Floor Defenders I Loved At The Freshman Showcase

We've successfully completed both of our showcases yesterday, and there was a ton of talent at both. For the class of '29, however, over half of the attendees were liberi and defensive specialists that gave their all on every contact. Here are a handful that really stuck out to us at the Indiana Freshman Showcase.    First off, this kid is all positive, all the time. It was a pleasure seeing her work, as every part seems to be in place. Behind the service line, she hits a tough floater that gave others fits. On the floor, her first contact is controlled and measured. With her fast feet and calm upper body, she was, more often than not, the solid first contact her side needed to score points and make positive plays. She even spent some time trying to put balls away on the attack, which was fun to see.     Under no circumstance should this young lady be underestimated. Don't look at her size---she covers more ground than some of the taller DS's around. I loved her constant vocal direction, her active feet and her inability to be deterred IF an error was made. Her relentless chase was second to none on her court, and it's obvious that this is a future varsity libero. She just carried herself different; a trait that is easily seen once the whistle blows.     Wow. ANOTHER high-end defender from Carroll? Sure enough, Jocelyn came to PLAY at our showcase. My first impression of her was actually a sound---how the ball sounded coming off of her hand when serving. It's a hard float, and one of the hardest on the day (even from the older kids later on in the afternoon). Her defense is controlled and accurate, which completely makes sense coming from Carroll. Well-trained and purposeful, no movement is wasted, and she should be a nice addition to PHP's 16s team this coming spring.     Quiet and unassuming, Olivia is a solid passer with a determined attitude to make every play 1% better. In fact, she got better as the day went on, which was clearly on display by the time we got to full team play at the end of the showcase. Her read-and-react was above average, her contact point was accurate, and she has a calm platform to make sure her passing has a consistent finish.     A recent move from Nebraska (she played for Nebraska Juniors last season), Floyd Central is getting an exceptional defender in Riley. She serves a heavy ball that gave a lot of passers fits throughout the day, and her passing and defending was above average in comparison to her graduating class in attendance on Sunday. Quiet at first, Riley really showed out once the scrimmage portion of the day began. Undecided on her club yet because of her recent move, she'd be a great pickup for someone looking for an immediate plug-and-play defender.     Attending Westfield High School to start her freshman campaign in about a week, Gabby has already seen high-level club play by being with Circle's top 15s team that finished with a bronze medal in 15 Open in Dallas this summer. She's staying with that age group, and will be found on Circle's 16-1 this coming spring. In short, Gabby is one of the top defenders in this class, period. Her calm demeanor, solid read-and-react skills and ability to make nearly every contact perfect make Miss Bassett a great candidate to be one of the best defenders off of the board once offers come out for her class in June of 2027.     From the first contact of the showcase, Lauren was active, vocally and physically, and controlled the show on her court on every ball, without fail. Her constant encouragement, direction of the other passers and willingness to do the dirty work on every play allowed her to stand out as one of the best in attendance. I cannot stress enough how important it is for showcase attendees to "buy in" to what's being done---and Lauren was the chief example of what happens when you do so. I expect mid-June of 2027 to be very kind to Lauren, as she's yet another of a long line of exceptional defenders to come out of Yorktown High School.

We've successfully completed both of our showcases yesterday, and there was a ton of talent at both. For the class of '29, however, over half of the attendees were liberi and defensive specialists that gave their all on every contact. Here are a handful that really stuck out to us at the Indiana Freshman Showcase.