Six Class of 2027 to Watch at East Coast Championship

It has been my experience that the most popular age group college coaches watch at Junior Nationals is the 16U group. For the most part those players fall within the Class of 2027. While the talent level at the East Coast Championships in Pittsburgh may not be as great as they are in Dallas at the Junior Nationals, here are six players worth the watch. Some of them you can watch in Dallas as well.    At 5'9" Danika brings decent height to the setter position. For American I have seen her set a 5/1 and a 6/2. At the Chesapeake Showdown when she set a 6/2 she stayed in the front row to play right side. When given a set on the right side she showed the ability to put the ball away.   She won a top performer award at the Prep Dig Showcase last year. Next month she will make a second appearance along with a number of other top performers at the Prep Dig Showcase in June.   For Patriot she set a 5/1, getting the team to the Class 6 Virginia state championship. They fell in the first round to Chantilly. While getting her team to the states her performance earned her an appearance on the Cedar District second team. She actually finished third on the team in blocking showing she can be a force at the net.     I'm not the only Prep Dig scout to watch a Maryland Juniors match and come away impressed with their libero. At the Northeast Qualifier she stood out for her play, especially her serving getting special mention.   Maryland Juniors lost a number of significant offensive weapons from last year's team so they will not be playing in Dallas this year. Last year her play impressed at junior nationals creating an opportunity to be one of the biggest risers in the class of 2027. Her passing stays consistent while her defense remains steady. She can make the routine defensive plays look easy while making the spectacular dig look almost routine.     Only one libero ranks higher than her, [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'], who plays a year up with Metro 17. Two years ago Ana played the defensive specialist position helping Richard Montgomery win their first state championship. Last year she took over the libero position and again Richard Montgomery won the Maryland state championship.   Her older sister Ema won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Maryland last year. Ana lacks the height for the front row, but she brings the same competitive spirit to make the plays on defense that win championships.   MVSA Sparks ranks fourth in the Region. They have captured first in four tournaments, including a first place finish in the 128 team American Division at the Northeast Qualifier. They will play in the USA Division at Junior Nationals after a fourth place finish in the Big South Qualifier.     Katherine "Coco" Lewis ranks second in the class of 2027, behind only [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'], who recently made one of the U.S. National junior team rosters. Even at 6'2" Coco shows the ability to get low to play defense while also passing the short serve. A six rotation player who can provide offense in the back row.   This year Virginia Juniors has struggled. While they rank third in the region and 79th nationally they have fallen short of earning a bid as high as last year. They will play in the American Division this year as opposed to the USA Division they played in last year. They challenged themselves this year by playing Open in the Qualifiers falling short at each event.   Coco ranks as one of the hardest hitters in the class of 2027. With her size she can power it over smaller blocks. Her approach jump measures 10'1".     I thought [program_tooltip program_id='498498' first='Virginia' last='Wave'] was playing in the Best of the East, but they are actually playing in the Select Division. While they are playing in a second division Senah is a player worth a look. She stands 6'0" with a 9'6" approach jump. The Wave have used her to set and leave her to play right side to hit. Her righthanded swing would also fit on the left side.   Last year for Jamestown she was used as a second setter. Her hitting was very inconsistent with more errors than kills. At the club level it appears she has improved her swing path for hitting, becoming more of an offensive threat. A player with her growing skills is always worth a look.     Megan has played up a year and played down a year. She stayed with Juniors two years ago to set a 5/1. It set her up for setting a 5/1 for Bullis and they prospered, winning the Independent School League (ISL) championship for their first time in school history. Normally, that conference is dominated by powerhouse Flint Hill.   Even though she plays a year down she still rates as one of the best setters in the class of 2026. She makes smart choices, jumps sets well and has a savvy knowledge for when to dish the dump. Her overall hitting percentage sat at 60%, phenomenal for a setter.   Last year Virginia Juniors played in the USA division at Nationals. This year they will play in the American Division. In National Qualifiers they played in the Open Divisions, falling short of earning an Open bid.

It has been my experience that the most popular age group college coaches watch at Junior Nationals is the 16U group. For the most part those players fall within the Class of 2027. While the talent level at the East Coast Championships in Pittsburgh may not be as great as they are in Dallas at the Junior Nationals, here are six players worth the watch. Some of them you can watch in Dallas as well.