Watch List 2028: Five Setters to Watch

Last but not least, this class saw some sound setters step into the fold, including these five. It will be fun to watch them develop over the next three seasons.    Castle is a young, but experienced player the Panthers can build around the next three years. Castle (pictured) has turned into a nice six-rotation player for the Panthers. She started out in a big defensive role as an eighth grader, but increased her production at setter as a freshman. She moves her feet well to put balls to the targets. Knox Central head coach Aimee Gross said Castle has great court awareness and reads balls well, which leads to some sound digs. Gross added Castle has a great serve and it showed this past season, but Gross noted Castle needs to learn to control it more consistently. Castle had 115 assists, 105 digs and a team-high 64 aces for Knox Central this past season.     Johnson does a lot of dirty work for the Kats. She goes all out on defense. That included a spectacular diving save several feet out of bounds on the sidelines in the 15th Region semifinal game against Paintsville. Johnson put up a good number of sets to allow the other setter to take a sound number of swings. Johnson does a variety of sets including back sets. Johnson had 397 assists and 152 digs for the Kats, helping them go 27-12, win the first All "A" 15th Region title on program history, won the 59th District for just the second time in program history and won the first region tournament game in program history this past fall.     Kirk moved up to varsity as a freshman and wound up leading the Eagles in digs. She's a hustler on the court. Kirk also does a nice job making things happen when the team is out of system. Kirk had 232 digs, 48 assists and 36 aces, helping the Eagles go 13-9 for a three-win improvement from 2023 and make it back to the 11th Region Tournament.     McGullion dressed as an eighth grader then jumped into a big role for the Tornado this past fall splitting time at setter. McGullion puts a number of sets on the dot allowing teammates to put balls down. She is also a valuable server for the Blue Tornado. McGullion had 168 assists and 57 aces for Paducah Tilghman this past fall.     Stevie earned the chance to experience the speed of the varsity level as a freshman on a senior-laden team and took full advantage of the opportunity. Stevie showed gradual improvement as the season rolled along. She learned the hitters well and tried to put them in position to succeed. Newport Central Catholic head coach Angie Reckers is big on players anticipating where balls are going then going hard after them and Stevie tries to do that. She moves under balls and squares her arms up with them to make sound passes. Stevie had 160 assists for the Thoroughbreds this past fall.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for one year and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.

Last but not least, this class saw some sound setters step into the fold, including these five. It will be fun to watch them develop over the next three seasons.