Maryland HS Preview 2026: Anne Arundel County

It's that time again. Nationals is over. College visits and camps are done. The anxiety of tryouts is over. Practices have been in full swing for a week or two. The first day of school has arrived, HS season is upon us. Maryland is broken up into regions and conferences. We have 1A-4A here in Maryland with 4A being the largest schools and 1A being the smallest.   Last year's title winners for a refresher:   4A - Broadneck   3A - Howard   2A - Glenelg   1A - Clear Spring     My first region preview will be the home turf: Anne Arundel County. With the sheer number of players in and out, and moves each year it's impossible to cover everyone, so I'm going to shoot for who I think are the contenders in each county, and then we'll see about a state title preview post.   The contenders:   Broadneck: Defending champions feature a veteran Club and HS coach who every year surprises me with imagination in her lineups and makes them work in Tracey Regalbuto. Last year she filled some holes that arrived through attrition with some interesting moves, sliding players into new positions, or positions that may not be their true position, and the moves worked. They won a state title. I can't question that. It was fairly impressive. This year they lose a couple major players at Setter and OH, and are facing some really tough, unfortunate injuries to start out of the gate. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'] leads the way, recently committed to D1 Stony Brook, she's as solid of a player as you will find here in MD. Great setter, smart, great server, plays smart, heads up defense. Such a great all around player. She's also got rising Soph [player_tooltip player_id='766895' first='Neely' last='Olish'] who started as a MB when I first saw her last summer, and converted to a S/RS, she brings some real height to the team at 6'1 and is possibly their best server. Last year, Setter Lexi Luscomb, of Metro Travel moved to Libero to fill a need and did a fantastic job. I personally have a thing for cross-training Setters/DS so this is just another feather in the cap for my argument, she's a top notch player. Unfortunately, this is one of those major injuries they suffered, and it looks like she may miss her Soph year. The other big injury they suffered was OH [player_tooltip player_id='787925' first='Camryn' last='Bedell'], another rising Soph. She was making big strides last year, and had a great run in club season as well for BAVA, when she hurt her knee at Nationals and likely another out for a majority if not all season. Hoping for a speedy and healthy recovery for both of these girls, they make the sport better by being there. There's still talent at Broadneck, and [player_tooltip player_id='747047' first='Ella' last='Luscomb'], Lexi's sister is still out there as well, she was a pin hitter last I saw of her, and there may be a spot for her to step up. They have another senior veteran at Middle that I was impressed with, and I think she could do a good job plugging that hole as one of the Middles, I didn't catch her name in the scrimmage I saw her at, but I'm going to aim to find it here soon. She did an excellent job on the block and solving an opening for this team. I'm not sure what the final lineup decisions will be yet, there are a lot of moving parts here, and some players up from JV that could help contribute, so this team will very much be a wait and see team once the season starts, but I know not to count them out of contention with Tracey at the helm.    Neely is an interesting one. She's gone all-in on setting this past year, so she's still catching up there, but she's been putting in the work, there's no question. Plenty of schools/teams will only look at tall setters that can play 6 rotations and give you offense and defense at the net, that's the 5-1 for you. I'm more of a 6-2 guy, but that's a different debate. It's too early to tell what Broadneck is going to run this season after losing two starters to graduation and two more to injuries. When I saw them, it looked like a modified 5-2 going on with both her and Barrett getting some setting time and playing front and back row, it was kind of interesting to watch, but that means serve receive duties, and back row defense on top of her front row skills, so there's a lot for her to be involved with this season. She's going to be a key to this team this year for sure.    Arundel: These scrappy guys made quite a run last year after losing some major impact players and did really well. There were some epic showdowns with Broadneck in there, some 5 set heartbreakers, lots of drama and intrigue with this team. Same thing this year, seems like they are constantly losing major stars, but just keep finding new players to show up and pick up the slack. For years they have been known for setting depth, talent on the front line, and tough games. This year they may look a lot different. There were a lot of new faces on the team, and not as much height as in previous years. MB/RS Jaleah Lawhorne in her senior year has been working on her offensive game, agility and hitting and has turned into a legit Middle/RS combo. She can beat you with her strong blocks still, but now you've got to watch out for her running a slide and burying a ball on you as well. The OH load looks to be carried by [player_tooltip player_id='1022621' first='Kalani' last='Richardson'], who has a tough mix of athleticism and strength that means she's dropping bombs out there. This one has what it takes to play at the next level, it'll be curious what club team she plays for this season being her junior year, she's going to be a sleeper hit. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='849571' first='Kadey' last='Zee'] is one of the really underappreciated DS out there, she's pure speed out there and covers a lot of ground. I think she should be signed already, DS is a battlefield though with so many teams going with pins all around, that's why I think they need to be cross training as setters so that either can take first or second ball. This team is pretty senior heavy with DS [player_tooltip player_id='850111' first='Chloe' last='Morgan'] out in a big role next to Kadey, and S/OH [player_tooltip player_id='850118' first='Sofia' last='Miga'] is another big contributor with MacKenzie Meeks involved in the setter mix as well. A lot of veterans will help keep this team in the mix, but there's a lot unknown too.    Kalani is one of my sleeper hits for this year. Unranked to PrepDig so far and that is a travesty. She has played for CVA on a fairly deep 16s team, and her development has been shining this past season. Last season she was a helpful part of the whole, this season she's ready to the a star and carry a team offensively. She's got 10 foot line talent, good arm whip and athleticism. Where these players usually get tangled up is are they good enough defensively to play all the way around, and is their timing good enough that they can adjust for off-set balls, and get the downward plane they need to put shots away? I'm watching for the latter two now, as those are usually the later developing skills for all-arounds, but I definitely saw some of it at last week's scrimmage. If the setting can get her the ball, I think she's going to do bad bad things with it. She's a showcase level player, and I'd like to see how far that can carry her this year as she gets more reps and improves.    Severn Run: This is a team that's still fairly new, with a great coach at the helm and waiting for their turn to make some noise. Senior Izzy Adcock is the player to worry about here. She's a 6'3 tall Middle who can play offense and defense and is committed to Rider University in NJ. There's not a middle in the county that can stand up to her overall game, but it's a team game and she's going to need help from the passers and the setter, as well. Severn Run features a couple other players to watch too, [player_tooltip player_id='857977' first='Savannah' last='Smith'] is a monster OH who should be committed pretty soon, she's very strong and athletic. They won some tough games last year, and could go on a run if they win a couple out of this pool of teams to watch.    Izzy is the top Middle in the county. She's headed for D1 next year, and got a lot of playing time with [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] on a stacked [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] team this past season. She's athletic enough to run anything, quick or slower tempo. She blocks well. Her serving is solid for a middle. She just doesn't have anyone else in the county that can match up with her right now, Middles are hard to find, since they are generally height based, and she's going to have the advantage there over everybody. Offensively she's going to be tough to stop with her swipes, and swings when she gets the ball. If you want to beat Severn Run, your game plan starts here.    Severna Park: A school that is always in the hunt, no matter the sport. Volleyball is no exception. There are a few up and coming young players coming through here that could be a problem for other schools. They lost some real firepower with their starting Setter last year's graduation, [player_tooltip player_id='849600' first='Jennifer' last='Hong'] spent last season at Libero filling another hole, but is a setter naturally and may slide back into that spot. They've got an up and coming star in Hannah Mckinstry as well, a tall OH that has been playing on a good BAVA team that's been at Nationals twice already. There are some other up and comers that will pop up during the season, but this team is one that's going to play you tough no matter what, they are going to be in the mix.    Hannah has been developing quickly the past two years and is ready to burst on the scene. I got to see her up close and personal this summer and she's really made some jumps in her game. She's grown quite a bit and now with that and her vertical she gets good downward plane on her balls and was starting to learn the techniques to get real good snap and finish on them. As the experience mounts, she's going to be a legit offensive force and will have a lot to do with the SPHS success.    South River: This is another team, kind of like Severna Park that is going to be at the edge of the hunt and a couple games will determine if they are in it or not at the end. [player_tooltip player_id='735308' first='Audrey' last='Estabillo'] committed to McDaniel recently and has been holding down the game in the backcourt for SR for years. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='623097' first='Lauren' last='Philpott'] will be the other driving force on this team and they will be helping develop some of the younger players along the way.    Audrey has been a solid mainstay for South River for years now, anchoring the back line and serve receive. She's a D3 commit for good reason, with solid platform and range to go with good passing accuracy. She plays for one of the heavy hitting clubs in [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] during club season, which helped that college level development. She will be a big part of senior leadership this season, and may be called on to play a little here and a little there depending on who else is filling in the lineup.    Crofton High: Crofton has been very up and down the past few years. A coaching change this year has given new life to the team, and what remains to be seen is how it all comes together on the court. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='731013' first='Ella' last='Strain'] leads the way for Crofton, a recent commit to St. Mary's College of Maryland, she brings accuracy, flexibility to run multiple tempos and plays, and the touch to set middles and right sides in addition to the outside pin. Which pins those will be remains to be seen with a new coach and players in play. Pin Vivien Sopha is just coming back from missing a year with an injury and is hungry to prove how healthy she is. There are three impact freshman on the Varsity roster this year infusing youth into the program, Libero [player_tooltip player_id='932773' first='Jemma' last='Peterson'] is one of the top regional players in the 2030 class. Setter Anya Palmer is showing strong flashes and looks to be a solid 6-2 setter developing under her club season coach, and middle [player_tooltip player_id='1001184' first='Autumn' last='Williams'] is showing great potential at middle, doing a good job on the block and also showing signs of being able to run advanced offensive plays for middles. The future is really looking bright again at Crofton.    The class of 2027 setters in this area is especially deep. I've been saying that for well over a year already. Ella is one of nine so far to commit to a play in college next year, and there are a few more in the group that are good enough to play at the next level. She brings a flexibility that many coaches would die for. Quick tempo OH on one set, slide to the MB on the next, freeze the middle for the 1v1 on the RS for the next, and then drop a jump set dump for a point once or twice a set. She is the poster child for the new meta in Volleyball, the Setter/DS hybrid. You are starting to see more and more of them, start at one position, switch to another because of opportunity. Cross train in both ongoing, and next thing you know you've got two defensive players that can take both the first and second ball. No more taking the setter out of the play, or easy shots for the LHH OPP. When you've got 3 front row players, a back row hitter waiting for the pipe ball at any time, and two defensive players that can dig or send it to any of the four? Couple that with the new Lib rules this season? That's an offense I can't wait to see a director/coach to take a shot on this season.    Broadneck gets a little weight as defending champ with talent as favorite to repeat, but the gap is much closer than it's been lately, and the other five teams it's going to come down to how the games get split. There could be a lot of parity in this group and them all be really close together, or one team could get a couple strong wins and pull ahead. It's going to make for some very good volleyball when there's not a clear winner ready to steamroll like a couple divisions last year.

It's that time again. Nationals is over. College visits and camps are done. The anxiety of tryouts is over. Practices have been in full swing for a week or two. The first day of school has arrived, HS season is upon us. Maryland is broken up into regions and conferences. We have 1A-4A here in Maryland with 4A being the largest schools and 1A being the smallest.