Class of 2025 Rankings Update: Libero's

The libero or defensive specialist position is one of the hardest position for me to evaluate. The abundant amount of talent and the small details in their individual game differentiate these prospects from being on or off of the rankings list. The first thing that I look for when evaluating the libero position is their overall fundamentals and technique. From there it really comes down to their foot quickness, ability to read offenses/servers, and their overall leadership and intangibles asked of the position. Each of these prospects were able to show their ability to play the position at a high level and be impact players for their teams.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Newly Added Prospects</h2>     [player_tooltip player_id='526041' first='Anna' last='Johannson'] - [program_tooltip program_id='491326' first='IMG' last='Academy'] 18's     Anna's consistency in serve receive and her effort on defense were the two main things that stood out to me when I watch her film. In serve receive the first thing that stood out about her game is her ability to get her platform out behind the ball early. By creating angles and tracking the ball with her platform early she's able to stay consistent with her passes. Defensively she's tenacious with all of the effort that you could ask for. She has the IQ and the foot speed to cover the court effectively both in receive and defense that put her in the updated ranking list.     [player_tooltip player_id='526052' first='Angelis' last='Figueroa'] - GP 17 Rox     Angelis sees the court as well as some of the top libero's in the class. She has the ability to read the hitter and make moves on the ball defensively that a lot of other players can't make. Angelis makes the game look so easy and with her ability to read it just makes the game that much easier for her. In serve receive she shows her understanding of spacing and angles to get the ball into opportunities for her team to run the offense. Angelis is a great prospect that still has a ton of room to grow into the position.     [player_tooltip player_id='526065' first='Miliani' last='Avila-Banzo'] - DME Elite 17-1     Miliani is the type of player that coaches love to have on their team. She doesn't do anything super flashy, but consistently does her job at a high level. She makes the small adjustments before contact with her feet both in receive and defense to be in better position to pass the ball. She does a great job getting her feet and hips behind the ball before the ball gets to the spot. This allows her to really hone in on her pass and create angles early. Miliani is a player that I love to watch because of the ceiling she has because of her technical skill and footwork.     [player_tooltip player_id='526066' first='Karina' last='Crespo'] - DME Elite 17-1     Karina does all the small things that coaches ask for play after play that I watch her film. She almost never stops moving and the only time she does stop moving is right before the serve or swing. Throughout the play her eyes are always on the right thing whether she's covering her hitters, when the ball is on the other side, or helping her own hitters with what's open. Her skills and fundamentals have some small tweaks, but her mentality and effort are unquestioned. Karina has all of the potential to be a top libero in college with the right coaching and training.     [player_tooltip player_id='526069' first='Elena' last='Armstrong'] - Top Select 17 Elite     Elena's biggest asset to her team is her ability to cover space on the court both in defense and serve receive. Her team trusts her to cover that space to allow her hitters to be in better positions to attack the ball effectively. When she loses balance in her base on defense she's able to get the ball high in the middle of the court allowing her setter to run the offense. Elena has a ton of room to grow and with some small tweaks could be a fantastic option for college coaches to recruit.     [player_tooltip player_id='526073' first='Holly' last='Sanders'] - TVA 17 Smack Jordan     Holly is the definition of all out effort all of the time. Sometimes it gets her in trouble with her fundamentals but when she gets the ball up it's almost always is a good touch. When she gets her angle and platform out early in serve receive is when she's consistently putting the ball on the setters head. If she's not in the perfect position to pass she's still able to contort her body and create an angle and a platform. All of these skills can be cleaned up and with good coaching she could be one of the best liberos in the class.     <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Stock-Risers</h1>     [player_tooltip player_id='499544' first='Sarah' last='Lynn-Frazee'] - WFWVC 17-1 Chad     Sarah's was consistency with her touches is at the top of the 2025 class. No matter if it's an aggressive serve in serve receive or an absolute bomb to defend she's able to get her feet to the ball and put up a 2 or 3 point pass. Situationally her team asks her to do a ton especially on the defensive side of the court. She sees the court so well in left back and with the rotational defense her team uses allows her to read and take up space away from the opposing hitter. In serve receive she makes it look 10x easier than it actually is. Sarah is a super impressive prospect that will only get better.     The libero position has the most depth in the class of 2025. A good versus great libero can make the difference to their team being successful or not. The first contact is so important to be consistent on to be able to run the offense effectively. Each of these prospects were able to show not only how much they impact their own teams but their ability to impact future collegiate programs. Each of these prospects have a collegiate program at the NCAA, NAIA, and the NJCAA level that they could make a massive impact on.

The libero or defensive specialist position is one of the hardest position for me to evaluate. The abundant amount of talent and the small details in their individual game differentiate these prospects from being on or off of the rankings list. The first thing that I look for when evaluating the libero position is their overall fundamentals and technique. From there it really comes down to their foot quickness, ability to read offenses/servers, and their overall leadership and intangibles asked of the position. Each of these prospects were able to show their ability to play the position at a high level and be impact players for their teams.