Rankings of 2027 Setters Who Won State Championships

Consider this an appetizer to the updated rankings that will come out on August 10. It is not an update to the rankings. It is just an introduction process that explains what occurs during a season of play. While the position you ultimately play is determined by the coaches your skill level during that season normally determines your impact for your team which has an impact on the rankings.   There are really two seasons to the rankings. You have the club season and the high school season. The club season just ended. The end of the season rankings is determined by the skill level of the club you played for, how well the club did in tournaments and what your contribution was in their success. For the most part your contribution can only be determined by observation and discussion with other coaches. Statistics on your contribution are normally not available. Information on how well the club did is readily available using Advanced Event Systems and monitoring results from tournaments.   The high school season is different. Individual performances can be tracked by Max Preps as well as team performance. While I admit much of the information on how the statistics are tracked can be dubious, a simple download of information from HUDL can make that process more consistent. Coaches who provide statistics and roster information on Max Preps make it easier for me to track a player's contribution to their team's success.   When ranking setters, it takes some time for them to develop. The 2026 rankings saw 12 setters appear in the top 50. Of those 12, four won state championships while four appeared in the finals. Of those setters who won state championships three set a 5/1. The class of 2027 currently show 8 setters in the top 50. Of those setters six of them have won state championships, with five setting 5/1s. That tells you that setting a team to a state championship can improve your rankings. It is not a guarantee, especially at the lower classes but it is a goal a player can target. And setting a 5/1 stands out as a bonus.   In club ball you don't see as many 5/1s. The financial costs of playing club encourages coaches to play everyone. Teams generally run 6/2s with right sides coming in for both setters. That consistently provides playing time to four players for two positions. Even if one setter is much better than the other you try to survive with both. At times it is a matter of two smaller players sharing the setting duties. Leaving them in the front row is not practical because of blocking concerns.   With high school ball 5/1 offenses are prevalent, at least among the top teams. Because there is no guarantee for playing time coaches have more flexibility to pick the best lineup for winning. It is rare to find two setters who are equal in their setting abilities. There are two instances where you may want to run a 6/2. The first is if the setter is one of your top hitters which motivates you to keep her in the front row to provide offense from the right side. The second is if one or both setters create blocking liabilities when in the front row.   There are two big advantages for running a 5/1. The first is that you get a consistency in setting from your top setter. Two different setters will not set the same, having differences in height and quickness in their sets. They also have different personalities. It can be a challenge for hitters to adjust to those differences. The second is a setter feels more in tune with the game when setting all six rotations. When they set just three rotations any positive momentum they may have picked up when setting is put on pause for three rotations while they either hit in the front row or sit on the bench. When they return to set it may take a few plays to get that momentum back.   Below are the six setters who won state championships last year. Five of those six ran a 5/1. This high school season it will be interesting to identify those setters leading their team to a state championship this year. This could have an impact on their ultimate ranking. It can also have an impact on what level of club they play for this coming club season.    Caycee set a 5/1 for Georgetown Day. They won the DC state championships (DCSAA) as well as the Independent School League (ISL) championship. To top it all off she won the DC Gatorade Player of the Year award. Those were her accomplishments for the 2025 high school season.   Her initial introduction to the rankings was her ability to set for Metro and succeed in an Open environment. Her 5'7" height at that level of play made it challenging to put up a block so she normally set a 6/2. A taller right side would come in for her in the front row. She won the best setter award at the Capitol Hill Classic for 14 Open in 2023. Her setting helped get Metro to a 21st place finish out of 48 teams in Junior Nationals Open Division this year. The previous year they took second in the National Division.   While she stands 5'7" she carries an approach jump of 9'6" which would meet Division I standard guidelines for a setter. She is credited with 15 blocks, one solo block for the Mighty Hoppers. That ranks fourth on the team. She certainly brings the skills to benefit a lower Division I university.     Imagine debuted in our rankings at # 34 back in January of 2025. That was based on her setting a 5/1 as a sophomore for Howard and getting them to the semi-finals of the state championship. It is phenomenal for a player to debut that high in the rankings. The next year she did one better by setting a 5/1 in an undefeated 38-0 state championship victory. That will be tough for her to repeat for her senior season.   For club she plays for Columbia. She sets a 6/2 for them and stays in the front row to hit. This year she set for the 18 team sharing setting duties with another quality setter Genevieve Willis, who finished ranked number 38 in our class of 2026. She took me for a loop when she committed to Alaska Fairbanks.   Imagine has committed to Middle Tennessee State. That also hit me for a smaller loop only because until her commit I had never heard of Middle Tennessee State. I can picture Imagine putting them on the map.   Her first name was taken from the John Lennon song of the same name.     Anna was the starting setter for West Springfield as a frosh. She has gotten the team into the state playoffs her frosh and sophomore season but this past season was the sweetest. She set the team to a state championship. That bumped her up to number 14 in the class of 2027 rankings. She started her career ranked pretty high because of her ability to lead the team to the state bracket as a frosh.   For club she sets a 6/2 for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''], setting a year down at the 16 level. While she stands 5'10" her approach jump is still under 9 feet. That may make setting at a Division I college a bit challenging. Division II or III schools looking for a winner should take a look.   Anna set Paramount to a second place finish in the Junior National National Division running a 6/2.     Barrett set a in a more complicated offensive system for Broadneck. Sydney Lawrence set in the back row and played middle in the front row. When she was in the front row she set when Broadneck was in serve receive. Barrett set during rallies or when they served.   Sydney finished ranked number 76 in the class of 2026 but she set for Bay Area Volleyball Academy (BAVA). At the time I was not that familiar with the club. She would probably be ranked much higher now. Barrett shares the 6/2 setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] for Metro. They finished 21st out of 48 teams in Junior Nationals Open Division this past season. The previous season they finished second in the National Division.   Barrett has a higher profile having set for Metro in Open tournaments. Next year she could be the principal setter for Broadneck as they try to repeat their state championship. Broadneck will carry a number of setters on their roster including [player_tooltip player_id='766895' first='Neely' last='Olish'] (Bay Area Volleyball Club) [player_tooltip player_id='850662' first='Lexi' last='Britton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='750053' first='Alexis' last='Luscomb'] (Metro). Last year Alexis played the libero position.     Jessica set a 5/1 for Glenelg leading them to a Maryland Class 2 state championship. In the five set championship match Jessica finished with 60 assists and 22 digs. They won the fourth set 25-23 and the fifth set 15-13. For the season she ended up completing 567 assists. Last season she hit the 1,000 assist mark.   Jessica also sets for Paramount, running a 6/2 with [player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith']. Paramount normally plays in Open in Junior Nationals while also competing in the Triple Crown. This allows Jessica to compete with the top players in the country. This past season Paramount finished 43rd out of 48 teams in the Open Division.   Jessica also plays a little beach. For the class of 2027 she ranks 82 nationally for her beach play.     Ava set a 5/1 for Flint Hill leading them to a surprising state championship in Division I of the VISAA. They entered the tournament as a big underdog, the sixth seed in an 8 team tournament. They defeated the top three seeds to win the state championship. Ava finished with 589 assists. This puts her 85 assists short or reaching 1,000. She should capture that her senior year.   Ava set for Mojo for the 2026 club season. In previous years she set for Virginia Juniors in a shared three setter usage. For Mojo she was one of the primary setters. They played in the Patriot Division in Junior Nationals finishing 14th out of 55 teams.   Ava ranks lower than the other setters because her club team ranked below Paramount and Metro in the overall ranking. That did not prevent her from getting a commitment to play volleyball for Division III Skidmore College. This was one of many colleges that expressed interest in her. That credit goes to Ava for the many college camps she attended to boost her exposure. She also won a top performer award at the Prep Dig showcase.    So who will be the next setter to rise in the rankings after winning a state championship?

Consider this an appetizer to the updated rankings that will come out on August 10. It is not an update to the rankings. It is just an introduction process that explains what occurs during a season of play. While the position you ultimately play is determined by the coaches your skill level during that season normally determines your impact for your team which has an impact on the rankings.