The Breakdown: July 11th Buy or Sell the B1G and latest updates in the Class of '28

The Daily Report

Breakdown of Recruiting 

The Class of 2028

July 11th 

Grading the B1G and 

Big Commits Continue

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We take on the never-win task of Buy/Sell the Big Kahuna the B1G Conference Classes up until today and we take a look at some of the most recent signings as there have been some very big ones lately, as Camp Week 2 comes to a close.

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From the “We will shut your mouth” Department how bout them Tigers. Now in my own defense I did say SELL them “FOR NOW” meaning I expected this class to not be done. No longer did the world wide web send out our newest Daily Report to our subscribers yesterday, then old Clemson Tiger Nation told us we could stick our little Buy/Sell prediction right where the Gamecocks go when the pass on! BOOM what a day for Clemson VB landing one of the biggest prospects out West and a perfect fit in their program, Nevada’s own Audrey Sutherland. Sutherland has the highest of ceilings and does have some USA VB experience, but does not have a lot of high level volleyball training yet, so getting to college will be water through a firehouse. We have followed her recruiting closely and this is a kid that has a bit of a chip and is a hard worker she literally needs to be shown the right way to train hard and to compete at the next level. This is just another great commit in line with what Clemson did all last season. BUY CLEMSON.

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Top Recent IMPACT Commits

1 Gracie White - Middle - Texas - Dallas Skyline - 96.8 PPV - Rice Commit

This is a huge home state lockdown for Rice and White can be a day 1 difference maker for the Owls. We had her on the radar of a few Top 10 programs and had her going to anyone outside of the Top 7. White was very successful at the Open Level and has all of the NTDP experience so she has played vs. all of the top players in the land. This a huge name that can come in and play day 1 for the Owls.

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2 Molly Monday - Oklahoma - Florida - 95.4 PPV - Oklahoma Commit

Great for Oklahoma and this big time addition for them and Monday should have every shot at competing day 1 for PT when she gets to Norman and my GUESS would be that is the plan signing her. We have talked on Molly multiple times this year about the growth she made at Tribe in her 1st year at the OPEN level and that growth will continue next year and beyond. Monday was looked at by multiple Top 20 programs so the talent and potential is definitely there. Huge get for the Sooners!

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3 Landry McCrae - Setter - Texas - Excel - 92.8 PPV - Cal Baptist University Commit

Now either every ranking site was way off on McCrae or CBU got one heck of a deal on the Excel setter, who also put up earth-shattering #s at her Texas HS. She came into the club season on a media high after a media filled prep season and ranked very, very high by multiple sites. CBU still gets a very solid leader who has played in many big matches at the Texas Prep level and been a winner for a couple of season now. We will have to wait and see how she continues to perform moving on the the bigger stage.

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4 Amiya Bryant - MB - Texas - TAV Houston - 89.8 PPV - USF

USF picks up a leaper and an athlete that has played a lot of high level volleyball in grabbing Bryant. Someone touching over 127” and her push over is effortless.

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5 Audrey Sutherland - OH - Nevada - 92.4 PPV - Clemson

Obviously love this commit read about it above, but Sutherland has a great chance to develop for a year and then make a big impact at Clemson. She needs to learn the speed and training of the college game, but she is going to blow up when she hits campus. Love all about this commit.

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6 Eden Knapp - MB - Florida - OTVA - 89.8 - Houston

Knapp is a solid MB out of Florida and had a great club season. She does many things well on the court. The jury was out on her a little bit and that is why Houston was able to get her. She needs to improve her vertical game and get quicker off the ground to be more effective on her block and getting her attacks off at the college level, but if she does that she will be a steal for Houston and her PPV will rise.

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7 Ava Kiernan - Setter - Michigan - MI Elite - 91.8 PPV - UCF

For a 2nd year in a row a MI Elite Setter goes under the radar and a building program grabs them. Kiernan can be that person to build a team around because she is SOLID fundamentally, not flashy. She is coachable and a good teammate. Just a solid pickup who will help and fit in at the college level from day 1 at UCF.

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BUY or SELL the B1G Recruiting Classes 2028:

Now these again are up to the standards of the program. You have to remember you are dealing with a few of the largest budgets in all of the sport so they should land the top prospects every year, no excuses. It’s a shock when the DON’T, not when the do. So we hold them to a much different standard than, well the others. Then as we work our way down the conference, buying and selling is simply about are you making a serious move to competitively move up the ladder. I understand as well as anyone in the sport how hard it is to move upward in the B1G, but I also know what programs are making progress and what programs are digressing from where they once were. Your administration might not care, but at least here we are going to look at it.

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1 Nebraska: BUY

As soon as Rautenberg said YES it was a BUY class and grabbing the athlete you have in Hodges is great weapon to have for to play around with so this is a talented class. Samuels was convenient to have right there waiting to grab at #2 and it is easy to say “well we really didn’t need Haffner”, but they wanted her.

The Huskers dominated upfront and got EXACTLY what they wanted and they didn’t reach on a pin in this class either. The whole world knows the Kari Sweepstakes are coming up. But, they did battle their bitter rivals 2x times in this class and Hook ‘em won those battles. So while Nebraska dominates the B1G, Texas is still an equal when it comes to recruiting and yes we know the Husker class is our #1 class by a couple tenths of a PPV pt. today, but that will go back and forth until graduation because their classes are just that close. Still BUY Nebraska.

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2 Wisconsin: SELL

Now take this for what it’s worth. You could count the fact that added Decelise Champion as a 2026 at the last minute so maybe that was like signing an OH on the 15th???

They got Taylor Freeland, who many thought was BYU or Texas A+M or nothing and she is a freak athlete full of nothing, but high end potential for Sheffield to work with and mold into a baller. Word is he really likes her because her dad is a FB coach and her brother is a NFL veteran! (I know that’s one of the reason I love her) so Freeland is probably enough to BUY this class, but I have to hold Wisconsin to more. They wanted Taimane Ainu’u bad and didn’t get her and that stings a bit and they brought in every libero they could to prospect camp and either didn’t pull the trigger or they went another direction so that’s why I’m selling, but again with these top programs it really doesn’t matter one bit if they miss on prospects in high school because they can buy them in the portal in 3 years if they still like them. So prospect camp was more like a minor league tryout to take initial notes on many of the girls.

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3 Penn State: BUY

The MB that recommitted was an unfortunate deal, but doesn’t hurt Penn State at all I don’t believe long term. It would have looked better on paper, but they didn’t necessarily need that for the roster long-term and the class of 29 is fairly talented if you haven’t peaked ahead. Penn State came into this class with very low expectations because they had back-to-back monster classes and frankly it’s hard to continue to stockpile major talent for financial and roster limit reasons. Libero was the #1 position and they went out aggressively and landed that ASAP and got their #1 option so that has to be a W for them. The Burrage situation is just a crafty recruiting saga that worked out perfectly for Nittany Lion fans and if you would have asked me at 10 PM on June 14th does that girl go to Penn State I would have said 20% chance yes, but credit that one to the Penn State staff that was truly a recruiting battle Won and that is a huge bonus for this class and prospect who needs work on her passing skills couldn’t have gone to a better program where she is needed to pass less in her early career than State College. She has time to develop and they can figure out a role for her strengths. BUY Penn State.

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4 Illinois: BUY

Nailed it! Love what Coach Tams did and who he did it with. Shot a level about their Prestige Level and landed some legit prospects and landed them right in their own backyard which I think is huge for a few reasons. Tatum Kelly was so big I think and it set a bright tone early. 1st Alliance had been a Badger pipeline and to grab Kelly a very popular national name I just felt was a statement. Then taking Kolby Ross an athletic more unpolished, project OH from Adversity same thing. Another local kid with huge upside! Just love that you have two B1G backyard girls with grit and big ten skill sets. BUY Illinois.

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5 Indiana: Sale Pending

Piper Coady is a HUGE W if she sticks in Bloomington and develops I love this and she is getting a bump in our next update. This is a huge sign for the Hoosiers and I loved this news as soon as I heard it.

Sale pending comes from the last two prospects in the Hoosiers class. With Niu and Magdi you have prospects that definitely look the part, but are still unproven vs. the highest level of competition. Now Charli Niu will be the Setter for TAV next season so she is going to get the reps in that pressure cooker which will help her maturation for sure. If Niu can be “the next” setter and ready to take over at IU then this class is for sure a BUY and a huge W for for the Hoosiers because Coady should be an All-Freshman potential player. Then anything they get from the Canadian based Magdi is icing on the cake. Sale Pending Indiana 

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6 Iowa: BUY

The Hawkeyes need 1 of the 2 Libs to end up being their Lib for multiple years and they need 1 or both pins to contribute for this to be a BUY. Now I’m telling you they have a HAMMER in Alexis Vermeer oh my. That girl doesn’t get cheated when she swings. You will know her quickly, watch out. This is a step up for Iowa. BUY Iowa.

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7 Michigan: BUY

Two very solid classes in a row for Michigan and Coach Virtue. Not only that there was an abundance of talent at their camp. They had options and it’s getting better each year for the Wolverines. Nlonna Okwaru is loved by some as MB so others have her much higher than we do. Then you have Avery Minor from MN who is another solid B1G type player with room to definitely grow and develop which is this staffs speciality and Ava Lazar another player with a PPV over 90 giving the Wolverines 3 for this class to go with two more last year. Very solid, high talent group coming to Ann Arbor again. BUY Michigan.

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8 Michigan State: SELL

This was tough because I love this staff and I really like a couple of these players also. Admittedly they took a couple that I’m not real familiar with and PPV’s could change later on, but for now they just had a much more impressive class last season. I will say Hatlevig is a player that I/we love as a staff and can be built into a B1G player eventually, but I would look at her as a #3 player in a class for a top team. Then again I think Dan O’Keefe and KK know a heck of a lot more than I do about their needs and situation. SELL Michigan State

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9 Minnesota: BUY

The Gophers grabbed one of my favorite bros in the Southeast and one of my favorite OH’s in the country. Now Katie Mitchell might not be able to sky over the tallest block and win you a natty by herself, but 1 she would die trying and two she would figure out a way to hit around or through that block if she had to. She is just a player and hard-nosed the people of MN will love these two and Benjamin is so solid playing behind those stars in the front wall for A5.  Coach Cook grabbed two just gritty, but talented players who love the game and have the talent to be very special. Love the class. BUY Minnesota.

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10 Ohio State: SELL

It hasn’t looked like with last year’s class all decommitting and the trouble there has been at Ohio State recruiting wise the past few years, but there is plenty of $ at Ohio State to bring in talent. That is what is so confusing with the Buckeyes, location, facilities, conference and money all work for them. Now the talent at select camp was much improved this year and they had better players on campus and they did get two signs right away with Chitty and Powell and both of them are solid players and from big name clubs, but when you are trying to move up and your rivals (Michigan and IU even Iowa or Northwestern) are bringing in more B1G ready talent it’s hard to move up 1-2 spots let alone several which is where OSU fans should expect that program to be at. Again, we have never ever talked with anyone from OSU so have zero clue what they are trying to do there. Maybe they are going to bring in a full-set of Euro transfers, but the prep recruiting the last couple of years won’t help them move up enough. SELL Ohio State

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11 Rutgers: BUY

Different program than OSU with different finances and I really like how Rutgers used what they have this year and went out and grabbed; first off one of the biggest potential MB/OPP in the midwest in Leighton Froehlich. Now she has a ways, but if the work ethic is there and she trains like she’s capable and can hammer the weight room and then Rutgers landed a HUGE RECRUIT who many think can do very big things at any level in college.

Brooklyn Horton from TAV much the same way a very high ceiling athlete, but has shown more already and obviously has played alot more high-level volleyball than Froehlich at this point. Has the power and strength she needs the quickness and explosiveness in her game to get to an elite level, but it’s there for sure.

Kawakami DS/L out of Hawaii is another undervalued pickup that Rutgers landed who again should outperform evaluations and give them quite a bit of solid production in their gym and produce on match nights.

BUY Rutgers because of the value they picked up for their budget and situation they went and added some very high potential athletes that have potential to increase the talent level in the gym and when you are building….that is ALWAYS Step 1.

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12 Purdue: SELL

I know I never get on the Purdue bandwagon we simply don’t hear much chatter from recruits on Purdue all year. Coach Shondell had a rebirth last year with his transfer deep squad and took them to the Elite 8 and he is fired up about coaching again and he is always fired up about Purdue. HIs Boilers are going to be in the Sweet 16 race every season. I just think he is going to find 1-2 girls that like his old-school hard nosed coaching style and then will be a portal program for however long he coaches. Most of their talent will come from bringing in athletes that are ready and fit their system. For this class Gandy does that she is a physical front-row player and has a hammer. She has an intimidating block and takes away many passing lanes with her block. She isn’t afraid to be coached hard and plays with a chip. She is a Purdue commit for sure. Purdue just isn’t going to wow you at the recruiting game, but their program will in the Fall. SELL Purdue.

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13 Northwestern: BUY

If you have followed our coverage at all this Spring you know we love what Coach Nolann is doing in Chicago at Northwestern and honestly think they are possibly the hottest program in the conference. For sure the hottest program that no one is talking about, again when we buy our sell we look at individual programs and resources, plus where they started. Two years ago when coach and his staff arrived you want to talk about “the cupboard is bare” every commit took off and athletes on the team took off, there was nothing there for him. What they have done last yr in their first full class and now in their second has been very applaudable to watch from a distance as they construct.

As they headed to June I thought they still needed BIGS, middles and POWER arms. Getting the transfer of Dunkle from Stanford was HUGE and then grabbing a ’27 transfer at camp also, but this class continued addressing that need.

Piper Pease: Just a cannon on the RS from Texas and we love this kid have for two years now. She has always been an underdog so she will have no problem coming the the Wildcats and firing bombs vs. Nebraska and Penn State and taking her lumps and learning. She is on bonus time and knows she is improving is fortunate and hungry for this opportunity.

Keaney we don’t know as well, but people we have asked on her give us similar reports about the MB another of the Hawaiian prospects from Spike and Serve this year that have continued on to D1 and coming to the mainland. She is going to battle and compete daily. Strong block already that will give opponents a hard time and has to continue to play more vertical as the B1G game goes higher and higher.

So Northwestern’s grade is more a reflection of ALL the great summer moves they have made to ad more talent/depth/competition to their gym, which will all lead to better things on the court for the program. BUY Northwestern.

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14 USC: BUY

Now before I went and saw Brad at USA Nationals I’m not sure what this score might have been and then as we are there and talking he lands two more commits that change the complexion of their class quite a bit.

Lana Frelix is a Cali kid that was highly evaluated and liked by many top programs in the country so keeping her at home was a big W for the Trojans.

Jazzy Ojo is another Opp that is said to have position flexibility and be able to play on either pin which is key as USC has to get two contributors out of this class for it to be a success. Ojo is said to be a long and athletic pin with power and all the shots already, again we don’t know a lot about her bc of her club, but liked the bits we saw at nationals. She isn’t the instant impact player other top B1G programs have, but she can be developed into one.

Kubik is the other OH from KC and of course comes from the long line of sisters who have played D1 volleyball ahead of her. Jensen is listed as the true OH in the class and if SC gets early help from her this class is an A+ for the Trojans. BUY USC

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15 UCLA: SELL

Now we like this class way more than people on VT do apparently, but I’ll try and explain why I’m selling. First off Norah Hollis will probably be the Colorado Player of the Year. She was the best recruit two years ago before a leg injury kept her out for a year and kudos to her team for limiting her play last year as she returned slowly to give her extra time to make sure she healed fully. Now that also made her disappear from the recruiting radar of several top programs a bit, but UCLA stayed on her and they also realize it will be 4 years post injury by the time she steps on campus so just watch for her name to begin reappearing in the near future.

The rest of the club goes to the heart of the Midwest and establishes some recruiting base for the Bruins in that area, but I’m not sure the talent helps them track down anyone ahead of them in the Big Ten standings which is what they need to do. But, new head coach long range plan maybe Matt Werle has other things first? The players are solid and coming from clubs like Circle City they are trained well they just might not have long-term talent projection to move spots over a conference that continues to get deeper at all levels.

However, I do love what Werle is committing to and sticking with their commits and players if at all possible and being much less portal active than previously. But, that will make two things important; landing top in-state prospects and recruiting as aggressively as possible. For as great as last June was, SELL UCLA.

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16 Oregon: SELL

Now again I don’t know what the status is of their current roster and maybe they need to go after the portal heavy, but after last season and the start this program had and really making a splash I just continued and encore performance. Watkins can hammer a volleyball and is a raw talent that has been helped immensely by the USA NTDP series, but is still very raw. Great for Oregon to take this shot hear. There is just much unproven still with Watkins and the Coast-to-Coast from home is tough. I would have looked for them to still added another piece to their program, even a depth player they could get? So maybe this is a “Sell for now” and they will do what Clemson did and add to this class and it will drastically upgrade? I just expected them to add another weapon or even 2 with all of their momentum from last year and how well the new staff did in their first tour. SELL Oregon.

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Still so much recruiting taking place. We will start getting recaps of Jr. Camps and how prospects felt those went and how scouts felt prospects fared at those events coming up in the next week to ten days. Plenty of more Camp Coverage still to come on VBAdrenaline this Summer.

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Class Clout:

Our stat man hasn’t officially put all the class #s through the cruncher machine, but just taking a gut feeling here at how the conferences are faring in 2028 recruiting:

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1. B1G we tried to give this to someone else, but we couldn’t . The conference has 6 teams on the front page of our Class Rankings (again don’t throw stones we are the only ones that posts exactly how we do our class rankings). Even the coaches can’t agree on a right way to do them. The crazy thing is this is WITHOUT Wisconsin on the front page.

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2.  ACC three cheers for conference depth. Five teams on Page One and surprisingly we have Stanford as the 5th of those teams and they have a hell of a class. Now where the conference still struggles is getting a couple more teams to get to competitiveness. UNC is there and if they could get to Sweet 16 level. Then I think ACC is every bit as tough as the B1G is right now. Then the trick is getting 1 or hopefully 2 more of the rest of the pack to commit to VB and make a leap to a consistent round of 32 program every year.

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3.  SEC where is the depth? You have the state of Texas/Texas A+M and then we have LSU with a second solid class, but then the SEC gets shut out of the front page. UK only having one commit and a DS at that doesn’t help this year (even though one popular instagram site that everyone loves thought that one commit thought that was enough for #3) Georgia had another solid class just not average wise and Florida isn’t Florida anymore.

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4.  Big XII Kansas gets them on the board (or the front page) with TCU, Colorado and Baylor solid 2nd pagers even though I feel like I let you all down building up TCU for this MONSTER CLASS and them being 19 is mehhh.

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5.  Conference USA with Western Kentucky landing a couple of Tennessee sleepers that won’t be by the time 17s season comes around.