5 Uncommitted Seniors Who Have Raised Their Stock This Fall

One of the most fascinating things to watch each high school season are the players that make a major jump up in their performance. Maybe it's the fact that they are getting more of an opportunity or that all of their hard work and practice is paying off. Lots of times it's a combination of both. Even though our updated player rankings came out in August, there are already a few players that have shown they are probably ranked too low. And while that will be corrected when we update the player rankings against in December, here is a look at five uncommitted seniors who have really raised their stock the first month of the high school season. Eve Fountain, 5'9, OH/DS, Millard North - ranked #19 in the Class of 2020 To be perfectly transparent, Fountain has always been one of my favorite players to watch ever since her freshman year, even though she was on junior varsity then. She's a Division I athlete trapped inside a body with NAIA-level height. At 5'9, she touches around 9'9 or so, which just isn't going to work as an attacker at any Division I program worth a heck and probably doesn't work for a top-20 Division II program either. But here is what you need to know about Fountain. She's a warrior and competitor, she can ball out with anyone in the state, is a weapon from the service line and back row and she comes up clutch in big moments. This is the same Fountain that had 42 kills and 40 digs in three state-tournament matches as a sophomore. Her junior year she only got 123 swings while playing behind four seniors in the front row that went on to play in college. This year, Fountain has reemerged as one of the best full-rotation players in the state, which has been huge for Millard North since it lost McKenna Ruch to a broken finger the first weekend of the season. In her last three matches - which includes two wins over ranked opponents - Fountain has 45 kills with just five errors in 101 swings - that's a hitting percentage of .396. She's thrown in three aces, three blocks and 33 digs in those three matches as well. She could go to a Division I or II program and have a nice little career as a defensive specialist or possibly even a libero, or she could go to a Division III or NAIA school and likely be an immediate starter as a full-rotation player with the potential to become a All-American at some point in her career. Anna Koehler, 5'7, OH/DS, Platteview - ranked #38 in Class of 2020 Everything I said about Fountain can pretty much be said about Koehler. The Platteview senior is one of the most athletically-gifted volleyball players in the state, and despite being just 5'7, she has the ups to take over a match at the net, as proven by her whopping 4.6 kills per set for the 14-4 Trojans. As good as she is as an attacker, her height just doesn't play at the net in college - even at the NAIA level - but she's got a back-row game that would work at pretty much any level - Division I included. The only reason she is as under the radar as she is, is the fact that she has never played major-club volleyball, otherwise someone would have gobbled her up already. I almost look at Koehler as Emily Bressman-lite in reference to the former Omaha Marian standout that is now playing back row and providing a powerful back-row attack at times for Creighton. Koehler can be that kind of impact player at the next level. Mackenzie Vitosh, 6'0, OH, Diller-Odell - ranked #52 in Class of 2020 I'm not sure who the idiot is that has Vitosh ranked this low - OK, the idiot is me, definitely me - but Vitosh should be ranked much higher and is going to be an absolute gem for someone this late in the recruiting game. Vitosh plays in the middle for Diller-Odell, but I like her more as an outside because she has the athleticism and power to play on a pin at a very high level, and I think that's where a program would really maximize her ability. She has 148 kills on the season - 3.6 per set - while hitting .386. She also has 32 ace serves and 34 blocks for the Griffins. I can easily see her being an impact player pretty much right away at an NAIA or Division III level program at the net and at the NAIA level where they have no substitution limits, she would really benefit because her back-row skills are not quite as refined as the rest of her game. Devin Burroughs, 5'8, OH, Beatrice - ranked #93 in Class of 2020 At 8-4, Beatrice is one of the bigger surprises this season in Class B and Burroughs has been a big reason why. At just 5'8, she might have a hard time being a dominant force at the net for even a NAIA or Division III program, but there are certainly colleges where she can help the program - perhaps even at the 2-Year College level. She's been a major contributor for the Beatrice varsity team since her freshman year, but this has been Burrough's first chance to really shine and she has taken complete advantage of it. Her 123 kills - 3.6 per set - leads the team and puts her on pace to absolutely crush her career high in that area and she is also hitting at a .338 clip, which is pretty dang good at the Class B level. Burroughs also has 24 blocks and is averaging 2.6 digs per set. In a match against Omaha Gross earlier this year she went off for 20 kills on 39 swings with just one error while adding four blocks and 11 digs. The kid can flat out play and should find a college home somewhere. I definitely have her ranked well below where she should be. Allie DeGroff, 5'8, OH, Archbishop Bergan - ranked #108 in Class of 2020 DeGroff has been thrust into a more significant roll for the Knights this season and has responded very well for the defending Class D1 state champions. Again, she is not going to be a player that steps in and helps a college program right away and will never be that dominant threat at the net because of her height, but she has the volleyball skill to help a program somewhere. After putting up more than 220 kills each of the last two seasons, DeGroff is already got her total on the season up to 184 - 3.4 per set - and has had two matches with 17 kills this year, one against DC West and one against Lutheran High Northeast. DeGroff also has taken on the top serve-receive position for the Knights this year and is second in digs with 165 - 3.1 per set. She's a player that should be ranked higher and would do really well at a 2-Year College or a NAIA program where she could spend a year or two developing on the junior varsity team.