Standouts from AAU Nationals Day 1

AAU Nationals has come and gone, for these girls in 17s it was likely their last run at AAUs and many of them made the most of it. Here were some standout players who stood out in front of coaches this weekend.    Whitney showed a strong game for Athena. On the block she was physical and had good timing, making some strong blocks, getting them closed and keeping up the defensive pressure. Offensively she played a strong all around game, hard hitting, getting the ball down, played a decent back row game, she's not going to hurt you out there, which is a compliment, a lot of OH playing back row are just that, but she legit handled the position and didn't hurt her team on serve receive. She's got solid height and was getting high enough to get the downward plane you are looking for as a hitter. Seeing that she's listed as spending some time at MB, she might be right at the limit you want a Middle height wise, but I'd be interested to see her there as well and compare notes, depending on where she plays at the next level, an athletic MB that can block and has that kind of offensive skill set would be lethal. Even as an all-around 6 she's a solid prospect, but I think she could give you some flexibility as well which is huge for coaches now with roster constraints and budgets.     Doing these standout posts from big tournaments like this, you get more of a mixed bag when it comes to recruits and commits. It's a lot harder to find uncommitted players that standout at this stage in the game. Not a surprise to me at all that Ihuoma is committed to Clemson. At first glance I said, D1 somewhere, but where is the question. She's got the prototype height, she's fast, strong and powerful. She had no trouble blocking and making big plays, it seems like she was in on every hit from the other team getting a piece or just forcing them to take a bad angle shot. Offensively she showed good timing, which I'm appreciating more and more everyday and had no trouble communicating and running quick tempo shots and higher balls. In particular, showing the athleticism on a two, she absolutely obliterated a ball, hitting through the block and hitting the receiver hard enough to sit her down. Clemson is getting a good one here, she's going to be a monster.     Kyla is one of the few back row players that stood out for me this tournament. Sometimes you just have a heavier load of one position over another, this class is heavy on Setters so I've seen a lot of them, but Kyla stood out for me because of some fantastic back row play, which more teams needed in this tourney. She handled serve receive well, and her passes were on target and soft almost every time. The play starts from the beginning, and I think people forget that, making the Setter pull off over the 10 foot line or across the floor makes for a less than ideal set, and you're just hoping things work out at that point vs counting on a point. She did a great job setting up her setters, no pun intended, and helped lead a tough offense for NC Academy. A solid 2027 back row player, she would make a great add for a lot of teams looking to sure up the defense.     Lyla is in that tweener height for a hitter, where she could be tall enough to play there if she's got a enough vertical to get up. She showed a lot of that this weekend and generated major power with an absolutely violent swing, almost like she was trying to hit through players to the floor. She played solid defensively, I didn't have any major notes stand out to me. Offensively she was much more of an impact player and was almost scaring players off the block with how hard she swung at the ball.     Another player that stood out to me as immediately recognizable as a D1 player was Hannah for Carolina Select. She showed good speed and athleticism and when she decided a ball was hers, it was hers. She manhandled a few players on the block with raw power, and then used some excellent timing to absolutely floor a few balls in the time I got to see her. South Carolina grabbed a good one here, and she's going to be a problem for people at the next level.    That's a quick rundown of players that made an impact at AAU Wave 3 today. Check back later and I'll have another list of players from day 2 that turned some heads.

AAU Nationals has come and gone, for these girls in 17s it was likely their last run at AAUs and many of them made the most of it. Here were some standout players who stood out in front of coaches this weekend.