Shadow drafting in the 2024-25 PVF draft class

Image courtesy of Florida State Athletics

For draft junkies like me, following the careers of players who I liked coming out of the draft is one of the most rewarding ways to follow along with the sport we love. “Shadow drafting” takes that concept to the next level, by pushing a person to assemble a hypothetical draft class inside the actual draft results to see how well it stacks up with real life draft classes. Having been primarily a baseball fan all my life, the task seemed too daunting — after all, there are 30 teams and hundreds of picks made by those teams every year. With just eight PVF teams and 40 players drafted, though, it seems much more feasible in the context of professional volleyball.

Rather than drafting in place of a real a team, I’ll simply be selecting from the players available at the fourth pick in each round. This serves two purposes. First, it provides me with no advantages, such drafting with Indy to get the first pick or Vegas to get a back-to-back. Secondly, I don’t have to take into consideration the needs of a specific team or their roster constraints. I can simply put together a well-rounded draft and call it good.

Round One: MB Khori Louis

I’ll take any opportunity to write about my favorite player in college volleyball. She was one of the elite performers in the sport last season and hasn’t slowed down a bit in 2024. Sustained top-flight performance lays the foundation for her future as a pro and remarkable athletic ability seals the deal. “She can be you know one step from the net or not even take a step from the net and can pop up about the net without any problem,” said Florida State head coach Chris Poole. “She is the most gifted athlete that I've ever coached.” That’s high praise from the sport’s second-winningest active coach. At this point, Louis hasn’t taken her foot off the accelerator in years. She was already one of the most dangerous players out there when the season began, and at this point, the sales pitch to draft her writes itself.

Round Two: S Argentina Ung

Real PVF teams were able to patiently wait outage setter market and continue prioritizing the hitters they needed to fill out their roster and bench, but I wouldn’t have been able to hold back. I love Ung’s volleyball IQ and how she was able to adapt to the Arizona State offense that required her to push the tempo at all times. She also carries herself with the brand of positivity and confidence that I love in an athlete. “Whether someone’s officially on a leadership group or whatever, it's kind of irrelevant. It's like, ‘What's their presence in the court? You know, how are they able to hold teammates accountable in like a positive way?’ And she's done that,” said head coach JJ Van Niel. As it turns out, I would not have needed to make this pick this highly, as she went undrafted, but it’s what I would have done in the moment.

Round Three: OH Charitie Luper, Louisville

Anna DeBeer’s running mate at Louisville for the past two years, Luper is athletic as heck and, according to the draft day commentary, has the best vertical on the team despite being its smallest player. Dynamic in both offense and defense, she can show you the highest highs and could have been drafted even higher if she wasn’t plagued by the occasional dud game. I can’t help but feel like there’s a new gear to be unlocked at the service line for Luper, who hit 15 aces this year but has the physical traits to apply more pressure from the line. The temptation here is to select TCU hitter Melanie Parra, who led the nation in kills per set and was near the top of the aces leaderboard. However, having already drafted one international player, I opted for the American instead.

Round Four: OH Audrey Koenig, Florida State

Koenig is an interesting case as an outstanding volleyball player who should have been drafted on talent alone, but went unselected because of her commitment to play beach volleyball for the Seminoles at the same time as PVF action. She’s powerful in attack and plays six rotations, and playing beach has helped her defense and court vision quite a bit as well. This would be a pick spent on a player who is guaranteed to not be on the initial active roster, but that will be true of most fourth round picks. If I were a team, I would want her negotiating rights for next season or potentially the tail end of this one, in a similar vein to how the Fury managed Kendall Kipp.

Round Five: OPP Jordan Iliff, Missouri

I was surprised to look up at the end of the draft and see Jordan Iliff go unselected. She wasn’t a player I ever prioritized scouting, which makes this pick a risk, but she’s been a pedigreed prospect since high school and is hitting .273 on the season with 61 service aces in the SEC. Fellow SEC hitters such as Nina Cajic and Isabel Martin were selected with arguably weaker resumes, and both of those players fall under the international player restrictions that do not apply to Iliff. She’s a bit on the small side for a right side hitter, but I’d bring her to camp anyway to get a closer look and see what she can do.

Priority Undrafted Free Agents: MB Julia Haggerty, MB Claire Jeter, OPP Myah Conway, L Emmy Klika

What would have been your draft class? Comment with a batch of players you love below — comments are open to all readers, not just subscribers. I’d love to hear your thoughts!