Houston Freshman Showcase – G’s Top Performers – Vol. 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig had a stop of its Freshman Showcase in Houston on Saturday, players who are just about to start their high school careers had a great opportunity to compete against (and with) some of the top talent in the region and to showcase their skills to scouts and college coaches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were more than 60 prospects on the court during the event held at the [program_tooltip program_id='431337' first='Texas' last='Tornados'] club, coming not only from H-Town, but also from several other cities in the Lone Star State, such as Austin, San Antonio, McAllen and Corpus Christi, and it was a highly competitive, yet very fun atmosphere.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fellow Prep Dig scout Mallori Howington, myself and the court coaches were paying attention to everything and were pleased to see many prospects standing out with their strong play. We'll spend the next few days highlighting them and here are some names we'd like to give a shoutout: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["443038"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Hotaling was one of the best pure defenders among the freshmen. He made some impressive digs, controlling hard-driven swings in the left-back position, and was very difficult for opposing attackers to beat during the match-like drills. Her passing was always precise and reliable and she also hustled a lot on the backcourt, recovering shanked passes and digs from her teammates. Hotaling also played with great energy and was very positive in her interactions with the other players during drills.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c143ca0daf3"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1682769382538182656?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1682769382538182656?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["399116"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Klein stood out among a physical group of outside hitters with her technical and intelligent play. Her ball control was outstanding all day and she did an excellent job with her passing and defense. Klein also held her own at the net, jumping high and swinging hard when she had a chance. She made some excellent decisions on offense and had great success with her swings, besides making very few mistakes in general. Her game is very well-developed for a player of her age and will only get better with time.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c143ca0db62"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CvA0Cvtx50A/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/CvA0Cvtx50A/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["436943"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"It wasn't hard to see the many positives in Garcia's game when she was on the court. A taller setter, she's no liability at the net with her blocking and also plays some solid defense.  The setter also displayed an interesting playmaking ability, showing strength to push the ball to the pin from anywhere on the court and remain consistent. Garcia made good decisions with her ball distribution and moved well on the court too.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c143ca0dbc2"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["443008"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Hedlund displayed some very interesting tools and a solid game, which can still get a lot better considering how high her ceiling is. She's very tall and athletic and that shows on offense. The middle makes a strong approach every time she can get on the ball, jumps well and terminates it with her quick and heavy right arm. Hedlund can hit several different sets down the middle and had a good success rate against the other middles. She also has a strong blocking presence, using her long arms to take up space from opposing hitters at the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c143ca0dc1d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["438284"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Every time Wright got off the floor to swing, she amazed everyone on the court. Her vertical had to be among the best in the entire event and that allowed her to bounce balls in the warm-up drills and to beat opposing blockers during the match-like ones. Her contact points was extremely high and Wright also displayed some good variation with her shots, be it on the left or the right. She also did fine with her ball control, doing well with her passing and defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c143ca0dc75"} /-->