What to Know about the 2026 Ranking Update

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2026 Ranking update is live! It comes at almost the mid-point of the club season for the athletes, and everyone is grinding incredibly hard. Qualifier season has officially started, and spring break is nearly upon us. Here are some fun things to know about the 2026 update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The numbers don't lie about the talent in this class. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this class alone, we added over 30 athletes to the rankings, and more were added to the watch list. We now have 216 athletes ranked. I swear, if we could have 200 kids ranked in the top 100, we would because the talent in this class is just that tight and runs that deep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Remember:</strong> a rank does not determine your worth as an athlete or the incredible work you put in! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Numerous athletes, including players like [player_tooltip player_id='737840' first='Lucille' last='Gray'], [player_tooltip player_id='739518' first='Riley' last='Danes'], and [player_tooltip player_id='759020' first='Jana' last='Brown'], jumped straight to the rank. Some made huge jumps in the rankings as the physicality and strategy of their game have developed, including [player_tooltip player_id='487007' first='Elaina' last='Butz'], [player_tooltip player_id='453628' first='Lucy' last='Sarna'], [player_tooltip player_id='504427' first='Ella' last='Nigl'], and Ella Ligndren.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The recruiting process is moving!</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have had players committing as recently as a few days ago, with [player_tooltip player_id='247272' first='Sari' last='Marks'], one of the top recruits in the class, committing to UW-Green Bay. We currently have 21 athletes listed as committed in this class, including several who will be teammates and conference rivals in a few years. We are still quite early in the recruiting process for 2026s, so we can expect this number to rise gradually. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conference Rivals</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Big 10: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249678' first='Marlee' last='Sivak'] is headed to Maryland, and [player_tooltip player_id='249644' first='Brooke' last='Baldwin'] is committed to Rutgers. These two players have been club teammates for years and will face off across the net at the highest level in one of the toughest conferences in volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Big East: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='277430' first='Peyton' last='Carlson'], our #1 ranked athlete, is committed to Creighton, and [player_tooltip player_id='277420' first='Allie' last='Beers'], our #2 ranked athlete, is committed to Marquette. These two programs have consistently topped the Big East in recent years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Horizon League: </strong>UW Green Bay has several commits in this class, including [player_tooltip player_id='247272' first='Sari' last='Marks'], [player_tooltip player_id='249681' first='Riley' last='Schmitz'], and [player_tooltip player_id='388556' first='Macy' last='Kline']. UW-Milwaukee also has several athletes, including [player_tooltip player_id='504441' first='Kayla' last='Landerud'] and [player_tooltip player_id='496803' first='Olivia' last='Doerre'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>American Athletic Conference:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='390184' first='Lillian' last='Dempkey'] is set to attend Army, and [player_tooltip player_id='249623' first='Addie' last='Oeth'] will play across the net from her at Wichita State. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sun Belt Conference: </strong>Several athletes are headed for warmer weather, with [player_tooltip player_id='217332' first='Anabelle' last='Cerny'] committed to South Alabama and Isabella Reuther to Troy University. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Missouri Valley Conference:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='277423' first='Ella' last='Kohnen'] will play for Illinois State, and [player_tooltip player_id='277433' first='Sydnee' last='Nelson'] is committed to Belmont. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Teammates</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In addition to the teammates listed above, we have two athletes headed to South Dakota State together: [player_tooltip player_id='388467' first='Mallory' last='Hartwig'] and [player_tooltip player_id='388468' first='Hannah' last='Mlsna']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Future is Bright!</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was a ton of movement in this update. Some athletes really exploded onto our radar, and I can't wait to see what they do next. Athletes across the state playing for clubs of all sizes are garnering attention. [player_tooltip player_id='547197' first='Madalyn' last='Kabat'] has set herself apart as a top pin in this class. [player_tooltip player_id='622312' first='Avery' last='Tripp'] with One Wisconsin, [player_tooltip player_id='504407' first='Marlee' last='Hills'] from [program_tooltip program_id='431479' first='Wisconsin' last='Juniors'], [player_tooltip player_id='299942' first='Sophia' last='Olson'] from [program_tooltip program_id='428662' first='Wisconsin' last='Ice'], and [player_tooltip player_id='726384' first='Adeleine' last='Catlin'] from [program_tooltip program_id='431537' first='Midwest' last='Penguins'] are some of the athletes who recently made High Performance Camp. One of the best parts about HP is seeing athletes from across the state in the same gym! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Numerous awards have also been given to athletes in this class at club tournaments. There is no way I can name them all, but some of note are: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='737840' first='Lucille' last='Gray']: MVP 17 Premier Blue Division of President's Day Classic in Saint Louis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='504465' first='Emily' last='Dooyema']: MVP 17 Club Division of President's Day Classic in Saint Louis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='249623' first='Addie' last='Oeth']: All Tournament Team 17 Open Division of President's Day Classic in Saint Louis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='388461' first='Sophia' last='Trias']: All Tournament Team 17 Open Division of President's Day Classic in Saint Louis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='217332' first='Anabelle' last='Cerny']: BRPL 18 Elite Division Best Setter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='388446' first='Alaina' last='Matola']: BRPL 18 Elite Division Best Serve</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='376270' first='Ashley' last='Ray']: BRPL 18 Elite Division Best Defensive Player </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->