COLLEGE PARK, Md. — After earning PrepVolleyball's No. 10 recruiting class last week, Maryland volleyball's incoming freshmen were selected as VolleyballMag.com's No. 9 class Friday.
“This class brings our program both talent and depth, but more importantly, experience playing at a high level,” said Maryland coach Steve Aird. “We bring in players who have played for some of the best club programs in the country, while others have gone on to win multiple state championships with their high-school programs. We know they are wired to embrace challenges. We have some lofty goals for this program and we're looking forward to this class getting to work.”
Last season, Maryland had one of Volleyball Magazine's honorable mention recruiting classes with the addition of top-100 players Gia Milana and Katie Myers. The 2016 class was ranked No. 16 by PrepVolleyball.
The Terps add depth to every position with the 2017 freshmen. Maryland brings in three outside hitters, one middle blocker, one setter and one defensive specialist.
For the first time in program history, the Terrapins' incoming freshman class features four Under Armour All-Americans and three players ranked in PrepVolleyball's top 100 in the nation.
Outside/opposite hitter Samantha Drechsel is ranked as the No. 23 player in her class and is just the second Under Armour First Team All-American in program history. Outside hitter Erika Pritchard was ranked No. 29 and was named an Under Armour Second Team All-American.
Middle blocker Jada Gardner is the class' third ranked player, coming in at No. 68.
Setter Chloe Prejean earned Under Armour Third Team All-America honors while defensive specialist/libero Sam Burgio was named Under Armour Honorable Mention.
Burgio and outside hitter Lexi Alden were both selected to PrepVolleyball's '150', which lists the athletes following the ranked 100.
Alden, Burgio and Drechsel enrolled in January and trained with the Terps this spring while Gardner, Prejean and Pritchard will join them in the fall.
Last season, the Terps welcomed the first-ever ranked class in program history. Maryland returns Taylor Smith, Nell Drummey and Aylin Saran to the 2017 roster, which will feature 12 underclassmen.
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