2028s Who Showed They Belong at Nationals

<a href="https://prepdig.com/subscribe/" id="https://prepdig.com/subscribe/">This article was shared with 150+ college coaches. Join PrepDig with 30% off using code: Coachable247</a>   Nine days in Indianapolis, the deepest field most 2028s will see all year, and the qualities that separate a player become obvious fast: the touch, the read, the communication, the presence she brings to a huddle.   Across eight positions and different club programs, this group kept saying the same things in different words. They compete with joy. They communicate constantly. They lift the people around them, and on courts like these, that showed up in ways coaches notice.   Here is what stood out about eight 2028s who proved it at Nationals.    Alexandra Bradley plays with an expression that doesn't change with the score, and that's exactly what makes her fun to watch. At the USAV Championships, she came back into action mid tournament and didn't hold anything back, chasing balls all over the court and running down plays other setters might let go. That kind of hustle is a direct reflection of how much she loves the game: she describes feeling constant joy the moment she steps on the floor, no matter what's happening around her.   Off the court, she's candid that she can carry stress, but the court is where that disappears and a calmer, steadier version of her takes over, what she calls her happy place. Heading into summer, her focus is specific: sharpening her placement as she distributes across the net, while also building chemistry with a new high school roster ahead of club season.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Karisma Cunnigan's energy is the same in every set she plays, and that consistency is what stands out most about her. Even as her team's results shifted over the course of the USAV tournament, she stayed the same steady presence, keeping her energy high and encouraging every teammate point after point. That's a hard thing to do well, and it's clearly become part of her identity as a competitor.   She describes herself as someone who believes in progress over perfection and isn't afraid to step into new environments, treating them as chances to grow rather than things to be nervous about. Her faith runs through everything she shared, and she credits her church community as the foundation for how she carries herself. This summer she's splitting time between club clinics, college camps, and preparing for her high school's summer league.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Arianne Paulsen's Nationals performance comes with a number worth celebrating: ten kills on ten attempts across three sets, in the last match of the day against a team her squad badly wanted to beat. She credits staying available to her setter and trusting her shot selection, and the number speaks for itself. A hitter doesn't put together a run like that without reading the block well on nearly every single swing.   That same competitive energy carries into how she talks about life away from the court. She isn't easily embarrassed, she and her dad are proud self-described goofballs in public, and her list of hobbies, woodworking, cars, guitar, hiking, shows someone who's genuinely curious and up for anything. This summer she's targeting college camps and high school tryouts while building strength and vertical.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Carly Baker's calling card is range. She spreads offense across ones, threes, back ones, pushes, and slides, which makes life difficult for a defense that has to prepare for all of it, and opens things up for her setter and the rest of her hitters. That same versatility showed up defensively at Nationals, when her communication and court awareness had her playing all the way around, including back row reps most middles never get the chance to show off.   She plays both indoor and beach volleyball, and her summer reflects that range too: high school practices, beach championships, strength training, and AP English coursework, all balanced at once. She's proud of the work she puts in that doesn't show up on a stat sheet, checking in on her teammates on and off the court, and she's clear that her faith sits at the center of how she leads.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Rachel Nemee leads with something coaches notice before they even check University Athlete: body language that stays level through every swing of a match. That composure is exactly what teammates lean on, and it was on full display against Vegas Aces, when a hard angle swing came her way in a tight third set and she dug it clean and high without flinching. It's the kind of play that changes momentum in a single touch.   Off the court, she carries a 4.4 GPA while managing a course load she describes as challenging but intentionally balanced, and she credits that early organization as the foundation for everything else she does. Her recovery routine, leg sleeves and chiropractic therapy, is already built like a college athlete's, which fits, since she's already committed to playing at the next level.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Sasha Slaughter is already hearing what her future coaches see in her. In conversations with the Georgia Tech staff, they pointed to her physicality and range on the court, along with the energy she gives back to teammates, celebrating a teammate's kill as loudly as one of her own. That kind of feedback from a college program in the middle of a club season is a great sign of what's ahead for her.   It showed up in full on the final day of the tournament, a single elimination match where she found kills around the block over and over and described the feeling as flowing. Away from the court, she's still very much a teenager with a full life: Minecraft, baking, and a part time job, all worked in around privates and strength training as she builds toward her college career.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Dakota Washington is intentional about building her poise, not just relying on it. During a Day 3 crossover match at Nationals, she stayed calm and ready, controlling hard serves and tough digs so smoothly that they looked easy, while also directing traffic for her team, calling out open zones and blocker counts in real time. Staying composed while also running the floor for teammates is a lot to ask of one position, and she made it look routine.   She's just as intentional about her role with teammates off the court, learning what helps each person reset after a tough point and making sure everyone knows someone in the gym has their back. She's starting at a new school this fall, and heading into that transition, she's targeting more court coverage in serve receive and cleaner out of system setting with her hands, all while keeping her academics current even during tournament weekends.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Hailey Lansang's game is built on details most people miss: a low posture with early movement in serve receive, taking the spin off the ball when she sets out of system so her hitters get a clean look, a flat hand on her serve to create float. That consistency, paired with constant communication steering hitters toward open court, is what she believes coaches notice first, and it's easy to see why.   Her signature moment from Nationals is a mentality more than a single play. After dropping the first set of her team's opening match, she rallied her teammates around a simple idea, not letting any ball drop, and watched it catch on across the whole roster on the way to a 27-25 win in the second set. She holds a GPA above 4.0 and brings the same effort to her classwork that she brings to her game. This summer includes prospect camps at Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Fullerton, along with continued work on reading the game before it happens.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">If You Enjoyed This Article, Help Us Keep the Momentum Going</h2>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">🔥 Athletes</h3>   Take time to explore the player profiles featured in this article. Read their evaluations, look at their accomplishments, and pay attention to how they present themselves. Every profile offers insight into what coaches are seeing and what athletes are doing to build visibility. Don't compare your journey to theirs, learn from it, continue developing your game, and keep building a profile that reflects your own growth.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">📣 Club Coaches & Directors</h3>   Celebrate the athletes from your program who were featured, and encourage your entire team to explore these profiles. They provide valuable examples of how visibility, evaluations, and consistent development work together throughout the recruiting process. Share this article with your athletes and continue creating environments where growth comes first.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">🎯 College Coaches</h3>   These profiles represent athletes who have generated significant interest throughout California over the past year. Continue following their development, update your evaluations as they grow, and use PrepDig to identify additional prospects who may be emerging throughout the season.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">🙏 Parents & Supporters</h3>   Thank you for supporting your athlete's journey. Your encouragement, investment, and belief make opportunities like these possible. Share this article with your athlete, explore the featured profiles together, and use them as a conversation about development, preparation, and the long-term recruiting process rather than comparison.   🚀 <a href="https://prepdig.com/my-account/subscriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Upgrade to a PrepDig+ Subscription</a> Access exclusive rankings, deeper analysis, and the full Prospect Index to follow every athlete's journey.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prepdig.com/recruiting-resources/"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/07/image_3e909a.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1003951"/></a></figure>   Thank you for making today's wins matter — one article, one player, one memory at a time.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247

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