vballrecruiter.com’s first season of high school coverage had us witnessing a dominant run by Cathedral Catholic of California, which dropped just one set in going undefeated and landing in the top spot of our final National HS Top 50 Rankings. It doesn’t get any easier or more straight-forward when it comes to anointing the mythical national champion than it did with Cathedral Catholic this fall.

If only our postseason awards were as easy! We are in holiday season which also means we are in award season for our national players of the year. Over the next few weeks we’ll be selecting and naming our Player of the Year for the senior, junior, sophomore and freshman classes.

First, let’s take a look at the process and what you can expect. We begin this week by naming our Player of the Year candidates, starting with the senior class Tuesday, juniors Wednesday, sophomores Thursday and freshmen Friday. The list is senior-heavy, as seniors typically are the ones leading their respective teams. For example, we have roughly 120 seniors listed below compared to roughly 40 freshmen who will be named.

The next step after announcing our candidates is to narrow the list to our Player of the Year finalists, beginning next week in which we’ll have more depth on each player and why they are a finalist. From there, we will name and award the Player of the Year for each class.

I’ve been handing out awards in some capacity for nearly 20 years. There is always a cutoff point and therefore there is always excitement and disappointment depending which side of that cutoff a player is on. This is a relative selective list that is of course subjective. There’s no way to make a list like this all-inclusive and we acknowledge that in a country as large as ours there are so many talented players who fly under the radar and may never receive press.

At the same time, we set forth to honor those we feel qualify for Player of the Year candidates.

Again, making a list like this is subjective. Here’s what we are ultimately looking for in our Player of the Year winners. It involves looking at three parts – the athlete, their impact on their team and the team’s overall success.

In terms of team success, it’s relative but we are looking for a deep run in the state playoffs. Take Highland Park of Texas for example. The Scots had a tremendous regular season – including beating eventual 6A champion Dripping Springs in the finale – but was upset by Guyer in the regional quarterfinals. By our definition that meant Highland Park didn’t make a deep enough run and as a result a player like senior outside Sydney Breon – who could have been a Player of the Year candidate – is not featured.

As for the impact an athlete had on their team, for a top player like Chloe Chicoine of McCutcheon (Indiana) it is quite obvious. She had an enormous impact and it’s just as obvious the Mavericks would not have had the season they did without her. This holds true of most all the top talented players like Chicoine. It’s much different to gauge with someone like Kyndal Stowers of Guyer. She missed more than half the season with injury but clearly her presence made a difference in the upset of Highland Park. Still, Stowers played less than half her team’s sets this fall and therefore she also won’t be featured below.

Then there’s the matter of the player, which we gave a few examples of above. Both Chicoine and Stowers are top-tier, 5-star players and that alone would have them in consideration if we looked at nothing else. But add the other two factors and you can see how a player like Chicoine is on the list and Stowers is not. The list, however, is not reserved just for players of that caliber. We took into consideration lower divisions and levels as well.

Finally, we present our Senior Player of the Year Candidates.

Aaliyah Mitchell SR OH Sun Valley NC

Abby Reck SR OH Northville MI

Abby Wachal SR OH Lincoln Lutheran NE

Abigail Lagemann SR OH Benton AR

Addison Hurst SR OH Cleveland TN

Alanna Bankston SR OH Millard West NE

Alexa Gobel SR OH Lincoln Southwest NE

Alexis Massey SR S/RS Las Cruces NM

Allie Hazelwood SR S Madison Central MS

Ally Cavanaugh SR OH Bishop Kenny FL

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Amaya Hall SR S Sun Valley NC

Amber Keen SR MB Reno NV

Anna Claire Froehlich SR OH St. Thomas More LA

Anna Grace Sparks SR OH McGill-Toolen AL

Ashley Reynolds SR S Venice FL

Ashley Sturzoiu SR OH Buford GA

Ava Blascziek SR S Lakeville North MN

Ava Hoying SR OH Bishop Watterson OH

Ava Jackson SR OH Dunbar KY

Ava Sarafa SR S Marian MI

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Avah Armour SR OH Rampart CO

Avery Burks SR OH Perry AZ

Avery Hobson SR OH HSE IN

Avery Van Hook SR S Marion IO

Betsy Goodenow SR RS Aquinas KS

Bre Mahoney SR OH Aiken SC

Brielle Kemavor SR MB Colgan VA

Brooke Bultema SR MB Ursuline Academy OH

Brooke Green SR MB Clearwater Central Catholic FL

Brooke Rockwell SR OH Fayetteville AR

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Brooke Stephens SR OH Hagerty FL

Brooklyn DeLeye SR OH Washburn Rural KS

Caitlyn Little SR OH Lafayette MO

Calli Tanielu SR OH Westminster Christian AL

Camryn Chatellier SR OH Dominican LA

Camryn Wise SR OH Wapahani IN

Caroline Jurevicius SR OH Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin OH

Cassidy Hartman SR OH Iowa City Liberty IO

Chloe Chicoine SR OH McCutcheon IN

Cindy Tchouangwa SR OH Tompkins TX

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Claire Dewine SR S/RS The Woodlands TX

Claire Little SR OH Vista Murrieta CA

Destiny Ndam-Simpson SR OH Omaha Westside NE

Drew Wright SR OH Mira Costa CA

Ella Sanders SR OH La Cueva NM

Ella Swindle SR S Rock Bridge MO

Ellie Schneider SR MB Metairie Park Country Day LA

Elsa Snipes SR OH Archie Williams

Emilee Hill S Yorktown IN

Emma Fairchild SR OH Westminster Christian MO

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Emma Sanders SR OH Wando SC

Erin McNair SR OH Valor Christian CO

Eryn Jones SR OH Millennium AZ

Grace Heaney SR RS Elkhorn North NE

Grace Mitchener SR OH NRCA NC

Grace Purichia SR S Providence IN

Hailey Brockway SR OH Graham-Kapwsin WA

Halle Schroder SR OH Reedy TX

Halle Vice SR OH Pleasant Valley IO

Harper Murray SR OH Skyline MI

***

Havanah Hoeft SR S St. Francis CA

Hayley Hillman SR MB Teurlings Catholic LA

Ireland McNees SR OH Mountain Ridge UT

Jalyn Stout SR S/RS Santa Fe FL

Jalynn Brown SR OH New Smyrna Beach FL

Jessica Horwath SR OH Barrington IL

Jordyn Byrd SR OH Cardinal Mooney FL

Jordyn Harvey SR OH Bountiful UT

Joya Screen SR OH North Gwinnett GA

Julia Blyashov SR OH Cathedral Catholic CA

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Jurnee Robinson SR OH Mauldin SC

Kait Wood SR MB Sheldon OR

Kalia Kohler SR S Lone Peak UT

Kate Goudreau SR OH St. Charles East IL

Katia Nikolic SR OH Lake Central IN

Kendal Murphy SR OH Horizon AZ

Kenna Wollard SR OH Illinois Valley Center IL

Kennedy Phelan SR S Fayetteville AR

Kierstyn Barton SR OH Corona del Sol AZ

Kinley Kerbs SR S Madison ID

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Kirsten Krammer SR OH Benet Academy IL

Kitty Sandt SR S Nazareth Academy IL

Lauren Yacobucci SR S Magnificat OH

Lexi Yoza SR S Notre Dame Prep AZ

Lily Dykstra SR OH Urbandale IO

Lindsay Walch SO MB Jensen Beach FL

Lindsey Green SR S Ursuline Academy OH

Lucy Perez SR OH Mountain View UT

Mackenzie Plante SR OH Dripping Springs TX

Madelyn Onan SR OH Edmond Memorial OK

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Madelyn Peterson SR OH New Smyrna Beach FL

Mak Carter SR MB Viera FL

Makayla Page SR OH Mt. Carmel LA

Maya Imoto-Eakin SR S ‘Iolani HI

Mia Tuman SR S North Allegheny PA

Milan Rex SR OH Alexandria City VA

Morgan Burke SR OH Skutt Catholic NE

Nayeli Gonzalez SR MB Cornerstone Christian TX

Neomi Beach SR OH Hamilton AZ

Olivia Babcock SR RS Sierra Canyon CA

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Paige May Giehtbrock SR OH Clarkston MI

Payton Woods SR OH Lake Creek TX

Reagan Fox SR OH St. Teresa’s Academy MO

Reagan McGee SR OH Norfolk Academy VA

Riley Roberts SR S/OH Norman North OK

Saren Rogers SR OH Victory Christian CA

Stella Adeyemi SR OH Papillion-LaVista South NE

Stella Winterfeld SR OH Western Christian IO

Sydney Bryant SR OH Flint Hill VA

Sydney Dunning SR OH Lamar CO

***

Sydney Mitchell SR OH Gulfport MS

Sydney Nolan SR OH Notre Dame Academy KY

Taliah Lee Sr OH Timpview UT

Tatum Lane SR S Palos Verdes CA

Taylor Polivka SR S Keller TX

Tess Fuqua SR OH Centennial NM

Torrey Stafford SR OH Marymount CA

Whitney Woodrow SR S Assumption KY