Length is Brooklyn’s strength, and she shows it off on both offense and defense regularly. On defense, she’s a stalwart blocker—-strong hands and shoulders, coupled with an upper-level read-and-react posture, help make her one of the more consistent blockers in this class. On offense, she hits a heavy ball, which is hard to defend at the block level as well as on the floor. Miss Wake looks to be more of an M2 at this time, and needs to be paired with a setter that understands how high her jump touch is to reach her full potential.

Brooklyn Wake Brooklyn Wake 6'0" | MB/RS Franklin Central | 2027 State IN is a true middle who understands spacing and timing. Her slide attack is advanced — she times her footwork precisely, stays balanced off one foot, and finishes with high contact to the deep corner. Wake forces blockers to respect both in-front tempo and backside movement, creating hesitation across the net.

Defensively, she closes blocks with discipline rather than drifting and presses over the tape to eliminate sharp angles. Her lateral quickness allows her to recover quickly in transition. At Triple Crown, expect Brooklyn Wake Brooklyn Wake 6'0" | MB/RS Franklin Central | 2027 State IN ‘s slide to be a primary scoring weapon that forces opposing middles to adjust their base positioning. ~Theresa @prepdigdakotas

A no-nonsense middle if there ever was one, Brooklyn is a physical middle that does her job well without all of the screaming and fanfare that others in this position might otherwise project. She’s a workhorse—-regardless of where the ball is set or how the first contact comes out, Miss Wade is ready to hit. On defense, her uber-long arms close blocks and penetrate better than most in the barely-six-foot club. I’m surprised she’s not committed anywhere yet, since pure middles are hard to come by in this class in Indiana. Nevertheless, Miss Wake is available, and is a key cog in the offensive machine that is the Tsunami.

Probably the most athletic kid in this article today, Brooklyn is a springy and strong M2 that looks taller than she is because of her uber-long arms. Blocking isn’t an issue for her—-that strong upper body, along with her jumping ability and read-and-react tendencies, make her an above-average blocker in this class. On the attack, she jumps high enough to pick and choose the angle she wants to attack, and attacks it HARD. Transition quickness might get her in the long run, but most of the time she’s available to attack on every in-system ball.

Getting up in a hurry and always available to attack, Miss Wake is a fast and athletic option as an M2 for the next level. Without accolades or the “look at me” personality a lot of volleyball players have these days, Brooklyn does her job and does it well. Her discipline on the attack is slightly ahead of the training curve than her defensive skill set is, so I’m looking forward to how she develops the blocking side this club season.

Another silent attacker, this time from Franklin Central and the Academy, is Brooklyn, who can out jump and is faster in transition than most middles in this or any graduating class. Able to be up and ready instantly, her quick movements and springy nature will serve her well going forward. Everything she does is terminal; her attack gets to the floor quickly, while her block form is textbook. I like this kid a lot, and it’s only a matter of time before college coaches do too.

Although Miss Wake is the shortest on today’s list, she’s probably the most athletic of the bunch. Springy and instinctual, Brooklyn is a no-nonsense middle that has future D1 M2 written all over her. With quick transitional feet and an even quicker arm, terminating any set in front of the setter is not an issue. Sprinkle in her jumping ability, and you can see from the start of any match how much quicker she is than her opposing middles. If I were to nitpick, I’d like to see a wider block width, as she’s already jumping and pressing so well when she blocks. With more width comes more area of the net to defend, making it that much tougher to play against her.

The shortest on this list, Brooklyn more than makes up for it in athleticism and a businesslike attitude when playing. She might be the quickest in transition on this list, causing defenders to fail mostly because they have the audacity to underestimate her. She doesn’t attend one of the “volleyball power schools” like some on this list, but that doesn’t matter—diamonds can be found anywhere, and you could do a lot worse than Miss Wake in this class.

The first thing that you’ll notice when Brooklyn starts to play (especially when warming up), is her sheer athletic ability. You could never call her undersized for a middle because her jumping ability allows her to play above everybody else, even the 6’3 players. Touching 10’2″ she brings exceptional blocking ability to the court compared to the rest of the field and has a great knack for hitting around the block (she even scored around a triple block a couple of times). Add to that impressive vertical the ability to move laterally very quickly, and you have all the makings of a high-level middle blocker, especially being just a sophomore. Academy 16-1s has a hard working, super athletic, confident middle coming their way this year and I am excited to see how Brooklyn shines this club season and where her recruiting journey takes her.