Lone Star State - Texas Stars

The talent is constantly growing around the country as our sport continues to gain center stage attention. With more athletes competing, the stronger the competition becomes in each state. Next up on our state by state series, we will be looking at the powerhouse state of Texas. With the last qualifiers coming up this weekend, it seems appropriate we will feature many athletes who will likely be competing this weekend. As a newbie to the sport of volleyball, you know two things to be true - there’s one kid on the team that gets to wear a different colored shirt and that Texas (and California) are known as ‘volleyball states’. The list of talent in Texas is massive, but we’ve decided to focus our discussion today on the Top 10 athletes who currently have a Player Profile on our site.

Henley Anderson - 2026 Outside, Austin Skyline, PPV 299

Anderson has been one of our favorites for a while. She turned all the heads last year and everyone was questioning where she would commit, it’s no surprise she decided to stay home and play for one of the top programs in the country - Texas. Her length is clearly a strength and what’s even more impressive is her defensive skills for a pin hitter of her size. With National Team experience and an ability to play almost anywhere on the front row, as evidenced by her club season this year, she will be an immediate impact player for the Longhorns and we can’t wait to watch her journey.

Halle Thompson - 2026 Outside, Houston Skyline, PPV 296

Thompson and the Houston Skyline squad are gnarly to say the least. Having 2 out of the top 3 outside in the entire class on one team is pretty terrifying for competing squads. Thompson is set to head to Wisconsin, and the Badgers really scored with this one. Her shot range and power are impressive, my personal favorite is her crossbody down the line hammer. She has such an ease with the ball that is fun to watch and we can’t wait to see her ball out in Madison.

Jayden Robinson - 2026 Outside, Houston Skyline, PPV 295

Robinson is the power attacker to Thompson’s craft, though not a soul would argue that both don’t have nearly the same tools. Her jump and her arm are two things that stand out immediately for the attacker. She puts an absolute dent in the floor every time she goes up and is so thoughtful on her attack placement, she leaves defenses wondering. Oh, and an open net? Yikes, watch out. The Huskers will absolutely love this fiery pin - she’s going to do some great things at Nebraska.

Sophee Peterson - 2027 Setter, TAV, PPV 277

Peterson has been the talk of the 2027 setter class. She’s come a long way since last club season and is running a full 5-1 this year for her TAV squad. Hands like absolute butter, she stands out on the court as someone who physically looks ready to play in college right now. Her location and ability to keep her team in system majority of the time is impressive, we can’t wait to see which program picks her up.

Gemma Hopkins - 2027 Libero, Houston Juniors, PPV 275

Hopkins is the scrappy libero you know and love. So much fun to watch and taking up so much space on the court. Her defense is absolutely phenomenal and watching her contort her body to make digs is a work of art. She’s going to go fast for the 2027 class, sky's the limit for this ‘little’.

Callie Krueger - 2025 Libero, Austin Skyline, PPV 265

Krueger is a 2025 bro who is spending her spring season training with the Longhorns. A great pick up for the class as she’s an absolutely solid hometown kid. It will be interesting to see how she fits into the mix of older liberos at Texas with both Halter and Gary ahead of her. Regardless she will keep Texas relevant for many more years to come, as if they were worried, a scrappy, calm, consistent libero? As we know, defense wins championships and Kreger is the perfect fit for that motto.

Brynn Stephens - 2027 Outside, TAV, PPV 258

Stephens made the switch to a full time pin this year after going halftime with Peterson in the setting position last year. Similarly, although she’s just a sophomore she looks college ready now. She improves weekly as she settles into the full-time outside role. Powerful and doesn't get cheated on the attack. Her setting experience gives her great court vision. We know continued reps will give her even more confidence with multiple shots.

Gentry Barker - 2027 Outside, Madfrog, PPV 252

Barker, while undersized, turns head and packs a punch with her swing and defense. We felt her last tournament she had a really good pass to attack game, scoring super well in transition. She was also very efficient and didn't have too many errors. It will be interesting to see where she lands, lots of high profile looks for sand as well and NTDP invites - she may be a perfect fit for a program that is able to utilize her on both the sand and indoor squads.

Anya Baklenko - 2027 Setter, Madfrog, PPV 243

I am in LOVE with the temp that Baklenko is able to run. She sets with high hands and moves the ball fast pin to pin. Finding many gaps for her attackers and always feeding back the energy to them, this setter is a game changer on energy alone. I am sure as she expands her range she’s going to become even more lethal as court QB.

Natalie Norton - 2027 Outside, Drive Nation, PPV 230

Norton is a stand out from size alone. She may be one of the tallest pins on this list, and in a state like Texas - that’s saying something. What caught our eye immediately is her hand contact. She swings high and hard and seems to have her shot placement down to a T. While she may not be the loudest one on the court, her game alone speaks for itself.

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