The Gophers have begun practicing for the 2023 spring season, including several new additions. Most impressive of which (on paper) is Big Ten 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Murr. During her time at Ohio Stae, the Buckeyes made the Sweet 16 three-times, including the Elite Eight in her senior season in 2022. Before OSU, Murr played with Melani Shaffmaster on a Muncie club team that won back-to-back AAU national championships.
Readers may recall that Coach McCutcheon had recruited Laney Choboy, the #1 rated Libero in the H.S. Class of ’23 to replace the graduating C.C. McGraw, but after learning of our coaching change, Choboy defected to Nebraska. Murr is a Grad-Transfer with only one year of eligibility remaining, so we may yet regret the loss of Choboy. But Murr arrives with 4 yrs of Big Ten experience plus the Defensive Player of the Year title. This suggests that Murr out-played McGraw in 2022, and I’m guessing she will out-play Choboy in 2023. (Best guess, as of now, Skylar Gray will be our D.S.)
Said Murr. “When exploring my options, I was looking to be surrounded by amazing people, a place full of tradition, and to be a part of a competitive team.”
AND MAYBE AN OPPOSITE?
Incoming freshmen include Willmar’s 6-4 Opposite Sydney Schnichels. Schnichels, the 2022 Minnesota Ms. Baden Award winner and the No. 1 overall recruit in Minnesota, was rated #20 in the country in PrepVolleyball.com, #22 on PrepDig, and “five-star” in VBallRecruiter.
With JennaWenaas transferred to Texas, the role of starting Opposite is up for grabs. Lauren Crowl and Julia Hanson, both returning as far as we know, will be candidates for the job, so Schnichels will have to play her way into the line-up. I look forward to watching this competition during the Spring Exhibition Season.
WE’RE SET (an understatement) AT LEFTSIDE
As far as we know, Big Ten 2022 Player of the Year Taylor Landfair will be back, with potentially 3 more years of eligibility (giving us, if she is, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year),. And, as far as we know, so will Big Ten All Freshman Team McKenna Wucherer (The Wooker). And if we need help at left-side, temporarily, we’ve got Hanson.
AND SHAFFMASTER IS BACK, BUT I DON’T SEE THE MIDDLES
Carter Booth is gone, worse yet, to Wisconsin. The current roster lists two Middles;
- 5-11 Junior Arica Davis emerged from last season’s competition to become “the other” starting Middle; and
- Incoming 6-1 freshmen Calissa Minatee from Kansas City. PrepVolleyball.com ranks Minatee as the No. 56 player in the 2023 class.
Davis and Minatee are both very good volleyball players, and I hate to sell them short. But they are, literally, short. I don’t look forward to seeing the play against the 6-7 Booth.
STILL IN FLUX?
Throughout this post, I have used terms like “as of now,” and “current.” The “Transfer Portal” is still open, and it’s a “secret portal,” so we don’t know who else might be considering the Gophers. And there are vacancies on the Gopher roster. My Wish List:
- We don’t lose anyone else;
- We bring in a tall, top notch Middle.
If we could add one big, top-notch Middle, and let Davis and Minatee compete for the “other” spot, I’d be happy. Think positive!