athletes who compete in other sports.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I plan to feature this series on not only Prep Dig, but also Prep Girls Hoops, and Prep Redzone. Once an athlete informs me that they have made a decision on which sport they plan to play in college it does impact their overall ranking on these three sites. However, that does not mean they will be removed from the rankings or no longer be featured. The same is true for athletes who are undecided on which sport to focus on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at five athletes, three in the class of 2025 who have committed to play other college sports and two younger multi-sport athletes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219716' first='Kendal' last='Brueggen']</strong>, 5'10”, OH, Hesston, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brueggen has been in the Prep Dig rankings for a long stretch but has committed to play basketball for Missouri State University. She finished her senior season with 539 kills in 88 sets played. The Hesston multi-sport athlete recorded 1,701 career kills. She is currently ranked No. 6 overall by Prep Girls Hoops Kansas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='515137' first='Lydia' last='Reed']</strong>, 6'2”, MB, St. John's, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I first saw Reed compete way back when she was playing club ball as a freshman. She is a college-level volleyball player, but she is headed to Fort Hays State to play basketball. She finished her senior season with 419 kills in 99 sets. She has gotten much stronger since she was at age 14 and the Tigers hope they have an athlete who could compete to be their leading scorer for years to come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219719' first='Kaylee' last='Hampton']</strong>, 5'9”, RS, Clearwater, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hampton had a solid senior season for Clearwater and helped the Indians qualify for the Class 4A State Tournament. However, she has decided to play softball at the next level. She has committed to Washburn University.  She is a right-handed batter who collected 60 base hits and 17 doubles as a junior. She is expected to be an infielder for the Ichabods' softball team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357548' first='Reese' last='Huscher']</strong>, 5'8”, OH, Hayden, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huscher was a key member of Hayden's third-place finishing team at the Class 4A State Tournament. She recorded 310 digs and 157 kills during her junior campaign. She has already verbally committed early to play soccer at Washburn University. She has plenty of time to continue to hone her athletic skills, so I hope she will be on the volleyball team next year as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='444610' first='Emmarie' last='Barger']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Eisenhower, ‘27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barger is a young athlete ranked on both Prep Dig and Prep Girls Hoops Kansas websites. She is currently ranked No. 42 overall by Prep Dig. She is ranked No. 39 by PGH, but those rankings will be updated next week. Her quickness plays on both courts as does her jumping ability. I think she will have options to continue her athletic career past high school. I have seen her play basketball in person, but have yet to see her play volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->