May 4, 2021 – By NJP

Here are some analytical details of boys high school volleyball by class year. It’s such an unusual year with the pandemic but the percentages of players by class year is holding pretty true to past seasons. Here is the breakdown:

Some quick observations:

Just about 4 of 5 players on average are upperclassman.

There are currently only 63 freshman players in the state with stats. That does not mean there are only 63 freshman on teams. All of our analysis is based on players with statistical info rather than published rosters.

So now let’s take a look and see what statistical outputs these players are producing by class year. Can we assume that more mature and older players have higher outputs than younger players? I think this info will prove that theory…

Here is some data regarding output of statistics by class year.

We went one step further and put this table together to show percentage contribution by class year…

Clearly there is data that supports that older players have higher output. In these examples, for seniors, although the class represents 44% of the population, seniors represent well over 50% of the output across all categories. And freshman have over 5% of the make-up on average of every team, but only supply 3% to 4% of the output.

We have also attempted to breakdown and present all of the underclassman that are making contributions at a high level. These are players that we will hear a lot more from in the coming years and will no doubt be leaders in their categories when they become juniors and seniors. Here is our list of the top players for underclassman per the NJP player rater:

SOPHOMORES

FRESHMAN

Some items to note regarding individuals: To be playing as an underclassman and achieve a 80th or 90th percentile score is truly outstanding. When these players are two years older, imagine the impact they will have for their team. Two players jump off the screen and are the top players currently in their class year. Blake Krapf of Old Bridge is ranked 8th in the state as an overall player and is just a sophomore. And it is almost impossible to find an impact freshman that can hit the ground running in his first year on the court. Trevor Van Valkenburgh of Jackson Liberty is currently ranked in the top 100 players in NJ and is just 15. Get familiar with the names on this list as you surely see them as leaders in the years to come.

Also please note that there are many underclassman on strong programs and teams in New Jersey that will not make this list because of the quality of players from their own school above them. So it is not meant to be all-inclusive but gives you a detailed snapshot of those on the current varsity landscape.

Comments and questions can be send to njpowerranking@gmail.com.