Once the calendar turns to April, the home stretch hits in terms of qualifying season. It’s officially crunch time, as teams without bids need to capitalize this month or else their hopes fall to the at-large process. If there is one. As of now, there are no at-larges in 17 Open. One of the most fun qualifiers of the season is ahead this weekend with Show Me in Kansas City. Below, we take a glance at the 15-17 Open divisions, list players to know, as well as offer up our predictions on the weekend.

17 OPEN

Number of Teams: 31

Number of Bids: 3

Previously-Qualified Teams (2): Hou Skyline 17 Royal; MAVS KC 17-1

Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11):

3. Hou Skyline 17 Royal TX
11. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno MI
17. Northern Lights 17-1 MN
18. Dynasty 17 Black KS
25. Adrenaline 17 Ben IA
30. MAVS KC 17-1 KS
35. GP 17 Rox FL
37. Austin Skyline 17 Royal TX
42. Academy 17 Tsunami IN
47. HPSTL 17 Royal MO
48. KC Power 17 Black KS

5-Star Players to Know:

Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 17-1
Amina N’diaye OH OT 17 Felix (Miami)
Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Kentucky)
Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal
Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Wake Forest)
Reese Messer S Dynasty 17 Black (USC)
Abigail Mullen RS Dynasty 17 Black (USC)
Lydia Chinchar RS No Name 17 Sarah (2027)

4-Star Players to Know:

Brookelyn Hatton L/DS MAVS KC 17-1 (Arizona)
Elena Maynulet OH GP 17 Rox (Columbia)
KK Green S/Rs GP 17 Rox (Holy Cross)
Taylor Porter RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Vanderbilt)
Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Baylor)
Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Florida International)
Mesaiya Bettis OH Northern Lights 17-1 (Iowa State)
Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 17 Mizuno (Cincinnati)
Ashlyn Paymal RS NE Elite 17 Mamba (Creighton)

Outlook: What sticks out is while Hou Skyline is the highest-ranked team in the field, the club already has its bid. After that, the highest-ranked teams in Mich Elite, Northern Lights, Dynasty and Adrenaline don’t have bids yet. All are looking at this weekend like it’s time to make it happen. However, the field has a lot of parity and that is going to make for mix-match results. With it, the seedings and pools are going to get topsy-turvy for Days 2 and 3. Teams are playing to get into one of two, four-team gold pools. The farthest trickle-down can reach is fifth-place. While I fully expect to see Hou Skyline make the top eight, there is no guarantee MAVS will. That could make things interesting in a hurry. The flip side is if both qualified teams make the gold pools, three of the remaining six will earn bids and that’ll make its own thrill of a ride.

Prediction: I see Hou Skyline taking care of business and leaving with the gold. Hou Skyline tops Northern Lights in the final. MAVS and Mich Elite tie for three, with Mich Elite earning a bid. Dynasty and KC Power play off for the final bid, with Dynasty prevailing.

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16 OPEN

Number of Teams: 39

Number of Bids: 3

Previously-Qualified Teams (4): Boiler Jrs 16 Gold; MN Select 16-1; HJV 16 Elite; Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar

Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11):

4. Skyline 16 Royal TX
8. Boiler Jrs 16 Gold IN
18. MN Select 16-1 MN
23. Pohaku 16-1 KS
24. HJV 16 Elite TX
34. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold NE
36. TAV Houston 16 Adidas TX
39. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar CA
41. OP2 16-1 Elite OK
42. Kairos 16 Alpha SD
49. OT 16 Roberto FL

5-Star Players to Know:

Rayna Christianson S/RS Northern Lights 16-1
Elena Hoecke MB MN Select 16-1
Ella Florez S Pohaku 16-1
Bennett Raterman MB HPSTL 16 Royal
Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (2027)

4-Star Players to Know:

Elle Vandeweghe MB Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar
Taylor Stanley RS Dynasty 16 Black
Sarah Hickman RS HJV 16 Elite
Katherine Byergo MB HPSTL 16 Royal
Sophia Stallworth MB OT 16 Roberto
Maddie Kraft L/DS Northern Lights 16-1
Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold
Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 16 Gold
Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold
Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold
Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 16 Gold
Eva Swenson S/RS MN Select 16-1
Willow Weninger RS Pohaku 16-1
Addison Haberthy S Circle City 16 Purple

Outlook: For starters, this looks to be the weekend for Skyline. After coming up a victory short at Sunshine, Skyline is the both the top seed and highest-ranked team in the field here. However it plays out, it stands to reason Skyline is going to be one of the three teams earning a bid. After that though, who knows? The next three of the four highest-ranked teams already have bids in Boiler Jrs, MN Select and HJV. Pohaku does not. But even if Pohaku is able to get it done, it still leads the last remaining bid up for grabs. Will it go to Premier Nebraska? Or TAV Houston or OP2 or OT Roberto? Or is an unranked team poised to surprise? The format calls for four, three-team gold pools on the last day of play. With four teams qualified, there are a number of ways this weekend could play out, but almost all of them will deliver plenty of drama.

Prediction: While I think Skyline will qualify, I’m picking Boiler Jrs to beat HJV in the final. Skyline and Pohaku tie for third to qualify. The last bid goes to TAV Houston outlasting Premier Nebraska in a winner-take-all meeting.

*****

15 OPEN

Number of Teams: 24

Number of Bids: 3

Previously-Qualified Teams (6): Skyline 15 Royal; OT 15 Randy; VCNebraska 15 Elite; Premier Nebraska 15 Gold; TAV 15 Black Fifer; NE Elite 15 Revolution

Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (11):

3. OT 15 Randy FL
4. Skyline 15 Royal TX
19. VCNebraska 15 Elite NE
20. TAV 15 Fifer TX
23. KC Power 15 Black KS
25. NE Elite 15 Revolution NE
30. MN Select 15-1 MN
34. Kairos 15 Alpha SD
35. PVA 15 Elite KS
38. Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite MO
41. Dynasty 15 Black KS

5-Star Players to Know:

Peyton Kubik S/RS Dynasty 15 Black
Shaye Witherspoon OH Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite

4-Star Players to Know:

McKinley Moser S VCNebraska 15 Elite
Clara Christ L/DS Northern Lights 15-1
Addison Otto S Northern Lights 15-1
Kaelyn Bjorklund S/RS Northern Lights 15-1
Sophia Puleo OH OT 15 Randy
Reagan Wallraff MB Premier Nebraska 15 Gold

Outlook: Qualifiers always come down to an amount of luck. Take Pool 1, which features top-seeded Skyline, the second-highest ranked team in the field from our Top 50 behind OT Randy. In the same pool with Skyline is MN Select and PVA. Both are ranked and neither have bids. With Skyline in the pool, it figures one of their weekends is going to end on Day 1 in terms of qualifying. That’s just how it goes sometimes, especially in a 24-team pool where half the teams appear in our Top 50. It’s a tough qualifier for that reason. It’s also difficult because there are six teams here with bids already. That means there is no guarantee that all three bids go out since trickle-down can’t extend past eighth place. The way the format is set up with two, three-team gold pools for Day 3, it’s possible we know the bids winners before play starts Monday. It’s also possible, though unlikely, all six teams with bids occupy those spots. That would push all the drama to the six-team silver bracket, where the two teams to reach the finals of the silver bracket would qualify.

Prediction: I really think Skyline and OT Randy will face off in the final. Skyline takes first. As for the bids, I think Kairos has a good weekend and ties for third with VCNebraska and qualifies. The last two bids go to KC Power and PVA.