Rankings Analysis: Virginia’s Sophomore Class among nation’s best

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class of 2025 in Virginia should be considered among the best in the country - and will have quite a bit of representation on the PrepSoccer National Rankings to be released soon. The Virginia State Rankings were released on Wednesday with over 30 players ranked, and more on the watch list. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The PrepSoccer ranking <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://prepsoccer.com/2022/07/behind-the-scenes-the-prepsoccer-national-rankings/" target="_blank">process is explained here</a>. The state rankings will be update three times per club season. With each update, more players will be added to both the rankings and the watch list. Players on the watch list will be scouted this club season for possible inclusion in the rankings for the next update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a reminder, the state rankings are based on the player's club location (i.e. a player in the Virginia rankings may live in Maryland, but play for a club in Virginia).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>U.S. Youth National Team, Virginia Union, and ECNL All-American [player_tooltip player_id='27682' first='Carrie' last='Helfrich'] is the No. 1 player in the initial rankings for the class of 2025 in Virginia. Helfrich headlines the class, but the depth is obvious in the state as there are plenty of players with high ceilings and the potential to be the top ranked player when this class graduates in a few years and moves onto the college game. Check out a scouting report on a handful of the players in the rankings below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6321fefa879aa","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["58046"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='58046' first='Jordan' last='Turner'] was one of the best discoveries of the 2021/2022 season. She had an outstanding campaign for her ECNL side, Loudoun, that earned her a place on the Mid-Atlantic ECNL All-Conference First Team. She is a right center back that is comfortable on the ball. She says she can fill-in as a forward if needed. At the next level, she is most likely a center back. She is a shutdown defender 1v1, has excellent recovery speed, and reads the game well. With her attacking instincts, she offers quite a bit of quality on the ball. She does well in the timing of her slip passes to draw in defenders and release the ball at the exact right moment. She also showed the ability to hit a cross field pass with accuracy. Turner is one of the top defenders in the state from the class of 2025.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["57657"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='57657' first='Hannah' last='Harms'] is a big-time player already in the club game. She earned a call-up to the U.S. U15 Youth National Team this season, which put her on every scout's radar moving into her sophomore season. Harms is one of those players who just loves the game. She is always on the field, and does not care about the age of her opponent. She played up a couple of age groups at the US Youth Soccer Nationals this summer. She made the Best XI at the event. She is a midfielder who is competitive, skillful, and driven. Given her experience playing against older competition, her speed of play always stands out when she is playing against players in her age group. She is a quick thinker and sees passing lanes before anyone else. In the past year, she's done well in developing her finishing ability with both feet. She is one to watch this season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["28024"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='28024' first='Y-lan' last='Nguyen'] is another standout midfielder from Virginia. She is a bright talent from the VDA program. She is dynamic on the ball. Her ability to dribble past defenders with either foot is especially impressive for a center midfielder. She has a great first touch, and looks comfortably facing up against players while receiving the ball. Nguyen is an impact player at the highest level of the youth game, and arguably has the most potential to influence the outcome of the game. Her brilliance on the pitch has been noted by scouts early on, and she is part of the US Youth National Team program.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["27550"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"TSJ FC Virginia is well represented on this ranking because the Girls Academy League club has standout performers in this class from both the 06 and the 07 team. Flanagan was a player who really impressed during the GA Playoffs over the summer. She is a winger who starred on the TSJ FC Virginia 06 team alongside some of the top 2024 recruits in the country. She is a 1v1 specialist as she is excellent on the dribbler and has a knack for her linking play with the center forward. It's easy to see a path for Flanagan to be an immediate contributor at the next level. She offers the pace and skill that many college programs desire from wide attacking players. If Flanagan continues to develop her decision-making and finishing in the final third, the sky is the limit for the winger.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["27690"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='27690' first='Chase' last='Rooney'] has the intangibles that scouts tend to seek out. Six-foot goalkeepers who have strong hands and a command of their goal area do not grow on trees - and don't come along very often. Rooney is a dominant figure on the field. She uses her height to her advantage too. She is great at high-pointing the ball on crosses and does well in securing it in traffic. As Rooney continues to improve her distribution, she will be one of the top goalkeepers to watch in Virginia in this class.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-649b3c0a8325b"} /-->