Class of 2022 – The Transfer Rate, Adversity, and Success

Why do we rank?  What do we do with these rankings once they classes head off to their college careers?  Well, its time to bring back the national rankings from the Class of 2022 and do a little analysis.  The Class of 2022 was the first year of Prep Dig National Rankings.  What a journey it has been.  At Prep Dig we have grown with more states, more scouts, and through all of this we are able to network with more people in regards to our rankings and our process. 

What we can also do with their “archived” rankings is study the trends of athletes in regards to post season awards and those who are transferring. We took the top 100 ranked athletes and marked if they earned a post season honor as a senior and if they finished their eligibility at the same school they started at.  

Here Is What We Found: 

54 of the Top 100 did not finish their eligibility at the school they started at.  Some of these athletes had multiple transfers, did not continue their volleyball career, and there are a handful that made the switch to beach volleyball full time at another school. 

26 of the Top 100 earned a post season award in regard to All Conference of All American. 

Remember This About The Class of 2022: 

This may only be four years ago, but so much has changed in the world - and the world of volleyball.  

The top prospect from the Class of 2022 was Mckenna Wucherer who will be heading into her final year at Minnesota after sitting out the 2025 season with an injury.  Wucherer committed to Minnesota in 2018 as an 8th grader.  A lot of these athletes made verbal commitments and were having conversations with college coaches at 14 and 15 year olds.  I believe the rules changed for the Class of 2023 where they had to wait until June 15 after their sophomore year of high school to officially start the recruiting process. Will we see a change in transfer rates in 2023 athletes compared to 2022?  Time will tell. 

These athletes did not come into college with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) as part of their recruiting process.  If someone bought them a dinner they would probably have to report it to the NCAA.  

And lastly, this class may have been hit the hardest by Covid.  When the world shut down in March of 2020, these athletes were in the heart of their 16s season, one of the biggest age groups in terms of recruiting and for these kids, it was lost. Recruiting was done through highlight videos, secret scrimmages, workouts in their backyard, and that doesn't even begin to scrape the surface as far as interacting with college coaches and visits.  No camps on campus, and I'm not even sure if you could have an “official” visit on campus.  I don't think college coaches could get out and recruit in person until June of 2021.  The Class of 2022 was the second class coming out of covid that did not get an extra year of eligibility.  There were situations where athletes who were established took an extra year which has an impact on the depth chart on many levels. 

A Look At The Top 15 of 2022

Texas A&M Prospects

The national champions had a loaded senior class from the 2022s.  Here is who they signed from this class as well as who they picked up: 

Initial Signing

44. Ava Underwood - Texas - DS/L - Fulsheaer - Houston Skyline

52. Lexi Guinn - Texas - OH - Frisco - Dallas Skyline

123. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla - Texas - MB - Marcus - Madfrog

133. Logan Lednicky - Texas - RS - George Ranch - Houston Skyline

134 Ital Lopuya - Nebraska - MB - Omaha Central - Nebraska Juniors

Transfer In: 

36. Maddie Waak - Texas - S - Katy - Houston Skyline - LSU 

67. Morgan Perkins - Texas - MB - Episcopal - Houston Skyline - Oklahoma

77. Emily Hellmuth - Texas - OH - Highland Park - Dallas Skyline - Pepperdine

Other Notable 2022s: 

Call is a swing and miss on our part or a player just rising to the challenge, there are athletes who finished their senior year of college as some of the best in the game.  They are already heading to pro leagues. At Prep Dig, rankings are a tool, and we learned something new after every rankings process.  Since our national rankings we now have very established sites in California and Texas which have been very helpful to have boots on the ground in those volleyball hotbeds.  

31. Ava Martin - Kansas - OH - St. Thomas Aquinas - PVA - Creighton 

Ava Martin went to Creighton and had one of the most successful careers anyone in a Bluejay jersey has seen.  She was the number two pick in the MVL where she will be joining the Atlanta Vibe. 

70. Morgan Colyer - Oregon - OH - Lincoln - Synergy Force - Oregon to Wisconsin

Who is Morgan Colyer? Oh, Mimi Colyer, yes.  We know her.  Colyer was the Freshman of the year at Oregon and this past season was the top outside at Wisconsin.  Her game continued to improve each time she stepped on the court where she increased her jump touch four inches in the past year which is wild.  What a career as a Duck and Badger. 

110. Eva Hudson - Indiana - OH - Bishop Dwenger - Munciana - Purdue to Kentucky 

Major swing and miss on our part at Prep Dig. I remember watching a Triple Crown NIT matchup with Municana and Arizona Storm at the 16s level.  It was Eva Hudson vs. Jordan Wilson of AZ Storm on the pin.  There are things that Eva Hudson does that you get to see in the bright lights where she wills her team to win.  She will head to Atlanta to start her pro career for LOVB Atlanta.