Tri-State Tournament Recap: 2021 Prospects To Watch This Winter!

Wisconsin: Wisconsin’s Sophomore Class runs deep, here are some of the top available players from the Class of 2021 who I have recently seen play live at the state tournament. I have seen some of these athletes play on their 15s team last club season and develop into some really high caliber players who will be watched on some of the top courts come this winter. Katie Winkler - East Troy - Right Side At the beginning of the club season in 2018, Winkler was a strong player for Milwaukee Sting 15 Black. However, her progression from winter to summer and now the end of the high school season has been a total transformation going from a heavy swing on the right side to a six rotation right side who has a full repertoire of finesse and power. Winkler will be quite the force this upcoming club season and will be fun to see her progression along the way as she continues to develop her game. Alexis Boling - Waukesha West - Middle Blocker Boling definitely made her splash last year on the 15s circuit playing for Midwest Penguins and this season really powered Waukesha West to the D1 state tournament. At right around six feet tall, Boling hits mostly out of the middle, but with her vertical and quick snap she is so dangerous to defend with her power to find the open spot or use the block. Boling will be playing for Milwaukee Sting this upcoming season and will gain a lot of exposure in her recruiting process. Elle Truckenbrod - Kettle Moraine Lutheran - Outside Hitter Truckenbrod was on KML’s state runner up team that lost to East Troy in the D2 finals after surviving one of the toughest sectionals in the state. A multisport athlete who is also a force on the basketball court was named honorable mention all state as an outside hitter. This past season she tallied nearly 300 kills and over 200 digs. Truckenbrod will play for Milwaukee Sting this winter. Sammie Seib - Catholic Central - Outside Hitter Seib can do a little bit of everything on the court as a six rotation outside hitter, including bringing home a Division 4 state title for Catholic Central out of Burlington. Seib had over 500 kills and just under 500 digs on the season. The 1st Team All State pick is a threat to score in all six rotations. Seib was on the Badger Region High Performance team with Boling this past summer. Iowa Iowa’s Class of 2021 is absolutely loaded with talent. Eve Magill of Cedar Rapids Xavier was named all tournament team in Class 4A and has already committed to play at Creighton. Phyona Schrader of Ankeny has given her verbal to play at Notre Dame. There were plenty of Sophomores who made their presence known in Cedar Rapids this past weekend and will be on the radar when they start their club play in the next few weeks. Dani Johnson - Osage - Outside Hitter Johnson was one of the main outlets for the Green Devils in their run to the state semifinals. In the opening round against Davenport Assumption, Johnson tallied 19 kills and followed that up with 18 kills in a semifinal loss to Carroll-Kuemper. Johnson is able to play six rotations and at six feet tall and plenty of athleticism and an all around game to go with it, she is definitely trending up in the Class of 2021. Morgan Middleton - Clarion-Goldfield Dows - Outside Hitter Middleton was a major factor in the Cowgirls advancing to the state tournament. They faced a tough and physically imposing lineup in Carroll-Kuemper in the first round of the tournament where Middleton was still able to manage 10 kills and seven digs. At nearly six feet tall, Middleton is a strong all around player and a physical attacker and blocker at the net. Jazlin De Haan - MOC Floyd Valley - Outside Hitter The Dutchmen ran into a very athletic and scrappy team in the first round with Mount Vernon, De Haan was the go to outside for MOC-Floyd Valley all season and has played her club volleyball for MVP out of Sioux City. In the quarterfinal round De Haan was able to tally 19 kills and 11 digs. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> The Class of 2021 is so deep in talent. Jazlin De Haan of MOC-Floyd Valley is one! <a href="https://t.co/VlsziiYUuF">pic.x.com/VlsziiYUuF</a> — Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1060236606865584133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Saari Kuehl - Gladbrook-Reinbeck - Outside Hitter GR had a tough matchup in three time state champion Janesville, but the Rebels were led by upstart Sophomore Saari Kuehl. Kuehl came into the tournament second in Class 1A in kills behind Lipscomb commit, and one of the top players in the state, Bree Thompson from Janesville. In their quarterfinal match, Janesville was extremely dominate behind Thompson’s 20 kills, but Kuehl led the way for the Rebels with 17 kills. Minnesota: Plenty of Sophomores playing in some big matches. This is a deep and talented class in Minnesota highlighted by Kennedi Orr who has already committed to play at Nebraska from Eagan. Orr has won a national title with Northern Lights and has also spent some time setting for the USA Youth National Team. Here are a few more from the Class of 2021 who shined at the Minnesota State Tournament. Kira Fallert - Concordia Academy - Outside Hitter Fallert is a Northern Lights player who is a solid six rotation outside hitter. Her skill set in the backrow is extremely solid as well as her ability to put a ball away to score points in the front. What was most impressive was how Fallert can really cut a corner with a thumb down swing. Her sharp angle was tough to defend and a go to move for Fallert to put points on the board for the Beacons. Jasmine Weidemann - Lakeville South - Setter Weidemann has a sneaky skill set where she can set any tempo in front or behind while doing a great job of disguising the set. Very quick, solid defensively, and a true quarterback of the team, Weidemann really had a breakout year leading the Cougars to the state tournament, which included a 5 set win over city rival Lakeville North to win the section to get to the X. Ava Moes - Lakeville South - Right Side Extremely strong, quite the force at the net offensively and defensively. Moes is able to set the block and play extremely high. She also has the ability to hit a high set or a quick tempo and terminate with her power. Jordyn Hilgemann - Marshall - Middle Blocker/Right Side Marshall was able to capture the Class AA Runner-Up trophy behind North Branch after an epic five set battle. Hilgemann is one of the few one of two Sophomores on a team filled with upper classmen. Hilgemann was extremely key early on in the Tigers win over Concordia Academy in the semifinal match. With quick lateral speed and a high reach, Hilgemann creates quite the mismatch defensively. With two more years left at Marshall, Hilgemann and the Tigers will be looking to get back to state.