Battleground States: Virginia

Battleground States: Virginia

We are back with another edition of Battleground States. The series where we go over the top commits in the deepest state recruiting classes. We discuss the possibilities of where they could commit this June and the trends of the previous years. This week we move to Virginia, however this will include the DC area as well, DC has been one of the bright recruiting hotspots over the past year, so we are excited to dive in. Virginia and DC are home to 18 D1 schools

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State of Virginia Division 1 Programs (18)

• sGeorge Mason University (A10)- Fairfax, VA
• Hampton University (CAA)- Hampton, VA
• James Madison University (Sun Belt)- Harrisonburg, VA
• Liberty University (C-USA)- Lynchburg, VA
• Longwood University (Big South)- Farmville, VA
• Norfolk State University (MEAC)- Norfolk, VA
• Old Dominion University (Sun Belt)- Norfolk, VA
• Radford University (Big South)- Radford, VA
• University of Richmond (A10)- Richmond, VA
• Virginia Commonwealth (A10)- Richmond, VA
• University of Virginia (ACC)- Charlottesville, VA
• Virginia Military Institute (Southern)- Lexington, VA
• Virginia Tech University (ACC)- Blacksburg, VA
• William & Mary (CAA)- Williamsburg, VA
• American University (Patriot)- Washington, DC
• George Washington University (A10)- Washington, DC
• Georgetown University (Big East)- Washington, DC
• Howard University (MEAC)- Washington, DC

Virginia and Virginia Tech are the only Power 5 teams in the state, but neither ha had much success, James Madison was a 7 seed in last year's tournament, and made some noise in volleyball last yea

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State of Virginia Recruiting Trends:

2023’s

State’s #1 Player Committed: North Carolina

State Top 10’s Prospects Signed In-State: 0

State Top 10’s Prospects that Signed with “Big 3”: 0

State  Top 10 Prospects that Committed to Traditional Top 25 Programs: 2

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2024’s

State’s #1 Player Committed: Ohio State

State Top 10’s Prospects Signed In-State: 0

State Top 10’s Prospects that Signed with “Big 3”: 0

State  Top 10 Prospects that Committed to Traditional Top 25 Programs: 2

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2025’s

State’s #1 Player Committed: Georgia Tech

State Top 10’s Prospects Signed In-State: 3

State Top 10’s Prospects that Signed with “Big 3”: 0

State  Top 10 Prospects that Committed to Traditional Top 25 Programs: 3

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State of Virginia Recruiting Label: Regional Hotspot

Virginia is top heavy with talent, this year more than ever.  National powers have feasted on the state’s top talent lately.  Metro VB Club of D.C. is nationally respected and known for producing multiple D1 players annually.  This year is no different as the 16 Travel squad may have as much D1 talent as ever.  Every program has their targets set on one or more of the Metro stars. 

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VIRGINIA Class of 2026 Recruiting Prospect Notes

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Nadiya Johnson, OH, Metro

Almost all of the girls in this section will be from the Metro Club because of how incredible it is at producing D1 talent. We are starting with the only Metro player to make VBAdrenaline’s Super 30, Nadiya Johnson. Johnson comes in at #8 on the list, because she has the “highest ceiling of anyone in the class.”  Johnson has a 10’8” vertical, which is one of the highest in the class and so physically gifted that she will probably climb the rankings over the next year. Competition for Johnson will be high.  So much to like about her game and her extremely “high ceiling” is probably the biggest attribute.  She will get looks from EVERY top 10 program and a high-academic option could be in play for the school-driven Johnson. 

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Morgan Williams, OH, Metro

Williams' height brings a lot of excitement to coaches, at 6’4, she is one of the tallest outsides in the entire class. Williams also has “position flexibility” helping her recruitability.  She earned a spot on her district's first team this past season. She produces a lot on the offensive side of the ball and like Johnson her ceiling is high.  Look for Williams to get interest from all of the Top 25 and from all over the country.

The trends show that the top Metro Outsides are targeted by big-time schools, especially in the Big 10.

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Caydence Doolan, OH, Metro

Doolan is another top OH for Metro, she might be the best all-around player on the Metro team and is dominant from the front and back row. Doolan’s older sister, Baylee, committed to the Navy in the 2025 class, so she’s already got a D1 family, and Cadence will follow.  Look for her to receive plenty of D1 interest, but more from East Coast/Regional programs. Doolan is part of the quad of Metro pin hitters that will all be ranked  highly come June. She is the most decorated high school player, on her club team.  Doolan already has two state championships. 

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Emma Gardner, OH, Metro

The final member of the Metro pin quad is Emma Gardner. Gardner has grown three inches in the past two years and now stands at 6’3”, making her the second smallest of the four, which is kind of insane when you think about it. 

Gardner has of the hardest swings on the Metro team. She continues to improve and has made a name for herself being named to plenty of high school All-district, All-state,  and All-tournament teams. At time she is the forgotten one in the foursome, but Gardner has P4 talent.  Don’t be surprised if she gets interested nationally, along with the programs regionally that will recruit her.

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Teodora Stamenkovic, MB, Metro

Finally, we move on to a Middle Blocker. Easily the top MB in the state, Stamenkovic is listed at 6’2”, but ever since she started playing middle she’s continued to improve, she had almost 70 blocks for her high school, Bishop O’Connell, last season compared to 30 the year before, she will be a productive middle for whoever grabs her. 

We can pretty easily trace a trend for her market. In the 2024 class, Stamenkovic’s teammate at Bishop O’Connell, Madison Bowser, who is also a 6 '2 middle, committed to Vanderbilt. Stamenkovic is the highest-ranked Middle for Metro in a while, but Bowser’s a good match, Teodora has the measurables and skills to play at a power program and should get her chance. 

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Bryah Breaux, OH, Metro

Though she may not be as talked about Breux is 6 '4 with a vertical of 10’6”. So trust us plenty of recognizable programs have interest.

To tell you of her talent level she has been invited to the USA VB NTDP multiple times.  Her game is evolving and she does need more reps, Breaux had over 130 kills last year for Garrison Forest High School. When she verbals many may say “Who?”, but this is a kid that will do damage at the next level and it will be at a large program.

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Kennedy Spaid, OH, Blue Ridge

The only Non-Metro player on this list belongs to Spaid, who plays for Blue Ridge. Some media sites have her ranked very high in this class and it’s easy to see why. It’s not very often you have a Sophomore who wins Class 4A Player of the Year while leading her team to a state title. Spaid had over 345 kills last year which was double the next highest player on her team. She also finished second on the team in digs, led in serve receptions, and was third in aces and blocks. Spaid fits the the profile of many in the 2026 class, high skill, but undersized at 5’10”.  She is productive and knows how to win.  Despite playing for a smaller club she will land on a D1 roster. 

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Soleil Rancourt, RS, Metro

The final name on this list is Rancourt, who like Breaux is extremely talented and has top-of-the-line potential, but is stuck behind that incredible group of outsides we listed at the beginning. Rancourt can play from either side of the court, but has been mainly used as a RS for her high school and club team. Rancourt can pound the ball as well as any outside on this list and led her high school team with 273 kills this past season. She has the top talent of anyone, but it will be interesting to see if that lands her with a Power 5 team, she should easily go D1, but we will get to see more of her this high school and club season. 

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State of the State

This state is may lack a large number of major D1 prospects, but the top talent rivals ANY state minus Texas.  The Metro gym will be a popular place leading up to June 15th.  They are hosting their first ever D1 Prospect Camp in June and it’s a who's who of college programs.  The state will produce players that sign all over the country, but with a state full of programs you know they want to keep as many Metro kids home as possible.

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