The MaxPreps National Player of the Year will be announced Dec. 2. Past winners include Elia Rubin, Paige Flickinger, Kenzie Knuckles, Lauren Harden and 2024 winner Macaria Spears. See the complete list below.
With the 2025 season entering its final weeks, we are narrowing the list of candidates to earn the nation's highest honor five.
Read on for a look at the five finalists, which are listed in alphabetical order.
Lucky Fasavalu, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)5-8 | Junior (Class of 2027) | Uncommitted
The Trailblazers have an abundance of hitters and Fasavalu adeptly spreads the wealth for the No. 2 team in the country. She has compiled 867 assists in 108 sets while adding 213 digs, 80 kills, 61 aces and 31 blocks. Sierra Canyon (39-3) won the Southern Section Division 1 title and is the SoCal top seed in the state Open Division playoffs.
6-3 | Senior (Class of 2026) | Penn State
She led the Falcons (37-4) to their first San Diego Section Open Division title in five seasons with a team-high 12 kills in the sweep of No. 25 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.). On the season, the daughter of former NBA player Larry Krystkowiak has a team-high 311 kills along with 466 serve receptions, 235 digs, 51 aces and 29 blocks.
Sophee Peterson, Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
5-10 | Junior (Class of 2027) | Texas A&MThe quarterback of the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 has 1,361 assists with only three errors in 99 sets. She has added 259 digs, 149 kills, 67 blocks and 42 aces as the Bobcats (39-0) enter the regional finals of the Conference 6A Division 1 postseason.
Bailey Sinish, Carroll (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
5-11 | Senior (Class of 2026) | Indiana at IndianapolisLed the Chargers (37-0) to their second straight Class 4A title over the weekend. She ended the season with 557 kills while hitting. 421. She tallied 336 serve receptions, 219 digs, 62 aces and 47 blocks as Carroll dropped four sets all year.
Lynney Tarnow, Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
6-5 | Senior (Class of 2026) | WisconsinShe is leading the Redwings (37-2) with 190 kills while hitting .470 along with 49 digs, 33 blocks and 20 aces. Her stats don't jump off the page quite as much as other candidates with Illinois still playing a best-of-three format.
Past MaxPreps National Players of the Year2008 — Lauren Cook, Pius X (Lincoln, Neb.)
2009 — Rachel Williams, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
2010 — Tiffany Baker, Hebron (Carrollton, Texas)
2011 — Nicole Dalton, Chaparral (Parker, Colo.)
2012 — Amber Rolfzen/Kadie Rolfzen, Papillion LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.)
2013 — Courtney Eckenrode, The Woodlands (Texas)
2014 — Alexis Smith, Lewis-Palmer (Monument, Colo.)
2015 — Nicole Peterson, Jesuit (Portland, Ore.)
2016 — Lexi Sun, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.)
2017 — Erin O'Leary, Novi (Mich.)
2018 — Kenzie Knuckles, Yorktown (Ind.)
2019 — Paige Flickinger, Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
2020 — No award due to pandemic
2021 — Elia Rubin, Marymount (Los Angeles)
2022 — Julia Blyashov, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
2023 — Lauren Harden, Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
2024 — Macaria Spears, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
