Minnesota Report: Is there a Lefty '26 Unsigned Waiting to Burst on the Scene in OPEN?

Checking in on the North Star State and there could be another small town club athlete ready to make a big splash on college volleyball.

Marisa Michaelis is an unsigned 2026, new to the MN Select squad this season and she is provided an offensive jolt to their pin. The true lefty impressed our evaluators early on and just bumped her PPV up over 20 points to a 128 and will probably move even higher with strong open tourney performances. She has a 9.5 TOP Score on her block touch, but more importantly the true lefty is bringing a true weapon to the OPP position for MN Select 17-1s early this season and if she can help that squad elevate their play she will get plenty of recruiting attention on herself. Which word has it she could be a Power 4 type talent for a school looking for a late pin depending on how her play is vs. Open play. Needless to say she's one to watch

Another reason there should be plenty of eyes still on the MN Select 17-1s court this season (a plus for unsigned Marisa) is that top 2027 Setter Ellery DeBoer will still be playing up with the squad so plenty of coaching eyes will be on their court. There is always the debate with top underclassmen does it hurt their recruiting to play up an age group (with the class that is already committed) or do you stay down and play with a new team? A player as highly ranked as Deboer it won't matter coaches will find her, it just matters that her committed 2026 teammates are as locked in as they were their "big recruiting year" as sometimes play can slip after girls verbal, but this is a great group of athletes that I think was disapointed at Nationals last year so I think they play with something to prove. I also think DeBoer plays all season with something to prove as she is as competitive of a kid as there is at the position in the class.

It's a new event and an abbreviated chapter, but thankfully Cora Bicknese of Vital Volleyball has been invited to participate in an NTDP Training Session. The 2027 is one of the top 3-4 bros in the class and just not sure why she hasn't been given a shot at previous sessions, but she is definitely deserving. I'm also hoping more of the larger P4 programs still work this session so they get to evaluate her. She doesn't play on one of the higher ranked club teams so she doesn't make it to championship court often, but I'm excited to watch her learn with Hua and other tops in the class for a few hours in KC. She belongs in that group.