The Recap: July 1-10

The Week Recap in Recruiting: The Open Period Class of 2027

No question the staff shout-out is going to South Carolina. How do you not love the class first-year head coach Sarah Rumely Noble has put together? They overachieved prestige-wise at every commit thus far, and I’m not sure they haven’t had two of the biggest recruiting W’s in the entire class with Riley Riggs and now Laura Adel today. Adel was on the shortlist of two B1G schools and 2 ACC schools for sure. She is big and physical, and if she plays for an American club, she is going to a much different school. Then throw in a bro that was getting looks from numerous ACC and SEC front runners and you have an A+ grade fro the Gamecocks class.

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One trend emerging is that the Rev Share Era may be particularly challenging for traditional private schools that also offer higher academic standards. They will need additional financial revenue allotments from their universities to maintain their current level. The “reputation” alone might not be enough to get it done anymore. That is showing a little bit in this year’s class already.

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Kansas State is another program that is impressing in 2027 and setting itself up for potential future success. I stated previously that it’s a program that needs to get recruits on campus to get them to commit, so the camp route is enormous. They have added another piece to the 2027 class in Iowa Select Middle, Allison Toft. The bigger excitement for Wildcat faithful might have been the 2028 faces at select camps this past week. Piper Pease, first and foremost, we interviewed her the night before her trip, and it wasn’t a casual visit; she was excited to get there. The visitors' list was impressive. I’m telling you, go and look, the facilities are first class all the way.

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I thought Colorado made a couple of really nice moves, and the best was picking up Oppo Aspen Brown of Houston Skyline. Yes, she went down late in the year with a knee injury that will probably sideline her for most, if not all, of her 17s season, but was scored as high as #2 or #3 Opp by some in the class, and Colorado picks her up for little or nothing. This is a genius commitment for the Buffs with enormous upside potential for them. I also appreciate the solid pickup of Peyton Beard by AVC Cleveland, as they're getting a player from a big club who has played in open and a lot of volleyball.

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Ok, a segment we loved doing last year. The Top 10 OH MYs of the Class So Far

Good or Shocking: The Top 10 Verbals that made you do a double-take and grab your cell and text someone when you saw it in the 2027 class.

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1.  The California Craziness - McIntosh then Matavao

Even though it might have been too late for East Coasters to grab their phone and text when it happened, it was crazy. When McIntosh made the USC move, that was a bit shocking in its own right, and about the time you wrapped your head around that and that had just happened…..BOOM, here comes the Matavao news, and then it was on. No sleep in LA.

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2. Livings Double Take to the Bayou. We said watch LSU, they want to make a splash with this class. We thought the 12:05 AM setter from Florida, or Nailah Randle and her super hero vertical jump, is what the Tiger Staff meant by a splash… but nope, to top it off, they have a big old giant twin-sized Texas Cannonball waiting. The Livings Twins from TAV to finish off a fantastic class and athletic crew that should have Tiger Nation ready to roar in 2027. Malorie

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3. Boesiger- Nebraska - Setter - Word had just come out that Nebraska was passing on a setter altogether after they had moved on from Sophee Peterson. I was talking to my mom on the phone, and then the kind of activity my phone started having could only mean that Nebraska got a commit or John Cook retired again.

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4. Keilani Ledaja-Brewer - Louisville - OH - When you are as sought after as KLB was, all kinds of talk is swirling. This was the Cards #1 at OH, but she was many others as well.  

5. Marlie Smith - North Carolina - Setter - I had just texted someone saying “ugh I have no clue where she is going, but you know how much I think of the kid.” 15 minutes later. BOOM Carolina

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6. Boston College’s Triple Play Sunday: Maybe I’m the only one getting pumped up about Eagle VB right now, but it was during off-day at nationals and Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching, your BC Eagles are ponied up and ready to play some volleyball, ladies and gentlemen 

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7. Lansing becomes Minneapolis East before I can even get my popcorn ready on the 15th. Kirsten Kelsey pulls her best Tom Izzo (reference Big MBB recruiting of past 20 years) and grabs her first two recruits from Minnesota to head to Michigan State, with Ellery DeBoer and Cora Bicknese.

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8. Wolverines keep a big one home: Maggie Kurpeikis had been as hot a name as there was in the Midwest in the last 6 weeks of recruiting. So when she picked Michigan over several other Top 25 offers, it was a “huh” moment, but it ended up being the biggest recruit in the current staff’s tenure and started a solid class. Still, it made you text someone and say, “Did you see that?”

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9. Simic heads to Illinois… when Chris Tamas drove alongside a tornado to make a home visit, you knew it was an important recruit. Sofia Simic's commitment to Illinois was one of the more surprising in the Midwest this Summer, and the coach certainly earned it. A rotation dynamic threat with year 1 potential pt for Illinois. Going to take much more than a tiny G3 to make a guy who's coached in a Final Four turn around.

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10. Peyton Kubik - Pitt - OH/Opp - Word had swirled on what Pitt’s next move would be, and also where Kubik would land. Would Pitt get Kubik and go for McIntosh? Would they only take McIntosh? Would Kubik stay in the Midwest? So when she was a Panther, it was buzzworthy.

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 As I have mentioned, we have made a concerted effort to refine our Recruiting Coverage this June, focusing on giving shout-outs to as many college programs as possible and promoting their initiatives, including the athletes they are recruiting. We aim to highlight college programs and tag them, hoping to engage more fans, as many programs could benefit from increased support.

We also know that it is much easier to work with some programs because they are simply more appreciative and just nicer to work with, given what we are trying to do. Being a good person takes about 5 seconds, and, in the grand scheme of things, volleyball still is a very, very small sport in the American landscape. More college coaches should genuinely appreciate anyone who tries to promote their sport to the general public in any way, shape, or form.

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So, as I wrap up this edition, here is a shout-out to the staff who have taken those 5 seconds to be decent humans and say thank you in some way, and we will continue to do what we can to find more ways to promote your programs:

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Creighton (several times)

Louisville (several times)

Georgetown (great meeting you, coach)

Nebraska

Michigan State

Vanderbilt

Alabama

UCLA

Texas 

Texas A+M

Baylor

SMU (beautiful facilities coach)

Kansas State

Northern Iowa

LSU

Illinois

Pitt

Indiana

Penn State

Clemson (thank you for the nice words)

University of South Dakota