Art Inspired: 2026 Athletes Still Uncommitted

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yesterday, I attended an Art Fair with my wife and watched the Chicago Cubs win another game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That inspired me to write a Prep Dig scouting report! Okay, to be honest, it does not take much to encourage me to feature some of the best volleyball players the Sunflower State has to offer. Although there were a ton of pretty photographs and paintings of Sunflowers at the Art Fair.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at five outside hitters from the Kansas Class of 2026. To my knowledge, all five of them are still uncommitted athletes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357545' first='Jade' last='Xu']</strong>, 6'1”, OH, Emporia, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xu is ranked No. 42 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. She finished her junior season with 336 kills. She 111 kills short of reaching the 1,000 career benchmark. The Emporia prospect should reach that early during her senior season. Xu is a graceful hitter with big ups. She has moved around on the club scene, but has been a “Go-To” attacker for every team she plays on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='557767' first='Ava' last='Smith']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Valley Heights, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith is ranked No. 43 overall by Prep Dig Kansas. She heads into her senior season looking to continue her high-level attacking. She recorded 513 kills in 95 sets played last season. Over three varsity seasons, she has accumulated 1,160 kills.&nbsp; She is a six-rotation athlete who has recorded over 1,000 serve receptions and is on pace to reach 1,000 career digs during her senior campaign.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='489653' first='Emerson' last='Waldren']</strong>, 5'10”, OH, Buhler, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waldron is ranked No. 44 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. She recorded 439 kills last season, a huge jump in production from her sophomore season. She is a smooth operator and will be a leader for Buhler this upcoming season. Her stat line from last season included 276 digs, 370 serve receptions, and 33 blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357543' first='Hayden' last='Grimes']</strong>, 5'9, OH, Andale '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grimes is ranked No. 54 overall by Prep Dig Kansas. She is a talented athlete for Andale. She recorded 395 kills and 197 digs last season. She enters her senior season hunting for career benchmarks in digs and kills. She has 993 career digs and 725 career kills and is on the hunt for 1,000 of each. She has an excellent serve that has accounted for 204 aces over three varsity seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='551328' first='Tinley' last='Travis']</strong>, 5'7”, OH, Maize, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maize's Travis is ranked No. 58 overall. She is a high-energy, spunky, tough-nosed, gritty athlete whom I enjoyed watching last season. She can really elevate and plays solid defense. She only recorded 47 kills last season on a deep Maize squad. She was not their top-hitting target last season, but make no mistake, she can crush a ball. She also registered 263 digs and 372 serve receptions during her junior campaign for the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->