Early 2025 PVF Draft Watchlist
The inaugural PVF season is halfway done, so let's take a momentary break from pro action to preview next year's draft class.
The 2024 inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation draft featured five rounds of seven picks, a total of 35 players selected by teams in advance of the first season of PVF play. At the time that this list was initially constructed, three additional markets were slated to join the PVF for the 2025 season: Indianapolis, Dallas, and Kansas City, presumably bringing the number of drafted players up to 50. Since then, the Dallas and KC have been rescheduled for debut seasons in 2026, meaning there will only be eight teams in the federation next season. If the draft maintains its five-round structure — and there’s no reason to believe it will change — there will be 40 players selected.
In order to be eligible for the PVF draft, a player must be at least 18 years old and defined as a “college player” enrolled in a 4-year college or JUCO program. In order to preserve college eligibility for potential draftees, players are not required to declare for the draft and are not required to sign with the team who drafts them. Therefore, drafted players may return to college to play out the remainder of their NCAA eligibility or sign with a European team.
However, because players aren’t required to opt in to be considered for the PVF draft, there’s no distinct player pool. From the outside looking in, it will be tricky to suss out which players are interested in being drafted into the PVF.
All 35 players selected in the 2024 draft were either seniors or graduate students. Presumably, the emphasis was placed on older players to ensure there would be no issues in reaching an agreement to sign with the team due to having completed their degree and used up their NCAA eligibility. In fact, I've heard that most players had already come to an understanding with the Federation that they would enter the league if drafted.
However, players don’t have all the leverage in a post-draft situation. A team who does not sign a drafted player maintains exclusive negotiating rights with that player for two years post-draft. That means a player cannot simply reject the team who drafts her, play another season in college or overseas, and try her luck again in the next draft class or free agency.
Drafted players do not have to make the final roster to remain with the organization who selected them. Teams are afforded two roster spots designated as the practice squad for draftees who don’t make the cut coming out of pre-season training. However, any team may sign practice squad players to their main roster.
Outside hitter Kenna Sauer was the first player acquired by a team using this rule. She was drafted 18th overall by the Grad Rapids Rise and placed on their practice squad. The Vegas Thrill promptly signed Sauer to their active roster on February 13. She made her PVF debut with the Thrill just a week later. I wrote about that story here.
A draft strategy teams have yet to employ is selecting a player with NCAA eligibility remaining with the intention not to not sign her to a pro deal yet. The PVF doesn’t have any kind of developmental league like the MiLB or NBA G-League, and while placing a player on the practice squad gives a team the ability to supervise a player’s development, there’s no substitute for the in-game playing time they’ll receive at school.
In theory, a team could draft a player entering her junior year and sign her to a professional contract at the end of the two year exclusive rights window after she has completed her final season of eligibility. A player who values her education may see this as a form of soft job security while she completes her degree. The team would be incentivized to make good on their intention to sign her down the road because they spent draft capital to acquire negotiation rights.
It seems unlikely that teams will go down that road, at least while the league gets its sea legs. Players were all signed to one-year deals in advance of the 2024 season, and teams will be more concerned about getting a competitive roster on the court for the 2025 season than finessing the system for future gains. Until I hear otherwise, I’ll be sticking to class of 2024 athletes or grad students for this watchlist.
Another wrinkle in the way teams value draft prospects is the limit of two international players per team. Many teams were able to draw players with lengthy track record from overseas for the 2024 season, such as Anna Lazareva, Betty De La Cruz, Emiliya Dimitrova, and Nikoleta Perovic. They may not be willing to spend one of their roster spots on a foreign-born rookie when a player who has already demonstrated the ability to play at the pro level could potentially be had instead.
With that in mind, I’ve assembled an early watchlist of potential 2025 PVF draftees, ordered by position and in alphabetical order within each position group. The names included are based on conversations I’ve had with people around the sport as well as high-performing upperclassman who may get a look based on their statistical dominance.
At this point, we’re ten months out from the next PVF draft, so there’s plenty of time left to assess the value of these players and create some kind of ordered draft board. It’s simply too early to establish any concrete opinions about next year’s draft class. There’s more than 40 players listed here, which guarantees that some will not be selected. Almost certainly, some players not listed here will play their way into the conversation as the season carries on, while underwhelming performance or disinterest in being drafted nudges others out.
I’ll be interviewing and publishing profiles on as many of these players as possible, and the list will be updated with links as that happens.
Setter
Carly Diehl, Yale (2024)
Rachel Fairbanks, Pitt (Grad)
Emma Grome, Kentucky (2024) - Profile
Camryn Haworth, Indiana (2024) - Profile
Hannah Hogue, Arkansas (2024) - Profile
Kami Miner, Stanford (2024)
Melani Shaffmaster, Minnesota (Grad)
Mia Tuaniga, USC (2024) - Profile
Camryn Turner, Kansas (2024)
Argentina Ung, Arizona State (Grad) - Profile
Kendra Wait, Creighton (2024)
Outside Hitter
Lexie Almodovar, Dayton (Grad) - Profile
Bianca Bertolino, Georgia Tech (2024)
Anna DeBeer, Louisville (Grad)
Grace Chillingworth, Pepperdine (2024)
Danyle Courtley, Michigan State (Grad)
Ayah Elnady, Kansas (2024)
Hailey Green, West Virginia (2024) - Profile
Lydia Grote, Minnesota (Grad)
Audrey Keonig, Florida State (2024) - Profile
Taylor Landfair, Nebraska (Grad)
Charitie Luper, Louisville (2024)
Sydney Palazzolo, Notre Dame (2024)
Melanie Parra, TCU (2024)
Madi Skinner, Texas (2024)
Valaria Vasquez Gomez, Pitt (Grad)
Opposite Hitter
Paige Bartsch, Boise State (2024) - Profile
Merritt Beason, Nebraska (2024)
Myah Conway, Old Dominion (Grad) - Profile
Jordan Iliff, Missouri (2024)
Malaya Jones, Colorado State (R-S Junior, 2023) - Profile
Emily Londot, Ohio State (2024)
Elise McGhee, Baylor (2024)
Amanda Rice, NC State (2024) - Profile
Devyn Robinson, Wisonson (Grad)
Reagan Rutherford, Texas (Grad)
Anna Smrek, Wisconson (2024)
Middle Blocker
Manuela Bibinbe, Baylor (2024) - Profile
Cara Cresse, Louisville (R-S Junior, 2024)
Raven Colvin, Purdue (2024) - Profile
Sami Francis, Stanford (2024)
Julia Haggerty, Boston College (2024) - Profile
Claire Jeter, Arizona State (2024) - Profile
Khori Louis, FSU (2024) - Profile
Sophie Fischer, Georgia (Grad)
Kiari Robey, Arizona (Grad)
Beau Vanderlaan, Brown (2024) - Profile
Libero
Lauren Briseño, Baylor (2024)
Kate Georgiades, Houston (Grad)
Nalani Iosia, Michigan State (Grad)
Emmy Klika, Pitt (2024) - Profile
Nia McCardell, Rice (2024) - Profile
Mackenzie Morris, Oregon (Grad)
Elena Oglivie, Stanford (Grad)
There are a few top college players who already have an NIL affiliation with League One Volleyball, another pro volleyball league currently in development. Though they would be considered a top draft prospect in other circumstances, a relationship with LOVB makes an immediate career in the PVF exceedingly unlikely. On the slim chance that things change, they are worth a mention here.
Outside hitter Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin (Grad)
Outside hitter Jess Mruzik, Penn State (Grad)
Libero Elena Scott, Louisville (2024)
Libero Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska (2024)
Outside hitter Norah Sis, Creighton (2024)
Outside hitter Raina Terry, Illinois (Grad)