New Arrivals to Class of 2027 Rankings

You would think finding new talent for 2027 would be difficult. After all, this is the fourth year this class has been under review. However, sometimes these rankings do not capture players who have improved since perhaps the last time I saw them play or players who perform in locations I do not frequent as much because of the distance from my base are finally discovered. While I try to see as many players as I can there are limitations that exist. That is where it becomes important that if you think you have not been noticed and deserve a watch you can contact me. Provide some video to draw my attention. That has worked on occasion.   Below are the nine players that made their debut in the rankings for the class of 2027. A separate Virginia profile has been created for this player. If you change this profile from Virginia to Maryland it may mean the player will drop out of the Virginia rankings. A preference to have all your evaluations in one location you can change your Maryland location to Virginia and I can merge them. However, if you prefer all your evaluations appear in the Maryland profile I can do that as well. The only downside with placing all your evaluations in the Maryland profile is if a college scout looks at your ranking and clicks on the profile to review them, they will only see the evaluations for Virginia.    It was actually one of our scouts Mike Graham who first noticed Ava at a qualifier in Ohio. She was one of five players he profiled. For one, she is 6'3 which is difficult not to notice. Secondly, she has athleticism to go with that height. He was also impressed with her ability to play all six rotations with some degree of skill which means playing outside is a possibility.   That motivated me to watch some video on her. I came away impressed. Her long legs give her the ability to go from pin to pin in two steps. She gets her hands far over the net. On quick tempo sets she still needs some work on her approach, but she puts balls away consistently using the full length of the court. From a skill standpoint her blocking is still superior to her hitting.   She plays for Lord Botetourt. They had a solid season last year, making it to the semi-finals of the Regional Class 3 state championships. They lost to Christiansburg in four. Christiansburg eventually went to the state finals where they lost to Abingdon in four. Lord Botetourt played Abingdon twice during the regular season and lost both times.   It surprises me a 6'3" middle from the class of 2027 has not yet been scooped up by a college.   Ava moves from the watch list to number 80 in the rankings. That is the highest debut of any player this year. She possibly could get ranked higher once I get the opportunity to physically see her play.     Kynslee set a 5/1 for Heart of Virginia 16. She controlled the court well, showing off a strong volleyball IQ. While she was a 2027 playing down, she still showed a strong presence for running an offense. Just give her the weapons and she will make it work regardless of age.   She has the left handed swing that fits well for the right side. At 5'7" her height may be an issue when playing at higher levels. HOV finished a solid 23rd place out of 87 teams in the Northeast Qualifier USA Division. They do not appear to have played in AAU or Junior Nationals.   It appears she also set a 5/1 for her high school Amherst County. She led her team in assists and aces. She even tied for the team lead in blocks showing that her 5'7" height did not restrict her in that category.   Amherst County lost last year to Jefferson County in the quarter finals of the Class 4 Regional playoffs. Kynslee debuts at number 120 in the class of 2027 rankings.     Arianna debuts in our rankings at 129. She performed well for SERV at the Junior Nationals. Her solid play got her an opportunity to play volleyball for Old Dominion not far from her home in Virginia Beach. She will have to compete with Ashlyn Gent a 5'10" libero who recently won a silver medal for Canada at the Pan American Cup. She still has another year of high school play before she has to worry about that.   Last year Indian River reached the semi-finals of the Virginia Regionals Class 5C before losing to Kellam. No rosters appeared on Max Prep for Indian River from last season.     Sophia impressed me with her setting at Junior Nationals. The ball floated cleanly when it left off her hands. She also showed the ability to set the quick tempo sets. The one down size is her 5'6" height, which will restrict her to a 6/2.   She shared the setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='763132' first='Raegan' last='Giuliani'] at The Potomac School, finishing second on the team in assists. In the serving area she is top notch finishing first in aces. Sophia is the veteran presence on the Potomac team as she sets her two sophomore outsides [player_tooltip player_id='935939' first='Maya' last='Peery'] and [player_tooltip player_id='762826' first='Avery' last='Nierenberg']. The alternate setter [player_tooltip player_id='763132' first='Raegan' last='Giuliani'] is also a sophomore this year.   Sophia debuts at 160 in our 2027 rankings.     Lailah was just one of many DMV players who impressed at the Prep Dig showcases at the Qualifiers. Her ability to block the middle impressed. She showed the quickness to move from pin to pin to form a block as well as the versatility to hit right side.   Lailah played for a competitive Virginia Juniors team that struggled during the early parts of the season but came on strong at the end. They finished second in the East Coast championships to prepare them for AAUs where they finished 27th out of 114 teams. They failed to qualify for Junior Nationals.   Lailah plays for a competitive Holy Cross team. Last year the team finished 27-1-1. Unfortunately, that one loss came against St. Johns in the semi-finals of the WCAC playoffs. Despite playing just half the matches Lailah still collected 16 solo blocks. That was second to [player_tooltip player_id='1004682' first='Aniston' last='Williams']. Her .311 hitting percentage was fourth on the team.   Next year she should share the middle with [player_tooltip player_id='1004682' first='Aniston' last='Williams']. She also has the versatility to hit right side as well. She debuts at 168 in our class of 2027 rankings. That could rise with a full season of play at Holy Cross.     Blair has been setting for Christiansburg since she was a frosh. She has always been overshadowed by setter/right side Ella Sheperd. Ella graduated last year which now leaves Blair in charge of running the team. She is quite capable reaching a career high of 506 assists last season. That put her over the 1,000 assists for her high school career.   She won first team All District as well as first team All State in Class 3. Blair does a good job of using all her offensive weapons, firing off a variety of jump sets, including hitting her middles with quick tempo sets. The offense is varied and quick. Last year they were undefeated going into the finals of the state championship before losing to Abingdon in four.   Blair still has [player_tooltip player_id='819657' first='Tatum' last='Trotter'] to set in the middle but the top three hitters on the team graduated as did setter/right side Ella Sheperd. It will be difficult to repeat their state finish from last season.   Blair debuts at number 172 in the rankings, moving up from the watch list.     Nicole is another player who moved from the watch list to the rankings. She led Jamestown to the Class 4 Virginia State championships. They lost in the first round to Courtland. Nicole was rewarded for her effort earning a spot on the Class 4 state first team.   Next year Jamestown should have one more year of experience with their top three hitters Nicole, [player_tooltip player_id='705565' first='Senah' last='Drazdowski'] and Sophia Mayes all entering their senior years. The two setters Senah and Peyton Tilley also enter their senior years. That is a lot of experience to place on the court.   Expect another run at the state championship with Nicole leading the charge. She debuts at 175 in our class of 2027 rankings.     Ayosa impressed with a strong sophomore year playing middle for Episcopal. She does have the versatility to play all three positions. What sets her apart in the middle is the quickness she shows when she darts around the court, running slides or shoot sets in the middle. She also has the hops to play taller than her 5'11" height.   Despite not appearing in our rankings Ayosa still committed to Loyola-Maryland. She now debuts at 192 in our rankings.     I did not see a lot of her play when watching her at the Shamrock Showdown. I did come away impressed with her left handed swing, which would perform better on the right side. She played middle in the match I watched but still consistently put balls away.   She hits right side for her high school Banneker, leading her team in kills. Banneker is one of the more competitive schools in the D.C. area. They finished fifth in the DC conference.   In the state championship they lost to eventual champion Georgetown Day. Isabelle debuts at number 203 in our class of 2027.

You would think finding new talent for 2027 would be difficult. After all, this is the fourth year this class has been under review. However, sometimes these rankings do not capture players who have improved since perhaps the last time I saw them play or players who perform in locations I do not frequent as much because of the distance from my base are finally discovered. While I try to see as many players as I can there are limitations that exist. That is where it becomes important that if you think you have not been noticed and deserve a watch you can contact me. Provide some video to draw my attention. That has worked on occasion.