Fifteen high school volleyball players who have led their teams to outstanding seasons
top the MaxPreps National Player of the Year watch list. The
list includes preseason MaxPreps All-America team members, repeat All-American honorees and a handful of players who were members of the United States U18 team that won bronze in Mexico last month.
The watch list includes players from teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 as well as girls having amazing statistical seasons. All are chasing league and state titles and could join Paige Flickinger, Kenzie Knuckles and Lexi Sun as winners of the individual honor.
Players not on the list are not
excluded from postseason honors consideration. However, these 15 players
are receiving the most recognition as teams begin their regular season
stretches and prepare for the postseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order.
An all-around threat for the unbeaten Fighting Irish, the Ole Miss commit was recently named as a Michigan Miss Volleyball finalist. Borellis has helped Notre Dame Prep to an unbeaten mark and No. 6 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 with 534 assists, 203 digs and 298 kills. She recently passed the 2,500-career assist marks and has more than 1,600 kills and 1,200 digs as well.
Playing for a small-school power, the Missouri commit is everywhere on the floor for the Knights. She's logged 168 kills, 186 digs and 520 assists as her team is 22-2 and No. 14 in the MaxPreps Top 25. For her career, she's dished up 1,600 assists with 887 kills and 841 digs.
The Baylor commit is a two-time 5A champion looking to guide the Leopards to a third-state crown. She's dished up 615 assists (6.8 per set) committing 13 errors in more than 1,400 attempts with 273 digs and 139 kills. In her four seasons at Lovejoy, the multi-year MaxPreps All-American has more than 1,000 digs and 4,000 assists.
Caroline Edgeworth | Sr. | S | Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)While the uncommitted standout probably won't come close to her state single-season assist mark of 2019 (1,474), she's thrown up 881 thus far (12.6 per set) for the once-ranked 21-6 Gaels. Edgeworth has more than 2,900 assist in her career with 700-plys digs and more than 230 aces.
A 6A all-state player last season, the TCU commit is approaching the 2,000 mark in kills and digs for her career. This season, she's teamed with setter
Carlee Pharris (885 assists) to pound 447 kills with 523 digs for No. 8 Brandeis (35-2). She's teamed with
The Texas commit is the next in a long lone of standout Rockets. Helmers has 421 kills (5.5 per set) this season while hitting at 33 percent. She's hammered 797 career kills and has the No. 13 Rockets at 27-5 this season.
Eva Hudson | Sr. | OH | Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (Fort Wayne, Ind.)She's pounded 433 kills on the year — an averaged of 5.8 per set — while leading the Saints to a 30-1 record heading into Indiana's postseason. The Notre Dame commit has more than 1,500 career kills and is creeping up on the 800 career dig mark.
Committed to Kansas State, she recently passed the 2,000 career assist mark for the 31-0 Titans. Dishing up assists at a 11.3 per set clip, LeGrand has 805 on the season coupled with 253 digs and 80 kills for the No. 4 team in the MaxPreps Top 25.
The future USC Trojan showed what SoCal can expect in a dazzling display last weekend at the GEICO Girls Volleyball Invite. In a five-set win over Assumption, the 6-1 hitter dropped 31 kills with 12 digs. She's got 288 kills this season and 1,300 for her career with 263 blocks and 577 digs.
Named the best setter at the early-season Volleypalooza, the uncommitted senior has 978 assists (nearly 10 per set) and has been a catalyst for the Monarchs' 31-4 season, finding a host of hitters including sophomore
Babi Gubbins.
The future Cornhusker's prep stats aren't eye-popping in part because she spent time with the United States U18 team that won bronze in Mexico last month. She did, however, stand out in the international tournament as an offensive catalyst, finding the team's many weapons. In three seasons at O'Gorman, Reilly has 1,250 assists with nearly 800 digs and 750-plus kills.
The most dominating player each time she steps on the court, the Stanford commit has led the Sailors to the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 and titles at the Nike TOC Southwest, Durango Fall Classic and GEICO Girls Volleyball Invite. She earned MVP honors at Durango and has 250 kills on the season, but sets the tone for the Sailors in all facets of the game.
The lone freshman on the list and emerging star is approaching 300 kills on the season combined with 265 digs for the No. 9 team in the MaxPreps Top 25. Vinson's sister, Kate, was a standout at Yorktown now playing at Ball State.
Emma Werkmeister | Sr. | OH | Victor (N.Y.)She has 349 kills as the Blue Devils have rolled through all-comers this season. She's hitting at 47 percent rate and is also a lacrosse player. The UConn commit has 900 career kills.
Despite missing a month playing alongside Reilly on the U18 team, the Minnesota commit has 277 kills on the year. She was America's top hitter in their bronze-medal trek and has nearly 1,900 kills and 1,000 digs in her Lancers career.
