2023 VolleyballMag.com Girls Fab 50: California, Texas lead with 8 picks each
Best of the Best
John Tawa
April 20, 2023
VolleyballMag.com is pleased to introduce the 2023 Girls Fab 50 list, the longest-running national awards platform that honors the top 50 senior-age players in the country.
This is the first time in a long while that this prestigious list has had my byline and I have been invited by the publishers of VolleyballMag.com to shape it as I see fit. Accordingly, it is part recruiting list and part achievement list. If you are a top recruit and your state’s high school Player of the Year, for instance, you’re part of the Fab 50. If you declined to play your senior year of high school, or were injured, then passed on club ball to enroll early at the university you signed with, you are not part of the Fab 50.
Everyone in between? Well, hard choices had to be made.
Everyone in the Fab 50 is a top 100 recruit, but not everyone in the top 50 is Fab 50. The Fab 50 includes 25 pin hitters, 12 middles, eight setters and five liberos. California and Texas lead the way with eight selections apiece, followed by Ohio with four and Missouri with three. Five other states — Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Nebraska — had two apiece. Traditional Midwest power states Illinois and Indiana each had just one. Georgia, which has been a breeding ground for top talent the past decade, did not have any.
WAVE, Coast and Alamo tied for the most Fab 50 picks with three each. Undefeated national champions Cathedral Catholic of San Diego had two Fab 50 selections, as did No. 2 Cornerstone Christian of San Diego.
Which college scored recruiting coups in this class? Nebraska inked five, including four in the top 10. They will be the cornerstone of Nebraska’s future. 2020 national champion Kentucky as second with four, while last ear’s national champion Texas is one of four schools, along with Oregon, Pitt and Purdue, to sign three apiece.
The top player in the class came down to outsides Harper Murray and Chloe Chicoine, and setter Bergen Reilly, a South Dakotan. Those three, plus four more, all were in the discussion for the No. 1 spot. Murray, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, got the nod because of her all-around game, athleticism and love of the game. But it was SUPER CLOSE!
Finally, at the very bottom, I have included 10 exciting players in each of the ensuing three class years that will likely be Fab 50 when they are seniors. If you don’t know them now, trust me, you will eventually.
Alex Acevedo
2023 VolleyballMag.com Fab 50
Alex Acevedo, 6-2 OH, Skyview (Nampa, Idaho), NPJ, Oregon
Taylor Anderson
Taylor Anderson, 6-0 S, Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas), Alamo, Purdue
Olivia Babcock/Jose Montanez photo
Olivia Babcock, 6-5 RS, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California), Sunshine, Pittsburgh Blaire Bayless, 6-2 OH, Plano West (Plano, Texas), Madfrog, Pittsburgh
Julia Bylashov
Julia Blyashov, 6-3 OH, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, California), WAVE, Stanford
Eloise Brandewie
Eloise Brandewie, 6-3 MB, Bishop Hartley (Columbus, Ohio), Mintonette, Ohio State Brooklyn Briscoe, 6-4 MB, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, California), Coast, UCLA
Brook Bultema
Brooke Bultema, 6-3 MB, Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio), Elevation, Kentucky Nya Bunton, 6-3 MB, DuPont Manual (Louisville, Kentucky), KiVA, Texas
Chloe Chicoine, 5-9 OH, McCutcheon (Lafayette, Indiana), Circle City, Purdue Laney Choboy, 5-4 libero, Leesville Road (Raleigh, North Carolina), NC Academy Diamond, Nebraska
Saige Damrow
Saige Damrow, 5-9 libero, Howards Grove (Wisconsin), FC Elite, Wisconsin
Brielle Kemavor, 6-5 MB, Charles J. Colgan (Manassas, Virginia), Metro, BYU Harley Kreck, 6-0 S, Rains (Emory, Texas), Dallas Skyline, Baylor Lakin Laurendine, 6-2 OH, Jackson Academy (Jackson, Mississippi), Infinity, Auburn Claire Little, 6-3 OH, Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, California), Coast, BYU Kennedy Martin, 6-7 OH, Nation Ford (Fort Mills, South Carolina), CJV, Florida Calissa Minatee, 6-1 MB, North Kansas City (Missouri), Dynasty, Minnesota
Ashley Mullen, left, and Calissa Minatee
Ashley Mullen, 5-10 S, Liberty (Missouri), Dynasty, UCLA Kendal Murphy, 6-3 OH, Horizon (Scottsdale, Arizona), AZ Revolution, Baylor
Cayla Payne, 6-3 MB, Carlsbad (California), WAVE, Colorado
Kennedy Phelan
Kennedy Phelan, 5-8 S, Fayetteville (Arkansas), Ozark Juniors, Florida State
Bergen Reilly
Bergen Reilly, 6-1 S, O’Gorman (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Kairos Elite, Nebraska Reese Robins, 6-5 MB, Timberview (Arlington, Texas), Drive Nation, Louisville
Jurnee Robinson
Jurnee Robinson, 6-0 OH, Mauldin (South Carolina), A5, Louisiana State
Eva Rohrbach
Eva Rohrbach, 6-3 MB, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, California), WAVE, Maryland Ava Sarafa, 6-0 S, Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan), Michigan Elite, Kentucky
Sydney Schnichels
Sydney Schnichels, 6-4 OH, Willmar (Minnesota), MN Select, Minnesota
Kamden Schrand
Kamden Schrand, 5-6 libero, Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Kentucky), Tri-State, Louisville Torrey Stafford, 6-3 OH, Marymount (Los Angeles, California), Sunshine, Pittsburgh Ella Swindle, 6-3 S, Rock Bridge (Columbia, Missouri), KC Power, Texas Ava Testrake, 6-3 OH, Olathe West (Olathe, Kansas), KC Power, Creighton Mia Tuman, 6-0 S, North Allegheny (Wexford, Pennsylvania), Pittsburgh Elite, Ohio State Molly Tuozzo, 5-7 libero, The Woodlands (Texas), Houston Skyline, Kentucky Zeta Washington, 6-2 Â MB, Ponte Vedra (Florida), OTVA Jacksonville, Cincinnati Hannah Whittingstall, 6-2 MB, Alamo Heights (San Antonio, Texas), Alamo, SMU
Karis Willow
Karis Willow, 6-4 OH, Liberty-Benton (Findlay, Ohio), Elite, Penn State
Top 5 Players in the Class of 2023
1. Harper Murray (Legacy, Michigan) 2. Bergen Reilly, (Kairos Elite, South Dakota) 3. Chloe Chicoine, (Circle City, Indiana) 4. Andi Jackson, (The Diff, Colorado) 5. Torrey Stafford, (Sunshine, California)
Thirty underclassmen to watch
Class of 2024 Ayden Ames, 6-4 Jr. MB/OH, Prosper (Texas), Drive Nation, Nebraska Favor Anyanwu, 6-2 Jr. MB, Sachse (Texas), TAV, USC Hannah Benjamin, 6-2 Jr. OH/RS, Fidelis Christian (Cumming, Georgia). A5, Kentucky Charlie Fuerbringer, 5-11 Jr. S, Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, California), Mizuno Long Beach, Wisconsin Morgan Gaerte, 6-4 Jr. OH, Angola (Indiana), Team Pineapple, Notre Dame Skyler Pierce, 6-2 Jr. OH, Olathe Northwest (Olathe, Kansas), Dynasty, Nebraska Alec Rothe, 6-3 Jr. MB, Scioto (Dublin, Ohio), Elite, Florida Emerson Sellman, 6-4 Jr. OH, Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, Maryland), Metro of DC, Ohio State Izzy Starck, 6-1 Jr. S/OH, Rampart (Colorado Springs, Colorado), Colorado Juniors, Penn State Stella Swenson, 6-1 Jr. S, Wayzata (Minnesota), MN Select, Minnesota Class of 2025 Mackenzie Collins, 6-1 Soph. MB, Cedar Creek (Texas), Houston Juniors Kaci DeMaria, 6-4 Soph. OH, Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates, California), Surfside Campbell Flynn, 6-3 Soph. S, Mercy (Birmingham, Michigan), Legacy Asia Harvey, 6-0 Soph. OH, Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Georgia), A5 Taylor Harvey, 6-2 Soph. MB, Bountiful (Utah), Club V Reese Messer, 5-11 Soph. S, St. James (Lenexa, Kansas), Dynasty Abigail Mullen, 6-2 Soph. RS, Liberty (Missouri), Dynasty Teraya Sigler, 6-2 Soph. OH, Horizon (Scottsdale, Arizona), AZ Storm Cari Spears, 6-3 Soph. OH, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), TAV Abby Vander Wal, 6-3 Soph. OH, Timothy Christian (Elmhurst, Illinois), 1st Alliance Class of 2026 Henley Anderson, 6-4 OH, Dripping Springs (Texas), Austin Performance Gigi Artiles, 6-3 OH, Westminster Christian (Miami, Florida) , Tribe Makenna Crosson, 6-0 OH, Campolindo (Moraga, California), NorCal Gabby DiVita, 6-2 OH, Grosse Pointe South (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan), Legacy Audrey Flanagan, 6-2 OH, Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, California), SCVC Genevieve Harris, 5-11 S, Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, North Carolina), NC Academy Sarah Hickman, 6-4 RS, Stratford (Houston, Texas), Houston Juniors Isabelle Hoppe, 5-8 S, Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania), Pittsburgh Elite Kayla Nwaubeze, 6-2 MB, Bloomfield Hills (Michigan), Legacy Halle Thompson, 6-0 OH, Grand Oaks (Spring, Texas), Houston Skyline
