DMV Club Season 2025-26 Preview: Many Changes in 17U

Well, that escalated quickly. There were rumors and rumblings after last club season, a little more than usual. In any given year there are moves on the top teams, someone quits, someone moves, etc. and then the ripple effects ring outward. Now this player moves to fill to fill that hole, which opens a spot for someone else to leave somewhere else and fill that hole which creates...well, you get the idea. This year though. It was different. The top tier of clubs in the DMV in recent memory has been Metro, [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''], [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'], Maryland Juniors, MVSA, CVA, Baltimore Elite, Premier Edge and [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']. There are ups and downs year to year, and some are bigger monsters than others but instead of players spreading out this year, a new wrinkle popped up which changed the usual flow of players. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] really leaned in to fielding a 2nd top competitive team in each age group, last year in the 16U group they had two teams that were both very successful, and they seemed to have expanded that, having 2 or more solidly contending teams in each age group. If [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] tipped the status quo, Metro walked in the party, flipped the table over and took over the DJ booth as they added another Travel-level team in their National squads. These teams slot in behind the Travel level, and ahead of the direction level (North, South, East, West) and they were blank slates, which means this team alone led to 12 players leaving their team in each age group, and starting the domino effect.   This would be a massive post if I did all the HS age groups, so I'm going to break it down by year and look at some of the movement and the likely contenders for this season. Let's start at 17U, since there's an extra wrinkle to movement at this level.   Maryland Juniors 17 Elite Black:   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='577516' first='Mariska' last='Ordonez'], [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='849571' first='Kadey' last='Zee'], [player_tooltip player_id='753439' first='Joelle' last='Vassor'], [player_tooltip player_id='753065' first='Isabella' last='Adcock'], Kaia Boggin, Michelle Cui.   Incoming: Addison Kelly, Camila Cordero, Ella Jones, [player_tooltip player_id='850112' first='Jaleah' last='Lawhorn'], [player_tooltip player_id='438089' first='Kenley' last='Jacobs'], [player_tooltip player_id='896386' first='Kristina' last='Melton'], Layla Tamiz, Marli Dubroy, Milla Danek, [player_tooltip player_id='908869' first='Naomi' last='Kolo'].   First glance, ouch. That's a lot of talent leaving a team. Michelle stays with Juniors, but moves up to 18s. Joelle and Kaia both go to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 18s. Kadey moves on to Metro 18s Travel. More on them in my 18s post, coming soon. This team retained three key players, Libero [player_tooltip player_id='547072' first='Victoria' last='Small'], Setter [player_tooltip player_id='731013' first='Ella' last='Strain'], and OH Maddie Mauro. Having a veteran in each of the key positions should help stabilize transition a bit, and the players coming in are more than meets the eye. Setter Milla Danek is Maddie's Setter at Spalding and has recently been playing up at SRVC. Running a 6-2 with Ella, the two of them make for a very solid setting pair, both being able to set multiple spots and tempos and playing very good defense for the setter position. New DS Layla comes from Moco and St. Johns and looked very solid when I saw her during HS season. Camila I haven't seen before, but I'm looking forward to learning more about her. Middle was rebuilt adding Addison Kelly who brings height and so much strength to the team, Jaleah graduates from Elite Yellow at Juniors, Marli is the 3rd middle in the group, and after having only two last season it will be a welcome addition to have a 3rd. One coach recently said about Kristina that she was the steal of the roster, I saw her a bit last year with Metro North and Glenelg Country this year, and she is going to make a difference at OH, and Kenley is the other new OH, who plays for Sherwood, and played at MEVC last year. The new RS on the roster [player_tooltip player_id='908869' first='Naomi' last='Kolo'], and Ella Jones are going to be a fun surprise. Maybe not for other teams, but for this team they will be. I'm going to keep that secret a little bit longer though, but they will help replace some of the star power Juniors lost.   Metro 17 Travel:   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='290176' first='Kieran' last='Rhoton']   Incoming: [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'], [player_tooltip player_id='557876' first='Kinsley' last='Flores']   As you would expect, not much movement here. These teams are generally considered the cream of the crop, especially this one who is coming off a 2nd place finish at USAV Nationals. They expanded their roster from 14 to 15, with Kieran heading out and joining [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] 17, and in her place is [player_tooltip player_id='557876' first='Kinsley' last='Flores'] who plays at Richard Montgomery and recently played for 757 in club. The other big, and I mean major, addition is [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] who is an all-world Libero committed to Oklahoma, who can also play OH. When I say the rich got richer, wow. She was previously on their 17s team, but this is the move inverse from the 18s move I alluded to earlier, where usually when players are playing up, they go back to their natural age group at 17s. I'd go into detail about all the stars on this team, but I don't think I have to, I'm sure most of you know this whole roster, it's absolutely loaded and poised to make another National Title run, I think they are my favorite to win it right now, but you never know with those A5, Mad Frog, or AZ Storm teams lurking out there. They'll be fun to follow.   Metro 17 National:   Outgoing: No one, they didn't exist.   Incoming: Everyone.   This is where everything blew up. A whole new Travel level team invented means that players blocked on some teams had a shot to move up. Players not happy with their playing time on other top teams had another option. It's funny, I knew this team was coming, but somehow blocked it out of my head until the day OF tryouts. I was saying last year sometime there's such a bottleneck for the elite teams, and all of them have star players buried on the bench, that this area needed another team to push up into the elite National Bid Open bracket territory and give some of these players a chance to get into the spotlight while they still could. This fits the bill. They will play many Open brackets, I'm not sure what happens if they are in the same tournament as 17 Travel, but looking at their schedule there actually isn't a ton of overlap, so there's room for both to win open bids out there.   As far as the roster, they brought in some star power from Maryland Juniors with [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'], who broke out last year as a top level OH, and really worked harder than many players on her defense in order to play a 6-rotation game. [player_tooltip player_id='849614' first='Noya' last='Offurum'], and Alivia Jackson come over from a talented CVA team. A chunk of last year's successful Metro North team makes up the roster in pin hitters Elly Fang, Ivory Boone, and [player_tooltip player_id='731010' first='Raylin' last='Horst'], showing how the bigger clubs build a successful pipeline with the lower level teams growing players that stay in house and move up over time. [player_tooltip player_id='772013' first='Nia' last='Rodriguez'] comes over to play DS from the MVSA 2nd team. [player_tooltip player_id='831636' first='Ella' last='Grove'] is a pin from St. Johns in the IAAM, who has played at Liberty Elite. Ava Wang is a flexible S/DS from MEVC who goes to Poolesville, to join Charlie Haft, another S/DS from talented Georgetown Day, and has spent some time at [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. Gabi Jordan is a setter from O'Connell who has been at some of the better clubs in her time, The St. James, [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] and [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors']. [player_tooltip player_id='530366' first='Gabriela' last='Donley'] and Raven Smith bring more height to an already tall team, but of them spent time at MoJo Elite and play in the DC Private School league.   This will be an interesting roster to watch this season. I see a lot of flexibility, a lot of height, and I already know a couple of these girls are supremely talented seeing them first hand. Where they stack up in the region is going to be the interesting part. I'm sure they will be in the mix, playing a lot of the same tournaments as the top teams here are, the head to head matchups will be something to see for sure, to battle out the pecking order in the CHRVA region.     [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 17 Nick:   Outgoing: [player_tooltip player_id='437980' first='Katherine' last='Madden'], Sophia Delarosa   Incoming: [player_tooltip player_id='577516' first='Mariska' last='Ordonez'], [player_tooltip player_id='753065' first='Isabella' last='Adcock'], [player_tooltip player_id='807765' first='Kaitlin' last='Tan'], [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'],   After adding quite a few new players last year, [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']'s top team in the age group is at it again. This year adding Mariska and Isabella, two of the best players from MDJRS top team, joining [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'], [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] and [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] who made the jump last year. The other two additions are in-house, Kaitlin moving up from last year's 15s team, and Louise moving down from last year's 17's team. With so much depth and talent the question becomes how do you get all 14 on the court for valuable minutes in the most important recruiting year for many? There are five D1 commits already locked on this team, and [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] has responsibilities with the US National team at some point during the year, so that could free up some time for others. The question isn't about the talent on this team, that's obvious, it's about how are they going to be used? Some teams will spread the load and everyone gets time to shine, others will play starters and a couple key subs and the rest don't see the court which can be problematic for players with coaches coming to see them, and this team will have plenty of coaches following them this season. That part may be harder than winning competitive games as the season goes on, but having talent to showcase will not be a problem on this team.     [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 17 Allorie:   There was a lot of turnover on this team, looks like three returners and the rest are new to the team. I'm not as familiar with the VA side, which most of the are from so I think I'll leave the in depth analysis to Bob on this one, but last year this was a well-coached and successful team, they were in the mix for top 5 in the Region all season.   MVSA 17 Blaze:   Outgoing: Leanne Gaudian   Incoming: [player_tooltip player_id='749346' first='Ellyn' last='Kim'], [player_tooltip player_id='465326' first='Saesha' last='Dhote']   This team may win the award for cohesion this year. Not only were they in the mix for top 5 all season, but they also only had one player leave the team this year, and added two players from Richard Montgomery in [player_tooltip player_id='749346' first='Ellyn' last='Kim'], who played for Liberty Elite previously, and [player_tooltip player_id='465326' first='Saesha' last='Dhote'] who moved up from their 2nd team. With [player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'] and a couple of her perennial state title contending Richard Montgomery teammates, these guys will be in the hunt for those USAV bids.   [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] 17 Elite   Outgoing: Jillian Sundra, [player_tooltip player_id='587030' first='Faith' last='Smith'], Kinsley Zebatto, Alice Ru, [player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre'], [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth']   Incoming: [player_tooltip player_id='735304' first='Meg' last='Ronayne'], [player_tooltip player_id='500510' first='Violet' last='Masiello'], [player_tooltip player_id='290176' first='Kieran' last='Rhoton'],   There was a decent amount of movement for [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] as well, with 6 leaving, and bringing 3 in. Their roster was at 15 last year, and as I mentioned when talking about [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''], finding time for everyone with a large roster can be very tough. They cut down to 12 this year which is typical for a club team. The 3 they brought in are all quality players though. Meg has been around the circuit a few stops, which happens at setter sometimes because there are generally only 2 spots per team, and some teams running a 5-1 vs a 6-2 means even less in reality. She's a very solid setter though, she spent last season with [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. Violet is a tall pin hitter with good vertical, JUST shy of 10 foot, and now looks to slot in with a towering front line that [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] can field. Kieran has quite the resume, coming over from the national title runner up Metro Travel and gives Juniors yet another weapon. As usual these guys will be in the mix, and I expect to see them at Nationals.     There are a few other teams in this group that I expect to be contenders, but I can't cover everyone on the first day, so we will check in with them as the season progresses. Teams like [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] which are always tough matchups, CVA which has a loaded team in this age group, but I haven't gotten a hold of their roster for this season yet, Baltimore Elite and Premier Edge which tends to dominate the Eastern Shore and are always making waves in the big tournaments as well. So don't think this is an all-encompassing list, and if I left you off of it, it's no slight at all, there's just a lot of ground to cover with all the movement in all the age groups, and I'll make sure to spread some coverage around once tournament play starts.

Well, that escalated quickly. There were rumors and rumblings after last club season, a little more than usual. In any given year there are moves on the top teams, someone quits, someone moves, etc. and then the ripple effects ring outward. Now this player moves to fill to fill that hole, which opens a spot for someone else to leave somewhere else and fill that hole which creates...well, you get the idea. This year though. It was different. The top tier of clubs in the DMV in recent memory has been Metro, Paramount , VA Juniors , Maryland Juniors, MVSA, CVA, Baltimore Elite, Premier Edge and Blue Ridge . There are ups and downs year to year, and some are bigger monsters than others but instead of players spreading out this year, a new wrinkle popped up which changed the usual flow of players. Paramount really leaned in to fielding a 2nd top competitive team in each age group, last year in the 16U group they had two teams that were both very successful, and they seemed to have expanded that, having 2 or more solidly contending teams in each age group. If Paramount tipped the status quo, Metro walked in the party, flipped the table over and took over the DJ booth as they added another Travel-level team in their National squads. These teams slot in behind the Travel level, and ahead of the direction level (North, South, East, West) and they were blank slates, which means this team alone led to 12 players leaving their team in each age group, and starting the domino effect.