With hands of gold and a sixth sense in finding the right hitter in the right situation, Caroline turned her exceptional spring into a commitment with Summit League member North Dakota. Her size helps, and is a solid blocker at the open level of club here in the Midwest. As a setter, reading matchups, understanding tempos and finding the right hitters in the right situations is her calling card, and that knowledge will serve her well when the fall of ‘28 comes around.

When reading back over my notes from the weekend, there was one big word written in all caps next to Caroline’s name…STUD. I immediately was brought back to watching her play and remembered her beautiful technique and ability to jump set accurately almost all of the time. When she sets the pins, she gives her hitters all options to hit – line, cross and seam – and she does this even when the ball is 15 feet off the net or behind her head. Her location and tempo are so good from all over the court and she is just a freshman; imagine if she keeps working hard, how good she will make all of her hitters look! Another skill of Brown’s that a lot of setters her age don’t possess is her quickness to find the ball after she comes down from blocking. She gets her eyes to the ball quickly and is able to track it down fast, so again, she can get her feet there and jump set. Not sure how I didn’t know about Caroline before, but I’m sure glad I do now; she’s going to be one to watch over the next few years.

The first of two college-ready setters on this list, Caroline is from northwest of Indianapolis, and gets her training from some of the best in setting and ball control at Boiler Juniors. Although Lebanon’s season wasn’t where they wanted it to be this past fall, Caroline showed what a 5-1 setter for an upper-level club looks like. Hands high for every set, ready to defend her position well and always around the ball, Lebanon’s success will be tied directly to Miss Brown’s growth and advancement for years to come. I’ll be keeping an eye on this young lady this coming club season.