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Duncanville’s Keelon Russell, North Crowley’s Quentin Gibson in running for national award

Volleyball stars from Lovejoy, Colleyville Heritage, Byron Nelson, Prestonwood make MaxPreps National Player of the Year watch list.

This week, MaxPreps announced its watch lists for its national player of the year awards in football and volleyball. They are loaded with Dallas-area superstars, and local players comprise more than a quarter of the volleyball list.

Headlining the 10-player list in football is Duncanville five-star senior quarterback Keelon Russell, committed to No. 1-ranked Alabama. The nation’s third-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2025 has thrown for 1,437 yards and 20 touchdowns while averaging 359.3 passing yards per game and completing 75% of his passes for a 4-0 Duncanville team that is ranked No. 1 in the state, No. 4 in the nation (per MaxPreps) and is seeking its third consecutive Class 6A Division I state title.

Joining Russell on that list is North Crowley three-star senior wide receiver Quentin Gibson, who is uncommitted but has received 15 of his 18 listed offers in the last month, including Colorado, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, UNLV, TCU, Colorado State and Nevada. Gibson has 29 catches for 692 yards and 15 touchdowns for a 5-0 team that is ranked No. 11 nationally, and he is on pace to break the state record for most receiving touchdowns in a season.

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The only two Dallas-area football players to ever be named MaxPreps National Player of the Year are Southlake Carroll quarterback Riley Dodge in 2006 and Allen quarterback Kyler Murray in 2013 and 2014. Dodge is now Carroll’s head coach, and Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler with the Arizona Cardinals.

The 15-player National Player of the Year watch list for volleyball includes Lovejoy sophomore outside hitter Gentry Barker, Colleyville Heritage senior outside hitter Suli Davis (committed to BYU), Trophy Club Byron Nelson outside hitter Kylie Kleckner (committed to Washington) and Plano Prestonwood Christian outside hitter Macaria Spears (committed to back-to-back national champion Texas).

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Spears, a first-team All-American, the 2023 MaxPreps national junior of the year and the state’s No. 1 recruit, has 427 kills and 161 digs for a 27-2 Prestonwood team that is No. 4 in the nation and is trying to win its third consecutive TAPPS 6A state title. Davis, a MaxPreps first-team All-American and the No. 2-ranked recruit in the state in the Class of 2025, is among the national leaders in kills with 565 (6.7 per set) and has 405 digs for a 26-5 team.

Kleckner has 392 kills (5.2 per set) and 213 digs for a 27-1 team that is ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps and has won 23 matches in a row. Barker, the state’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2027, led Lovejoy to its 10th state title in 17 seasons of varsity volleyball as a freshman and has 299 kills and 317 digs for a 25-7 team that is No. 18 in the country.

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Two Dallas-area volleyball players have previously won the MaxPreps National Player of the Year award — Hebron’s Tiffany Baker in 2010 and Byron Nelson’s Paige Flickinger in 2019.

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