Wisconsin 2029 Rankings Update – Now What?
In this article:
The Class of 2029 in Wisconsin has been ranked, watch list'd, and updated. This is the initial rankings for this class which is heading into the home stretch of their high school sophomore season. I know the first rankings in a class can be a little daunting, even from a Prep Dig perspective.
How Do Athletes Get Ranked?
The criteria we follow at Prep Dig is how do these athletes perform at the highest level of competition. We start at the top and continue to work our way through. By the time this class comes to their senior year we will have around 200 players compared to starting with 50 with this update.
For our top prospect in
Claire Baldwin
Claire
Baldwin
6'2" | OH/RS
Sussex Hamilton | 2029
State
WI
, she was part of the 2025 state championship team in D1 in Sussex Hamilton where she was the only freshman who earned 1st or 2nd Team All State honors in the largest class. She followed up her high school season by being a key player for
Milwaukee Sting
16 Gold where her team qualified for 16 Open and finished among the top ten 16s teams in the country.
Ranked second and third are
Pacyn Stoffel
Pacyn
Stoffel
6'1" | OH
Mosinee | 2029
State
WI
and
Hadley Stenavich
Hadley
Stenavich
6'1" | RS/MB
Notre Dame | 2029
State
WI
who played up an age group on the
FC Elite
16 Elite team. This team competed at the open level throughout the club season and found their best ball at the end of the season when they won the USAV 16 American Division where Stenavich was named to the all tournament team. We will also track where athletes are gaining college interest by attending elite college camps. Stoffel attended some top camps in the Midwest that would include Kansas, Kansas State, Illinois, Iowa State, Purdue, and even out to Washington. Stenavich is a dynamic attacker who has showed she can score at all positions along the frontline attended the NTDP Invite Camp at Triple Crown in February while attending camps such as Arizona, Duke, NC State, and Michigan.
Do High School Stats Matter?
In short…not really. Do we may attention to Max Preps? Sure, but in the world of volleyball rankings the athlete who has the top kills does not equal the top outside hitter, the athlete who has the most assists does not equal the top setter, same goes for digs and liberos. We know that athletes play different roles for their high school teams and we also know the level of competition is all over the place. We refer back to how they are performing at the highest level.
How Can You Increase Your Ranking?
We get this question quite a bit. A quote I keep coming back to from a club director at a showcase is, “You want to get recruited? You just have to keep improving and get better. That's all you have control over.” An athlete's own improvement should not be based on the thoughts and opinions of others. College coaches will not make offers based on a ranking nor will they take one away. This is one tool in the whole scheme of volleyball and an athlete wanting to play at the next level.
How Can An Athlete Increase Their Exposure?
I do believe that an athlete needs to have an online presence when it comes to exposure at the next level. Creating a volleyball Instagram account, having a recruiting platform does help people see where you are playing club volleyball, the highlights, what camps are you attending, I do believe that greatly helps in gaining exposure. When I am unfamiliar with a player I will google their first and last name followed by volleyball. It does make it challenging to cover an athlete when they don't show up in a quick Google search.
Claim Your Player Profile (CLICK HERE)
At Prep Dig, if you are ranked or on a watch list, you can claim your player profile. This does help out scouts as well as college coaches who use our site in terms of keeping information accurate. If there is a club change or even a position or height change, this is extremely helpful. Athletes are also able to add recruiting information for college coaches as well as add highlight videos.
When Will Rankings Be Updated Again?
We will look to update rankings again in the spring, usually in May. This is a critical time for the sophomores as they can officially start their recruiting journey on June 15, 2027. For the Class of 2029, you can email schools, but they are not allowed to have an official recruiting conversation with you until June 15. In past years, I have always noticed the most growth from a 15s to 16s year in club. Players start to find their way whether it be their club or even their position. I will look forward to seeing athletes at the Prep Dig Exposure Tour on Saturday, November 28 in Cedarburg as well as plenty of club courts in 2027.