Predicting 2025 Maryland State Titles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024 State Champions and key players:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4A - Richard Montgomery - Katie Mitchell, [player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3A - North Hagerstown - [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2A - Williamsport - [player_tooltip player_id='800474' first='Leigha' last='Harsh'], [player_tooltip player_id='309027' first='Skylar' last='Norris']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1A - Boonesboro - [player_tooltip player_id='436117' first='Sidney' last='Turner'], [player_tooltip player_id='800465' first='Lauren' last='Chu']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In High School Volleyball, often times, one big time prospect is enough to carry a team to a state title. Maryland is divided into 4 tiers based on enrollment 1A through 4A. In some areas, one star player isn't enough, and you need a few to really bring home the gold, especially in the larger regions. Above are last year's winners and a couple key players from the teams. Anyone familiar with the rankings and college commitments will recognize a few of those names, and it is no shock that they won with them. This year, teams are looking to defend the crown, and a slew of hungry teams are circling them and looking for their chance in the spotlight. In this article I'm going to make MY picks of who I think will be wearing the crown when Club Season begins. While I know MD well, and will be making very educated picks there, I'm going to dabble in VA a bit too where my colleague Bob Abels will do much better than I will, but it will give us something to banter about for the next couple months. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MD - 4A Champ: Broadneck</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders: Richard Montgomery, Quince Orchard, Urbana</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's really tough to root against Richard Montgomery here. They've been dominant the past few seasons, and have two of the best players in the area in Katie Mitchell and [player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'], but I like the underdogs, and I think someone else gets a turn this year. Urbana is always a tough team, some unfortunate forfeits last season cost them a lot, but they still run two committed college seniors in their lineup and can make some noise. Quince Orchard may have a few people looking sideways right now, but they've got two college commitments in the lineup, plus I really like their young setter Lilyana Steel. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MD - 3A Champ: Howard High</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders: North Hagerstown, Wootton, Centennial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I think this is the year Howard pulls it out and wins it all. I was a bit shocked they didn't last year to be honest, they were a dominant team all year, and return much of that talent this year. [player_tooltip player_id='698761' first='Imagine' last='Peltier'], [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] and crew will have a chip on their shoulder, and soon a 'ship on their shelf. North Hagerstown has one of the best, and did win it last year. [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] will not go without a fight. Wootton is usually stocked with MVSA and Metro Travel players, so no one should overlook them. Centennial I don't think will get past Howard, but they have had much success in recent years, but looks like they are moving up a division, so we will see how that treats them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MD - 2A Champ: Glenelg</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders: Williamsport, River Hill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williamsport, the defending champs will be around, led by [player_tooltip player_id='309027' first='Skylar' last='Norris'], but I think Howard County pulls this one out. With Centennial gone to 3A, River Hill should be in the mix, they are always a tough team usually full of local Club players, but I think Glenelg gets it done this year with Junior Setter Jess Li, [player_tooltip player_id='749358' first='Eva' last='Bujanauskas'], DS [player_tooltip player_id='800306' first='Bella' last='Chen'], and Isard Bernandez, this group has the star power to make a deep run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MD - 1A Champ: Boonsboro</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Contenders: Clear Spring</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Could be looking at a rematch from last year. Clear spring returns [player_tooltip player_id='525340' first='Olivia' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='833544' first='Kaisy' last='Custer'] from last year, but Boonsboro brings back [player_tooltip player_id='436117' first='Sidney' last='Turner'], [player_tooltip player_id='800465' first='Lauren' last='Chu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='721771' first='Aly' last='Phillips'], and they won it last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are just my guesses, and there could be a lot of factors I'm missing this early in the season. I haven't seen many of these teams yet, nor have we seen what hidden freshmen may be about to bust out on the scene, but this is a pretty good educated guess, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these and the other teams all do this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->