Updated 2026 Top Ten

Vernon Birmingham August 12, 2025 @ 08:16 AM

We are nearing the end of our class of 2026 rankings. We will do one final round in December due to the fact that more athletes are graduating high school early and enrolling in college. In our most recent update, there were minimal changes. Unfortunately, I don't cover much beach, and there are players we didn't see in the club circuit, so there were athletes who moved down due to visibility. That's not the complete story; on the other hand, athletes moved up due to strong spring seasons.   [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='809923' first='Jaeli' last='Rutledge'] remain in the top two spots. Missouri State beach commit [player_tooltip player_id='219778' first='Tara' last='Venable'] moved up to three after a productive club season. Iowa State pledge and 6'5" opposite [player_tooltip player_id='222058' first='Katherine' last='Byergo'] is sitting at four. [player_tooltip player_id='222076' first='Abigail' last='Schoene'] played well this spring, capping off the season with all-tournament honors at nationals. The setter is heading to Baylor and is ranked 5th. Two middles are next in the rankings, [player_tooltip player_id='490109' first='Millie' last='Bauer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='809541' first='Bella' last='Scherfenberg']. Bauer is a true middle at 6'3" and heading to Mizzou. Scherfenberg plays all over the court for her Belton team and will play beach at Texas.   [player_tooltip player_id='542224' first='Isabella' last='Sohl'] is the second setter to crack the top 10 at eight and will play collegiately at UConn. The sole defender in the top ten and pledged to the Razorbacks of Arkansas is Lee's Summit North defender [player_tooltip player_id='220462' first='Madilynn' last='Benne']. Rounding out the top ten after what I consider a strong comeback 24-25 season is outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='838860' first='Sydni' last='Lafasciano']. She dealt with some nagging injuries the previous season and appears to be back in old form with Park Hill South and Dynasty.

We are nearing the end of our class of 2026 rankings. We will do one final round in December due to the fact that more athletes are graduating high school early and enrolling in college. In our most recent update, there were minimal changes. Unfortunately, I don't cover much beach, and there are players we didn't see in the club circuit, so there were athletes who moved down due to visibility. That's not the complete story; on the other hand, athletes moved up due to strong spring seasons.