Sophomore Hitters Turning Poise Into Recruiting Traction

<a href="https://prepdig.com/subscribe" data-type="link" data-id="https://prepdig.com/subscribe">Use code Coachable247 for 30% off. Subscribe to follow these sophomores as they take on varsity this fall.</a>   Poise doesn't arrive all at once. For this group of seven sophomores, it's been built one specific fix at a time, a mechanic retrained, a mistake reframed, a piece of advice that finally stuck, and each one is heading into fall carrying a steadier version of themselves than the one who finished freshman year.    Baylee Parrish has spent this year becoming a more complete outside hitter for Centennial, developing her hitting from both pins while sharpening her serve receive and defense. Her coaches pushed her this spring to play with more aggression and poise in every phase of the game, work she expects to translate into consistency across every rotation. Looking back, she wishes she'd trusted herself from the start instead of overthinking her mistakes, and she's used the offseason to build a steadier mindset and put in extra work beyond scheduled practice. She sees herself as a lead-by-example player who's grown more comfortable speaking up, and she's come to understand that leadership isn't about who's loudest, it's about staying positive and helping the team stay focused.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Deanica De Lira has focused this year on tightening up her consistency as an outside hitter and opposite for Mercy Burlingame. Her coaches pushed her to make smarter decisions on the pins while still attacking aggressively, and she's paired that with real mental toughness work, training herself to move past mistakes rather than let them linger. She's built her improvement through extra reps rather than any single fix, and she's carrying that same intentionality into fall, where her goals include becoming a more reliable attacker under pressure. Her leadership has followed a similar arc, starting with simply demonstrating hard work and gradually expanding into taking real responsibility for communication and supporting her teammates when things get difficult.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Emma Oh has built her identity around not letting a bad play become two bad plays as a middle blocker and right side for Mater Dei. That composure is paired with real technical growth this spring, particularly at the net, where she's been pressing hard on her blocking and expects that work to show up immediately once fall begins. She's also rebuilt her footwork and overall speed, areas she admits weren't strengths before but has made a deliberate point of changing. She's attended multiple college camps this offseason with plans to keep that momentum going, and she's stepping into a leadership role this year that she didn't feel ready to claim as a freshman.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Gia Morris has built her fall season around trusting the work she's already put in as a libero for Sierra Canyon. Her club coach pushed her to stay disciplined with her platform and footwork even in the middle of tough rallies, and that discipline is what she expects to make her a more reliable back-row presence once high school season starts. Looking back, she recognizes moments where hesitation held her back instead of relying fully on her preparation, and she's spent the time since focused on building genuine poise rather than just talking about it. She leads primarily by example through her work ethic and consistency, and she's grown noticeably more comfortable communicating and encouraging her teammates over the past year.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Jacel Soriano carries one specific piece of advice into every serve receive rep now. Her coach's reminder to "want the ball to come to you" reshaped how she approaches a part of the game that used to make her nervous as an outside hitter for St. Joseph. That shift extends to how she handles mistakes generally: rather than dwelling on an error, she's trained herself to move on and refocus on the next point. She hasn't started her recruiting process yet but is looking forward to it, and her fall goals center on building chemistry with her setter and locking in defensively. She describes her leadership as bringing energy, support, and motivation to her teammates, a role she's grown into over a full freshman season and club cycle.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Mia Portiria has worked this year on keeping her tempo steady as a setter for Roosevelt, a consistency she believes will help her hitters get comfortable timing their approaches once fall begins. Looking back, she wishes she'd communicated more openly with her hitters instead of second-guessing her own calls, and she's used the time since to build both her vocal presence and better chemistry with her team so she can run a faster offense. She's focus on developing as a setter first, and she sees her leadership as a blend of vocal communication and staying steady when matches get difficult, the two things she believes keep a team connected.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Sarah Pringle has come a long way from a freshman year defined by nerves around older, more experienced teammates. Playing DS/L for Frontier, she's built real poise in her skill set over the past year, and she now considers her voice one of her biggest assets, staying calm and collected in stressful moments so her teammates can find that same steadiness. She started at a new club this season and is optimistic about what a higher level of competition will mean for her recruiting process. If she could change one thing, she says it would be fighting harder to play libero instead of outside hitter and pushing her teammates harder toward the next level.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247    <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. Look at how they turned a position change or a new skill into a real strength, how they presented that shift to coaches, and what their evaluations say about the habits behind it. If you're navigating your own transition right now, whether it's a new position, a new role, or a new level of competition, this is a good moment to be honest about how you're framing it. Are you telling coaches a story about adaptability, or one about uncertainty? Make sure your film, your emails, and your profile reflect the player you are right now, not the one you were before the switch.   📣 Club Coaches & Directors Celebrate the athletes from your program who were featured, and use this list as a real conversation starter with your upperclassmen. Some of them are deep into active recruiting conversations. Others are just beginning. This is the stretch where your guidance matters most, especially for athletes navigating a position change. Help them understand how to talk about that shift with confidence instead of apology, and share this article to reinforce that message.   🎯 College Coaches These profiles represent upperclassmen athletes who have taken on a new position or added a new skill and turned it into a genuine strength. For programs managing roster gaps or building depth at multiple positions, these are exactly the kind of low-risk, high-upside recruits worth a closer look. Continue updating your evaluations, follow up on athletes you've had on your radar, and use PrepDig to identify additional prospects building this kind of range as the season progresses.   🙏 Parents & Supporters Watching your athlete take on a new position or role isn't always easy, especially when it means starting over in some ways. Thank you for supporting her through that. This is the time to help her stay focused on what she's building rather than what she left behind. Share this article, look through the featured profiles together, and use it as a conversation about the strength it takes to adapt, not a measure of where she stands against anyone else.   🚀 <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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