2025 America's 200: School Logos and Names you Know #35-#21

America’s Top 200 List

#35-#20

​

#20 Lynney Tarnow - Class of 2026 Middle - Club: 1st Alliance - Commit: Wisconsin

Tarnow is the ultimate Wisconsin middle in the nation right now with power, strength, and the overall physicality that she plays with. She has shown flashes of being the #1 overall MB in the USA gym at times during training sessions and over the past two seasons, and her play at 1st Alliance has been equally as dominant in club play. It won’t be surprising to watch Tarnow’s defensive game translate to the B1G.

​

#21 Kendall Northern - Class of 2026 Middle - Club: Elevation - Commit: Penn State

Northern has risen as far and quickly as anyone in the ’27 Class in most evaluators’ eyes over the past couple of seasons. We have discussed her development strength-wise and her feel for the speed and technique playing with top talent, but the athleticism has been there. That is what has really started to show more and more, and as her strength and size show out (aka her “high ceiling” plays out early), this Elevation Middle looks less and less like a ? And more like an ! For Penn State.

​

#22 Morrison Samuels - Class of 2028 Setter - Club: Kairos - Commit: UC

Steady and confident Morrison Samuels is always in the mix of top setters in the USA VB convo. Another who may get passed over because she isn’t the most flashy or from a “national club,” she just shows up and plays at a high level. Her long/tall frame are a plus for many programs and she is a thinker on the court, though she is quiet she seems to connect well with attackers and her consistency is a plus. She is unflappable and takes coaching exceptionally well, so she fits in any system. Above all, she is a winner who blends well and has played roles on veteran teams, playing as a young athlete, fitting in, or as a leader, helping young players step up. Watch for Samuels to get PLENTY of attention all Spring and June from all the big dogs looking for their next franchise setter.

​

#23 Olivia Henry - Class of 2027 Outside - Club: IMG Academy - Commit: Penn State

Henry was polarizing to the “ranking sites” this past year and has back row skills in progress, but her year at IMG was a positive one, and she has so many raw skills to work with that she has to be one of the highest projected college prospects in the nation. There are so many things to like about Olivia, and she is showing the ability to lock in when she gets in the lab, and people take time to work with her. I think Penn State really believes in her long-term and that will pay off for the high-upside prospect who has shown flashes of greatness.

​

#24 Westley Matavao - Class of 2027 Outside - Forzai 1 - Commit: UCLA

A dominating figure on the prep and club scene for a couple of years now, West is that character who can bring life to a program and definitely a locker room immediately. Her strength and the power portion of her game were never going to be in question, but the fact that she has continued to add height and some vertical growth to her play is what has bumped her up on our “college prospect list”. It’s obvious she has been able to dominate at her current level, but how much more vertical was her game going to translate? She has been answering that question this summer and fall in an impressive fashion, and that is the #1 reason we have moved her further up our lists. Then you start to figure in the intangibles that Matavao will bring a program (Not to mention a program called UCLA right in her backyard) where she already has a small little army of loyal family and friends that will increase home attendance by 15% at Bruin Home Matches. Finally, she is a natural leader whom we earlier nicknamed “The Magnet” because at NTDP, other athletes were simply drawn to her. She never followed or had to team up with anyone. Matavao would go stand at her position before the start of a team exercise and next thing you know 3 or 4 other athletes would be standing next to her because they wanted to be teamed up with her. She draws people in with who she is and her confidence.

​

#25 Finley Krystowiak - Class of 2026 Outside - WAVE - Commit: Penn State

Krystowiak is another whom our staff has talked about frequently over the last 18 months. First, she seems like the perfect body type/frame for a throw-back B1G OH (solid base, and she has gradually continued to get stronger and more durable with more reach and flexibility, she has a body that can withstand the grind of a college season and the pounding that you take with rep after rep and long hours or training). She shows on a club or prep court when she goes up against other top prospects and she sticks out as simply more physical and durable than nearly everyone, it shows in her game the last year also as she becomes a bigger force as an elite attacker with bigger numbers offensively. Truly becoming a go-to weapon for her top-ranked Torrey Pines HS and WAVE club teams. But everyone already knows what I love the most about Fin is that she has made the rise with her exact same 5-star attitude. Even when she was looked at as an above-average prospect that was going to be a “good college player,” she was a great person, and now that she has worked herself and her game into a VERY GOOD college prospect, she is still that same great person. It’s that type of combo that takes young female athletes to GREAT PLACES with NIL and opportunities after college volleyball or not.

​

#26 Shaye Witherspoon - Class of 2027 Outside - Rockwood Thunder - Commit: Nebraska

Witherspoon was often talked about as one of the top recruits in the 2027 class and still finished as one of the top recruits. Nebraska ended up offering the Rockwood star, whom we tagged “the most college-ready prospect today” of anyone in club ball. She has all of the tools physically to step into most college programs and push for time today. Witherspoon is a bit like Henry, where there have been signs of greatness. Shaye does play well in the back row and can pass and play the six rotations. She can also attack from the back and uses her aggressive serve as a weapon, no doubt. It’s also been talked about how much of a competitor she can be. “When she gets mad and turns it on,” she’s tough to beat. Strength is a weapon for Shaye and would rank up where Krystowiak’s would be if not stronger. Obviously, Witherspoon has the potential, or Nebraska wouldn’t offer her.

​

#27 Bellamie Beus - Class of 2026 Outside - Idaho Crush - Commit: Kentucky

Beus is another polarizing figure in the recruiting circles, and it all centers around her not being from a LARGE club and being a slightly undersized OH. I was exactly the same way the first three or so times I watched her, and I couldn’t tell if her extreme Game Face (2024 Inaugural Winner of the Anna DeBeer Game Face Award by the way) was her so locked in she wanted to rip everyone’s head off, OR she just wasn’t a very nice teammate? I seriously asked coaches, her teammates, and even Bellamie. She simply wants to win THAT badly EVERY TIME she walks on the court. Her arm is so heavy that Keenland Racetrack (Lexington) will not need a starting gun for the next four years while she’s at UK because when Bellamie swings, you know it, it’s bombs away. However, she plays the game with strategy and a high IQ. She sees the court well, and though she is ripping everything she can, she can go line, deep cross, or middle. She can take it through a block or tool one. She generates verticality from her explosion on her approach, so the height isn’t a major issue; she gets results. Passing is above average (it has to be if you are going to play for Craig Skinner, doesn’t it?). Big Gym Performance? MVP at UA NEXT Camp in KC…Excellent reports when she was invited to NTDP…this is a very, very solid volleyball player who again simply lives in Idaho, not a larger state. We believe she projects as a very productive college stat stuffer.

​

#28 Keoni Williams - Class of 2026 Middle - Club: TAV - Commit: Nebraska

Athletic, long, and gets vertical. Williams looks the part of a dynamic middle. If you simply look at physical #s she will pass the test every time and is someone that a blue-blood program like Nebraska should offer every time because they have the luxury of doing just that. Keoni can come in with raw volleyball skills and train on those because she doesn’t have to contribute immediately. She can be looked upon to help with her blocking prowess right away, while the staff turns her into an offensive weapon by year 2 or 3. Also, because she is so athletic, she dominates more at the HS level for that simple reason: she is simply more athletic than everyone else and out jumps them.  

​

#29 Taylor Stanley - Class of 2026 Opposite - Club: Dynasty - Commit: Kansas

Stanley is a terrific story of development, hard work, and growth. What a YEAR for the Kansas commit. From a banged-up and slightly frustrated 16s season, where she didn’t get to perform and was near her best due to a few nagging injuries. She was still able to get the hometown offer she wanted and commit to KU. Then she rests up, gets healthy, trains her rear end off. Her game and her approach go insane, and she becomes one of the Top 10 prospects in her class. Taylor Stanley had a year that was for sure. Her folks should have done one of those time-lapse videos every day to document the changes because she looks like a baller that the new KU staff has to be simply jacked up about, ready to get on the Lawrence campus.

​

#30 Emma Cugino - Class of 2026 Libero - Club: Mintonette - Commit: Texas

Cugino was the #1 libero from the ’26 class and is said to be fearless. Another who may not say a lot or show much emotion on the court, Cugino plays with a short memory, and that can be a great thing playing in sold-out arenas of 17k. She has played well in the NTDP competitions and in her National Team experiences thus far. Comments we have heard is that she has never been afraid to jump to the front of a line in a big group setting EVER and wants to take charge in “Big Gym Settings” when others at her position will often wait back for someone else to model something first “that simply isn’t Emma, she just doesn’t care if she makes a mistake she wants to be the first one up no matter what. When you are talking about an Olympic Team or an Elite 8 or NTDP, sometimes those are the little things that truly separate the better from the best.”

​

#31 Alexandra Knox - Class of 2028 Setter - Club: 3DGE - Commit: UC

Knox is the perfect East Coast kid! She grew on us big-time over the Summer, and we haven’t quite figured it out yet, but her attackers absolutely connect with her instantly, no matter the setting, within a session or two, they are right there with her at water breaks like they have known each other for years. She is another one of these very, very quiet 2028 setters, but she bonds with her attackers so well, no matter the gym! I do love her non-verbal communication on the court with her attackers. Knox is physical and aggressive and definitely an extra offensive threat from the Setter position. She grows on you, and she is one of those VB Lifers, just a gym rat who probably slept with a volleyball since she was two. Talking with her is enjoyable, and you can tell she is from Pittsburgh and has that PA upbringing and is NOT afraid of hard work OR hard coaching. Alex just loves the sport and is a historian. She gets the story of the game and appreciates those that came before her, and things like rivalries and traditions. You will also have to kick her out of the gym to get her to leave. She is a bit of a throwback. That all equals one very solid, well-rounded setter who will be very, very good for a contending team for 4 years!

​

#32 Sophee Peterson - Class of 2027 Setter - Club: TAV - Commit: Texas A&M

The solid leader of the country's best prep and club team this past season, team Peterson ended up being one heck of a recruiting gift for the Aggies and made their 2027 recruiting class and future look very bright! Peterson is a WINNER, a fundamentally sound setter; she is an intelligent player and academically gifted off the court. Playing at TAV, you know she lives in the gym and won’t be afraid of the daily grind of college volleyball; she understands what it takes. Sophee has been brought up and trained to be a big-time college setter, and playing close to home and with a little chip on her shoulder is just a little extra motivation for the class’s top setter prospect to push her to an elite college status. This has the makings of a great little relationship in College Station for a player that frankly has been overlooked on quite a few levels.

​

#33 Laura Eichert - Class of 2026 Outside - Club: NPJ - Commit: Oregon

Eichert reopened her recruitment this past Summer after she had previously verbally to San Diego. Then she went through the true learning process of what can happen with big-time recruiting and the twists and turns. In the end, the Washington outside landed up the coast at Oregon with the new Duck staff and should push to play right away. This is another athlete who is undervalued nationally because of WHERE she played club ball, not because of how talented she is. Trust she was on the very short list of several final four caliber programs, and in the end, they chose high Gold or Diamond level prospects only in front of Eichert. She is smooth in her approach and hangs in the air. Her swing is effortless and has all of the shots. She needs reps vs. higher-level competition to get B1G ready, and that is why NTDP training and early enrollment will only help her, but she will be a 6-rotation athlete that you hear about on BTN in a couple of years and say, “Why does that name sound really familiar?” Playing out on the coast should be good for her and should be great for Oregon. In the end, this should be a very good fit for Eichert, who went through the entire EXPERIENCE, but don’t mistake us, the TALENT and COLLEGE CEILING is high.

​

#34 Leilani Lamar - Class of 2028 Outside - Club: A5 - Commit: UC

Lamar is already at 6’2” and plays a smooth Outside Hitter with an effortless attacking motion. Her Dream Team performance was as impressive as any ’28 OH in attendance and moved her up the national list. Playing with the A5 program, Lamar is a Florida prospect. It’s effortless watching her play, and she is a very good passer; it’s not just attacking that she excels at. I think that is an area that probably sets Lamar apart from others around her, in that you can see the difference in athleticism with the ease with which she accomplishes some of the tasks right now on the court, and also see the room she has to take her game to other levels. That is why she is getting the class nod currently and also why we think there is room for her to make a 10-12 spot jump inside the Top 25 in the next year and really push with the Elite 2029s we have mentioned.

​

#35 Blair Thiebuad - Class of 2026 Setter - Club: Houston Skyline - Commit: Louisville

Thiebaud has been WINNING people over the past 8 months or so. Already a regional favorite in her part of Texas, the soon-to-be Louisville Cardinal was selected for her first US National Team this past year and traveled with a group of peers as they took home a gold medal. It was Thiebaud’s first international competition with Team USA. We mentioned, last January, how much impressed we were after talking with her off the court during the Final Four as she watched her future school. Then her performance during the Winter NTDP was equally impressive during that training session. Fast forward to July, and Thiebaud and her stacked Houston Skyline 17s squad finally get the job done and go out on a high note as she leads them to the Open National Championship, and she makes All-American. All the while, more and more people started to talk about her narrowing the gap on the other top setters in the class and preferring her height and improving strength to others who were maybe favored 18 months ago. These traits should only continue to improve as Thiebaud continues to rep, train, and compete heading to Louisville, where she should get at least a little bit of time to learn and mentor with Nay Cabello before having to fully take over. Regardless it has been a year of W’s and improvements for the Card Commit.