Top Ten Middles from the Class of 2027

Rankings are scheduled for an update in January. As a prelude to these rankings I thought I would name the top ten middles from the class of 2027 to whet the appetite. They will be listed in alphabetical order.    Emmeri earned a top performer award at our Prep Dig Stock up showcase. She performed with the outsides. For [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] last year she rostered as a middle. For her high school team they list her as an outside/opposite. This year Hedgesville won the West Virginia state championship. Emmeri finished third on the team in kills, behind Gracie Brown and [player_tooltip player_id='325603' first='Parker' last='Sutherland'] ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']).   While she appeared on the [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] roster last season, I have heard that she may take this club season off. I have yet to see her name appear on a club roster this year. I suppose the best time to take a break is after winning a state championship.   Hope to see her back. (Edit: it appears Emmeri intended to play basketball but circumstances prevented her from making the tryout. She will play for Liberty 18 this year as an outside. Certainly a player to watch).    [player_tooltip player_id='465315' first='Ana' last='Breckons'] (Grafton) - Ana again played a significant piece in Grafton progressing to the finals in the Class 3 state championship. They lost to Hidden Vally for the second year in a row. Ana finished second on the team in blocking and third in kills shifting between middle and right side. She shared the spotlight with class of 2026 middle [player_tooltip player_id='707593' first='Kenzie' last='Smith']. Her 6'1" height brings some good blocks to the middle or right side. Ana appears to be another player who lacks a club footprint.   [player_tooltip player_id='465322' first='Siyena' last='Fitsum'] (Churchill/MVSA) - At 6'3" Siyena is an imposing frame when putting up a block. Her hands rise high above the net. She still needs to work on her hitting mechanics in order to make more of an offensive impact. Churchill made it to the semifinals in the Class 4 Maryland State championship but lost to Richard Montgomery in five. Siyena will play for MVSA Sparks this coming season.    Ava did not start at middle for St. Johns. She played in about 40 percent of their matches. The skill sets exist but the consistency falls short.   She did perform well at middle for a Virginia Jrs 15 team that qualified for the USA Division in Junior Nationals. At 6'2" she can put up strong blocks. She also shows the quickness to run the quick tempo sets. Ava was just one of five players on that Juniors team who stood 6'0 or greater who could play the front row. They finished the season with a bang finishing second in the USA Division of the Northeast Qualifier, third in the East Coast championship and finally 13th in the USA division in the Junior Nationals.   Rosters are not yet up for Virginia Juniors but there is no reason not to believe that she will return to Virginia Jrs team for the 2025 season.    Jocelyn Gil (Georgetown Visitation/Metro - Jocelyn plays both basketball and volleyball for Georgetown Visitation. For the volleyball team she ranked number one in both kills and blocks. She also played some back row finishing third in digs. For the basketball team she led in rebounds and finished second in points scored. A very athletic player who still finds the time to play club volleyball for Metro. She stands 6'1" with a 10 foot approach jump. She is the first of three Metro 16 players who appear on this list.    Did not get to see any Riverdale Baptist games this year. Averi led the team in kills, blocks and service aces. She also showed some ability to play back row, finishing second in digs while also lining up in serve receive. This could indicate some use at the pins.   For Metro her back row play will be limited. She lists at 6'3" with a 10'1" approach jump. For a big girl she hits the quick tempo sets well, applying good extension on her swings while also showing premium athleticism with her movements.   For the second straight year Averi earned a spot on the Washington Post honorable mention team.     The number one prospect in our class of 2027. No doubt she will keep that ranking. She recently participated in the National Team Player Develpment (NTPD) winter training session.   At 6'3" Taylor is one of those players who can dominate a game in the middle without the need for quick tempo sets. At the Junior Nationals in Las Vegas at least one team put up a triple block against her. It will be interesting to see if [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] runs some quick tempo sets with her this year.   An extremely intense player who wants the ball when the game is on the line. This year [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] has added two players, [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] who can share the offensive load. That could open up the opportunities for Taylor. Teams will no longer be safe triple blocking her.     Last year Alyssa played for Club 540. She played some middle but also was used as a six rotation player who hit left side. She ranks number three in our class of 2027. At our Prep Dig showcase in August, she earned a top performer award. While she listed herself as a middle her reasoning for that is she anticipated to play that position in high school.   Mountain View had quite the successful season, upsetting Forest Park in the semi-finals of the Class 6B Regionals. Alyssa led the team in kills. She even appeared to play some outside, finishing third on the team in digs while also being one of the primary passers on the team. For [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] she rosters as a middle but they also list two additional strong middles. Don't be surprised to see her 6'0" frame also hit from the pins. Lots of depth on this [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 16 team.     Flint Hill fell short of winning the ISL and the VISAA state championship this year, but [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] brought to the team a tremendous offensive performance. She was one of only two sophomores named to the ISL first team. She finished first on the team in blocks and second in kills, getting an opportunity to hit from the pins on occasion.   For Metro she will use her 6'2" height and 10'5" approach jump to plug up the middle. The number five prospect in our class of 2027. An immense talent to keep your eyes on.     Battlefield lost to Colgan in the Class 6B Regional semi-final, putting them one win away from qualifying for State. Last year they lost in the semifinals to Langley. For club Jolie has switched from American to Virginia Elite, which could get her some greater exposure. Prior to American she played for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''].   No matter which club she plays for Jolie provides a significant role in the team's success. She stands 6'2' with an approach jump just short of 10 feet (9'10"). Her block jump of 9'5" ranks tops on the team. Her offensive game creates a threat in the middle, opening up the pins to single blocks. Her blocking provides for defensive opportunities, blacking out areas of the court the libero do not have to cover.    Next week will be our first report as the club tournaments begin. We will also break out the class of 2025 rankings.

Rankings are scheduled for an update in January. As a prelude to these rankings I thought I would name the top ten middles from the class of 2027 to whet the appetite. They will be listed in alphabetical order.