Shayla Rautenberg was named MVP at the Kansas City camp and has the opportunity to earn a ticket to the All-America Game in Orlando.

This conversation wouldn’t be complete without our top-ranked athlete in the class. Once again, we have a middle blocker who dominates at the net against older peers. Rautenberg’s career resume speaks for itself, particularly after she led Milford to last year’s Class C1 title. She is enjoying a busy start to the year, from smashing records on the basketball court to leading Nebraska ONE 17 Synergy’s offensive onslaught. Rautenberg often takes first-ball swings on the outside to give Nebraska ONE critical sideouts. When you have a talent like this at the net, you want her to swing as much as possible.

Shayla Rautenberg has gone semi viral for the video of her dunking a basketball looking relatively easy.  I was able to see Rautenberg play this past weekend at Northern Lights on Saturday where I saw she scored 38 points and broke the school record for rebounds in a basketball game on Friday night – all in a day’s work.  Rautenberg played for the U19 national team this summer that brought home gold from the Pan Am games. She plays for the Nebraska One 17 Synergy squad that has current commits in setter Malorie Boesiger (Nebraska) and Reagan Wallraff (Creighton).  Rautenberg could be a quick commit come June 15 being a “Homegrown Husker”.  Any chance we see a dual sport athlete in the future?  Either way, she is so fun to watch on the volleyball court. 

In a single match, Shayla delivered an outstanding performance, recording 19 kills on 34 attempts with an impressive .529 hitting percentage. She also contributed 2 aces while maintaining a perfect 100% serving percentage and added a block to round out her all-around impact on the game.

It’s well known that Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy bolstered its middle blocker position through the Class of 2028. Rautenberg captured everyone’s attention after multiple dominant performances with Milford at last fall’s state tournament. That postseason excellence carried over to the basketball court, too. No matter the venue, Rautenberg has exhibited her elite athleticism and willingness to compete with many of her older peers. She can go over the top of well-formed blocks and is one of Nebraska’s most natural net defenders. Our 2028 rankings are on the horizon, and Rautenberg will be part of it.

Of course, we have to feature another 2028 star of Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy’s frontcourt. Rautenberg has maintained the dominant form we’ve seen since she competed with Milford High School at last year’s state tournament. She can terminate over the top of opposing blockers while also varying her shot selection to find the open floor. Nebraska ONE allows Rautenberg to swing on the pin in first-ball side-out situations, and she can deliver there, too. 16 Synergy has not been afraid to pull its game-changing athletes from the 2028 class.

The “playing up” theme persists with our next entry. We were anxious to see how Rautenberg meshed with the new 16 Synergy lineup after she lit up the scoreboard at last fall’s state tournament. Fortunately, Milford’s star freshman has passed the test after two early regional events. Rautenberg is lethal on traditional middle routes, but she also thrives as a pin hitter in first-ball situations. It’s a wrinkle we saw when she competed last fall: find any way possible to give Rautenberg her share of swings. 16 Synergy will not hesitate to lean on their 2028 standout.

We couldn’t leave out this unforgettable postseason performer. Rautenberg’s late-season heroics propelled her Milford team into the Class C1 tournament. She had a season-high 32 kills in the district final bout with Columbus Lakeview to score one of the biggest upsets of that round. Milford’s star middle blocker could become an outside hitter at any time, allowing Rautenberg to dominate matches with her sky-high swing. She backed that up with 28 kills in the quarterfinal contest with Pierce to nearly notch another marquee win. Rautenberg will stand prominently in the club spotlight as she plays up an age group with Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy.

Consider this the freshman MVP of the entire tournament. Rautenberg represented seventh-seeded Milford at last week’s state championships and provided an unforgettable quarterfinal performance against Pierce. She put down an astonishing 29 kills as the Eagles pushed C1’s No. 2 seed to the brink of elimination. Rautenberg’s sky-high contact point generated unstoppable angles, and this middle blocker’s development is just beginning. It’s a scary thought for the rest of the Class C1 field.