2026 Michigan Freshman Showcase Player Evaluations: Part 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2026 Michigan Freshman Showcase took place on Sunday and we had nearly 70 2030 prospects on hand in Pontiac, displaying their talents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This could be a very special class and many of the best were on hand.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's our first set of player evaluations from Sunday's Freshman Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='922119' first='Reese' last='Berryman'], S Marian/Michigan Elite</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berryman displayed a great set of all-around skills. She is very agile and that helps her move around the court well to make an impact defensively, while also getting into position to run an offense. She's got great touch on her sets and worked well with a the consistent changing of hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='964915' first='Taylor' last='Quinones'], MB Regina/Legacy</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quinones is a middle prospect that shows a lot of potential. At 5'9”, she doesn't have the same length as some of her peers, but she's explosive off the floor and stays active, willing to battle to make tough plays. She's got a good head on her shoulders and looks to be driven to succeed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='965392' first='Kylie' last='Mucha'], DS/L Chippewa Valley/Unified</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mucha was putting in the effort on Sunday, as she was taken some bumps and bruises through sprawls and dives to try and get to every ball. Her drive was one of her biggest strengths, but she also showed good consistency in her first contact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='965813' first='Addison' last='Hills'], S Dow/Michigan Elite</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hills had a good showing. She's a setter/hitter combo player that is left handed, so it brings some unique intangibles to the court. Hills shows good footwork at both positions and that leads to a lot of accurate sets and powerful swings. She's also got a very strong serve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='945026' first='Evelyn' last='Madeja'], DS/L South Lyon/L2</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madeja has a good foundational base, as she's athletic and light on her feet. She is able to cover a lot of space in the back row and square up to attacks, while being able to get low to the ground and make accurate feeds. She also can put down an impressive back row attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='994926' first='LilyJames' last='Mahalak'], S Oxford/High Performance</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mahalak brought a lot of the key criteria you look for in a setter. First, she communicated well. Second, she was very encouraging to her hitters and provided positive energy. Third, she was consistent and got a lot of big swings out of the rotating hitters. She didn't need long to find their sweep spots for putting the ball away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='995250' first='Reagan' last='Darga'], S Hartland/Legacy</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The ball has a nice touch off Darga's sets and it allows her hitters to get a big wind up and unload on the ball. Darga looks like she is really in-tune on the court and doesn't overthink where to play the ball. Her sets look effortless and showed a lot of consistency when it came to accuracy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000871' first='Lucia' last='El-Alayli'], DS/L Brighton/Legacy</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>El-Alayli was a great hustle player. When she stepped on the court, she gave her all to every rep and every opportunity. She was always on the move and not getting caught flat-footed anywhere, which allowed her to come through with some good digs against big hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1001522' first='Torrie' last='Tacia'], OH Big Rapids/FaR Out</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the Top Performers from the event, Tacia was one of the most aggressive hitters at the event. She delivered some big power shots that turned plenty of heads and got her peers talking. Tacia has a long and athletic approach to the net, which allows her to generate a lot of velocity in her attacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1002631' first='Melani' last='Gjorovski'], DS/L Regina/Michigan Elite</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gjorovski was really steady throughout the Showcase. She maintained good form on serve receive and while taking on attacks. She displayed a lot of communication and had a great first step when needing to cover a lot of ground to get to a ball. Her instincts were at a high level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='959855' first='Grace' last='Ullrich'], DS/L Marian/Michigan Elite</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ullrich never looked overwhelmed by all the different fastballs coming her way. She made good adjustments to every hitter as she got to see them more often and played with a lot of confidence by the end of the Showcase. Ullrich made some really strong digs and learned quickly from any shortcomings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->