Circle City Summer League Preview: June 8, Court 2

Kyp Harasymowycz June 7, 2023 @ 07:29 AM

<p>The first summer league contest is always the biggest question mark, but it also marks the beginning of the rising youth in each program. Underclassmen who've been overshadowed by graduating seniors get to show what they're made of. Here are the three teams on Court 2 on Thursday, with the top three performers from the fall of '22 that are returning.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Carmel</h2>   <p>The class of this court should be the Greyhounds. Although a few D-1 seniors graduate, they still have a ton of talent coming back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110494' first='Lauren' last='Evans'] ('24, 6-0 OH, Michigan commit)</strong> is the biggest and baddest of them all, and Carmel's success starts and ends with her. Her opposite, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172313' first='Avery' last='Carroll'] ('25, 5-9 OH)</strong> is a nice complement to Miss Evans, and is the clear favorite to be the O2 on this squad in the fall. <strong>Peyton Ulrey ('24, 5-5 DS/L)</strong> should slide in as the libero for Carmel, but I'm curious to see if she's got any competition behind her.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Linton-Stockton</h2>   <p>The 2A runners-up last season were the Miners, who bring back their own level of talent. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240643' first='Sophie' last='Hale'] ('24, 5-5 OH)</strong> is the do-everything and full-go outside that a small school needs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226810' first='Ella' last='Warrick'] ('26, 5-9 OH)</strong> had an excellent rookie campaign last fall, and looks to do more of the same this coming fall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='365266' first='Audrey' last='Warrick'] ('24, 6-1 S/RS)</strong> sets in the back and attacks from the front for the Miners, and is a nightmare to defend for smaller schools. They should use the tough competition in the summer to gauge how good they can be.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Martinsville</h2>   <p>Losing a lot of senior leadership from a tough '22 season will make this coming fall that much harder for the Artesians. <strong>Chloe Jones ('25, 5-9 OH)</strong> might be the best attacker of the bunch, and should get the biggest share of attacks both this summer and next fall. Softball mashers <strong>Addison Massey-Deckard ('25, 5-9 MB)</strong> and <strong>Emily Martin ('25, 5-2 DS/L)</strong> are very athletic, but will have their work cut out for them in the Mid-State Conference this coming fall as the top returning defenders for Martinsville.</p>

The first summer league contest is always the biggest question mark, but it also marks the beginning of the rising youth in each program. Underclassmen who've been overshadowed by graduating seniors get to show what they're made of. Here are the three teams on Court 2 on Thursday, with the top three performers from the fall of '22 that are returning.