High School Connections to 2026 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It may be June but we are going to talk about high school. We aren't going to get too deep into the 2024 season but we can look at some of the trends and connections to our Minnesota Class of 2026 Rankings. This update is fueled by seeing some great teams playing this club season. Even though we've got a club-heavy focus with this update there are some interesting trends among some potential high school powerhouses. These could be a good indicator of the future for some of these programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keep an eye on these schools as their talent pool continues to build.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mayer Lutheran</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mayer Lutheran made their presence known at the X in 2023. While they will graduate the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='166343' first='Avery' last='Studer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='278410' first='Danica' last='Martin'] they will return standouts [player_tooltip player_id='229011' first='Clara' last='Keaveny'], [player_tooltip player_id='488409' first='Marley' last='Martin'], and [player_tooltip player_id='230417' first='Izabelle' last='Keaveny']. They are all incredibly strong on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Clara can anchor the first contact but she can also provide a crafty attack. Marley will take on more of a load on offense while Izabelle will continue to run a high-powered and quick offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Farmington</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This program has a lot of strong athletes coming up in the ranks. They are losing a huge piece of their offense with [player_tooltip player_id='135310' first='Maddy' last='Dombeck'] heading to North Dakota. A returning piece to build around will be their libero, [player_tooltip player_id='385676' first='Elexis' last='Melody West'], who has held that role since 2022. They will have veteran middle, [player_tooltip player_id='261232' first='Elizabeth' last='Acker'], and some underclassmen to get excited about. They've got exciting size and power on the pins including [player_tooltip player_id='525978' first='Kenzie' last='Fulsaas'], [player_tooltip player_id='502952' first='Sabrina' last='Caven'], and [player_tooltip player_id='396874' first='Addison' last='Otto']. A young option in the middle to build off of will be [player_tooltip player_id='396880' first='Taylor' last='Hagedorn']. And they will look to fill the big role of Dombeck and [player_tooltip player_id='491111' first='Hailey' last='Burton'] could be the answer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MACCRAY</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a team that is bringing firepower with their 2026 class. Between [player_tooltip player_id='308370' first='Brielle' last='Janssen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='462870' first='Emma' last='Thein'] MACCRAY will have something to build their offense around. Graduating setter, [player_tooltip player_id='278516' first='Annie' last='Bourne'] will leave them looking for a distributor to step up but they should have a decent first contact with the young [player_tooltip player_id='509854' first='Mia' last='Post']. There is a lot of potential coming up with this group out of Clara City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">More Programs To Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Willmar</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='338415' first='Brielle' last='Ogdahl'], [player_tooltip player_id='177451' first='Gretchen' last='Volk'], [player_tooltip player_id='453086' first='Ellery' last='DeBoer'], [player_tooltip player_id='455601' first='Maddie' last='Molacek'], &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='413371' first='Nora' last='Mitteness'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Life Academy</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='401559' first='Marisa' last='Michaelis'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='191401' first='Makenna' last='Lilly']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eden Prairie</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='364704' first='Hailey' last='Laffond'], [player_tooltip player_id='261233' first='Ellie' last='Friedrichs'], [player_tooltip player_id='364683' first='Finley' last='Lane'], [player_tooltip player_id='261250' first='Mackenna' last='Golden']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Armstrong</strong> - [player_tooltip player_id='447290' first='Sarahya' last='College'], [player_tooltip player_id='447956' first='Ellen' last='Antoine'], &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='348283' first='Norah' last='Jaeb']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Prague </strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='348406' first='Kyla' last='Klein'], [player_tooltip player_id='166372' first='Emerson' last='Dillon'], &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='358686' first='Kira' last='Brundage']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->