Maryland HS Players Carrying the Load On the Road To Playoffs.

I did a general preview of the contenders, now that things are well underway, and we are two weeks out from playoff battles, here's a look at players that have been stepping up, or showing out down the stretch.   IAAM:    Jasmin is a well known star here in the area, playing on Metro Travel. She committed to play D1 at Hampton University, where I'm expecting to her be a major contributor from day 1. Her play this year at St. Paul's has been another level though. After a big win over perennial contender Maryvale last week, she has them positioned for a championship date in her senior season. I didn't feature them in my preview because I didn't know if they would have the depth to compete with the big guys, but I've been proven wrong so far with a lot of height in the front row, and a second D1 signed player, they are built to give teams problems at the net and it will be interesting to see how matchups play out down the stretch.     This is a tough one. With the injuries, and seniors leaving, lots of whispers around Broadneck were that this was the time they were finally vulnerable. But Neely, and senior [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'] have combined to force through some tough matchups and have Broadneck in the driver's seat. Which one to give the shoutout too was the hard part. Both Neely and Barrett have been getting time setting, but instead of sitting the bench for the other rotation like a 6-2, they are both playing another position as well, adding hitting depth the team really needs. I'm going to be controversial and say it, it's as a hitter that Neely has really got me to buy all in. Talking to players she's played against, she's developed as a hitter to a legit, feared opponent. Those are generally your early sign D1 players and I'm starting to really see it. Club and HS tend to be different animals, even if you have the same coach for both, sometimes needs create different positions and chances, so it will be interesting to see where Neely ends up playing during club season, going into her biggest recruiting showcase window.     Jaleah has been constantly developing since I met her during her freshman year. Originally she was more of a defensive, blocking specialist middle, even though she didn't have some of the elite height, she had strength many don't have. She's got better agility than a lot of middles, which during her development has gotten her time at RS, and she's got good power. Paired with a setter that can set the middle well, she's a legit offensive weapon to go with some solid blocking. She's shown agility good enough to look great running a slide. Some players that can run advanced concepts like that actually improve in college from HS because they have the players around them that can run those types of plays. She could be an absolute force as a D3 middle. I've seen teams she could play RS for. It will be something to follow to see where she lands, as I know she's been in talks with some schools already.     Urbana lost some heavy hitting with Charis Burge playing big minutes for Syracuse this year. Abigail has been doing her best to carry things along in the meantime. Urbana is 6-3 currently and slugging it out in their region. Two of their losses, Richard Montgomery and Churchill are likely contenders for the state title. The class of 2027 is almost mythologically deep here in the DMV area. Out of 42 setters just in the PrepDig rankings, 12 of them are signed for next year, and another 7 of them are talking to schools, that I know of myself. It's kind of amazing when you realize that most of these girls are talking to the same schools in the same geographic region. And that's not including neighboring regions like lower VA and the PA Valley. I think there may even be more signed if they were looking to branch out around the country. Abigail is one in that mid range height wise, like 5'7-5'9 where they could run a 6-2 or run a 5-1 in a pinch. A huge majority of the setters in this group fall in this category. Another reason why it's hard to set them apart from each other. I've seen her up close a couple times (and more over the years) and she's got a nice touch for the ball, which is more rare than you'd think, and a good IQ on how to run a game or a system. That's one of the more underrated tools for a setter that is getting attention now. Coaches want setters that can evaluate the court and see where the weaknesses are, and how to bait and shift players to give your matchups more help. The term gets thrown around that they are the Quarterback of the offense, but that's more correct than many realize. More of the advanced girls like Abigail are figuring out what read to give the other team that moves a middle to one side, which opens up the 1v1 on the other side. As metrics start getting tracked, a good one for setters will be how many hitting opportunities were 1v1 vs 2v1. That will be a good indicator of a smart setter running an offense well, and Abigail I feel will score high on that.     RM is my pick to win states this year in 4A. Everyone knows Katie Mitchell, she's probably on her way to Gatorade Player of the Year. [player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'] is another standout there, people know her. Underrated a little bit is [player_tooltip player_id='557876' first='Kinsley' last='Flores'] though. Her highlights have popped up on my IG feed a few times, she will get some kills with authority. She's second to Katie in Kills, and leads the team in hitting percentage and blocks. Her stats get punished a bit like 6-2 system setters, or three rotation pin hitters by the fact they are only playing half the game. The key with these players is to make sure that they are taking advantage of the time they do have on the court. If you want to look closer to apples to apples to a lot of the players you see atop the stat lists, double their statistics to adjust for the playing time difference, or look at the metrics that aren't counting stats, such as percentages. Her getting kills at a 32% clip is impressive for a middle, especially since it's so reliant on the setter. Kinsley is a Middle on the vaunted Metro 17T team, where so many of the players have signed, or will soon. It's time to get Kinsley the attention she deserves so that she can land her spot as well.    Ok I'll just put it out there. I strongly dislike that some sites out there are completely reliant on team input statistics and AI. You get teams highly ranked in a state that play low level private schools that are no where near the level of some of the higher level or the public schools. They say a big part of the algorithm is strength of schedule, yet, those teams in the bottom rungs, because they have winning records are giving the same weight as state title contending teams with multiple D1 prospects. It doesn't add up and seeing teams and players point to these stats and rankings is just misleading. Now that that's out of the way, the next 2 weeks will determine the real rankings. Regional playoffs will let teams earn who makes the state playoffs and a run for the title, and these players will be playing a big part.

I did a general preview of the contenders, now that things are well underway, and we are two weeks out from playoff battles, here's a look at players that have been stepping up, or showing out down the stretch.

IAAM:

Jasmin Tucker

VA #23

RS/OH #3

HEIGHT 6'0"

POS RS/OH

CLASS 2027

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Jasmin Tucker

State: Virginia

School: St. Paul's School For Girls

Club: Metro Volleyball Club

Jasmin is a well known star here in the area, playing on Metro Travel. She committed to play D1 at Hampton University, where I'm expecting to her be a major contributor from day 1. Her play this year at St. Paul's has been another level though. After a big win over perennial contender Maryvale last week, she has them positioned for a championship date in her senior season. I didn't feature them in my preview because I didn't know if they would have the depth to compete with the big guys, but I've been proven wrong so far with a lot of height in the front row, and a second D1 signed player, they are built to give teams problems at the net and it will be interesting to see how matchups play out down the stretch.

Highlights

Neely Olish

VA #15

S/MB #3

HEIGHT 6'2"

POS S/MB

CLASS 2029

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Neely Olish

State: Virginia

School: Broadneck

Club: Bay Area Volleyball Academy Of Md

This is a tough one. With the injuries, and seniors leaving, lots of whispers around Broadneck were that this was the time they were finally vulnerable. But Neely, and senior Barrett Bolter Barrett Bolter 5'8" | S Broadneck | 2027 State VA have combined to force through some tough matchups and have Broadneck in the driver's seat. Which one to give the shoutout too was the hard part. Both Neely and Barrett have been getting time setting, but instead of sitting the bench for the other rotation like a 6-2, they are both playing another position as well, adding hitting depth the team really needs. I'm going to be controversial and say it, it's as a hitter that Neely has really got me to buy all in. Talking to players she's played against, she's developed as a hitter to a legit, feared opponent. Those are generally your early sign D1 players and I'm starting to really see it. Club and HS tend to be different animals, even if you have the same coach for both, sometimes needs create different positions and chances, so it will be interesting to see where Neely ends up playing during club season, going into her biggest recruiting showcase window.

Highlights

Jaleah Lawhorn

HEIGHT 5'10"

POS MB

CLASS 2027

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Jaleah Lawhorn

State: Virginia

School: Arundel

Club: Maryland Juniors Volleyball Club

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Highlights

Abigail Bell

S/RS

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS S/RS

CLASS 2027

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Abigail Bell

State: Virginia

School: Urbana

Club: Liberty Elite

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Highlights

Kinsley Flores

VA #95

MB #21

HEIGHT 6'0"

POS MB

CLASS 2027

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Kinsley Flores

State: Virginia

School: Richard Montgomery

Club: Metro Volleyball Club

RM is my pick to win states this year in 4A. Everyone knows Katie Mitchell, she's probably on her way to Gatorade Player of the Year. Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'7" | DS/L/S Richard Montgomery | 2027 State VA is another standout there, people know her. Underrated a little bit is Kinsley Flores Kinsley Flores 6'0" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2027 State VA though. Her highlights have popped up on my IG feed a few times, she will get some kills with authority. She's second to Katie in Kills, and leads the team in hitting percentage and blocks. Her stats get punished a bit like 6-2 system setters, or three rotation pin hitters by the fact they are only playing half the game. The key with these players is to make sure that they are taking advantage of the time they do have on the court. If you want to look closer to apples to apples to a lot of the players you see atop the stat lists, double their statistics to adjust for the playing time difference, or look at the metrics that aren't counting stats, such as percentages. Her getting kills at a 32% clip is impressive for a middle, especially since it's so reliant on the setter. Kinsley is a Middle on the vaunted Metro 17T team, where so many of the players have signed, or will soon. It's time to get Kinsley the attention she deserves so that she can land her spot as well.

Highlights

Ok I'll just put it out there. I strongly dislike that some sites out there are completely reliant on team input statistics and AI. You get teams highly ranked in a state that play low level private schools that are no where near the level of some of the higher level or the public schools. They say a big part of the algorithm is strength of schedule, yet, those teams in the bottom rungs, because they have winning records are giving the same weight as state title contending teams with multiple D1 prospects. It doesn't add up and seeing teams and players point to these stats and rankings is just misleading. Now that that's out of the way, the next 2 weeks will determine the real rankings. Regional playoffs will let teams earn who makes the state playoffs and a run for the title, and these players will be playing a big part.