Nationally Ranked 2026s Ready To Join Rising Programs

The Class of 2026 is heading into the final month of their high school careers.  Prep Dig will be updating their national rankings at the end of October and we have some athletes who could make an impact on rising programs. The nationally rankings have athletes heading to the perennial top ten programs, but who could bring their program     TCU has been a program to know the past two seasons and in the Class of 2026, one of their top recruits is a local product in Kinsley Young. Young is an athletic, physical middle blocker who can do so much damage with her block and being able to transition to attack. She is creative with how she can score points where she can run multiple tempos while using a variety of shots. She has played for TAV during her club career and has played on the big stage winning multiple national events. Seeing her during the 2025 17s Triple Crown NIT finals was impressive. Her high motor was too much to contain as TAV went on to be the best of an elite field. TCU is currently 14-3 and has themselves in contention to potentially host for the NCAA Tournament. I'm sure Young and some future Frogs will be in attendance for those moments.     Artiles is one of the most physical attackers in the Class of 2026. She just puts a hurt on the ball, when she makes contact it sounds different. The Florida native is going to stay in the Southeast and head to Georgia. A prospect like Artiles could change a program like Georgia, turning them into a national contender. The Bulldogs are 11-5, 3-3 in conference play where they are fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. There are only two current seniors on the roster where they could be generating plenty of momentum for the end of the season and into 2026.     Emma Frietch will be moving up in the national rankings at the end of October, the libero covers quite the range, she keeps her side in system, and brings calm to the chaos on the second ball. She has played her high school ball for St. Ursula out of Cincy and her club ball at NKYVC, she's been trained at a high level and has competed against the best in the country. Her movement and platform makes the libero position look effortless. She will take her talent to Rocky Top where this program has been making waves all season. This is a group that no one wants to see come tournament time after they took Texas to the wire. A player like Frietch will add depth to their backcourt and she is one who just lights a spark wherever she plays.     What Coach Kristen Kelsay is building in East Lansing is pretty special. She has her alma mater off to a hot start, sitting at 14-2 and recently knocked off a ranked Indiana squad. This coaching staff made a splash this June with some big time 2027 recruits, but they also have some key 2026 pieces coming into play. Madi Andrews is one of the top players in the PNW and the top player in Oregon that will be heading to MSU. She is a dynamic six rotation outside who can score points in bunches. She has played her club ball at Athena and preps at Nelson High School in Happy Valley, Oregon. This is the type of player who can take MSU to the next level.     There is a new name to know among the top programs in the ACC and that is North Carolina. The Tar Heels are 13-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference, ranked 21st in the country. They will be bringing in the top player out of Nebraska's Class of 2026 where West has played her club ball for Nebraska Premier and Skutt Catholic out of Omaha. West is a high flying outside hitter who knows how to score points. She knows how to take advantage of what the defense gives her with the ability to high line or sharp cross. Her style of play is electric and will be such a great combination with the current squad at UNC.       Indiana is capitalizing on a big time Class of 2025 recruiting class. They have found themselves among the nationally ranked and their youngsters provide a huge punch. A prospect I think could bring even more firepower to the Hoosiers is Alaina Pollard out of Chicagoland. For Indiana to get a big time prospect in the heart of the Big Ten recruiting battle grounds in huge. Pollard has played for 1st Alliance who has consistently provided top talent that have gone on to Big Ten programs. She brings a lot of length, athleticism, and physicality to the front line and her ceiling is incredibly high. She has the Big Ten intangibles where she could add value immediately to a team that is on the rise.     Arizona just missed out on NCAA Tournament in 2024 and they took that personally. They have had a great offseason in recruiting and have beefed up their non conference schedule which should help their RPI coming at the end of November. They are coming off a ranked win against Baylor this past weekend. They will bring in one of the top outside hitters in Minnesota in Hayden Reeder. Reeder has been playing her club ball for MN Select who has a roster of high powered college commits. The biggest strength in Reeder's game is her ability to contribute in multiple positions. She is lethal in the back court, she can score from both pins, she is someone the other side of the net has to be aware of. She also creates a lot of energy for her court as well.

The Class of 2026 is heading into the final month of their high school careers. Prep Dig will be updating their national rankings at the end of October and we have some athletes who could make an impact on rising programs. The nationally rankings have athletes heading to the perennial top ten programs, but who could bring their program