Volleyball players that could see big On3 NIL Valuation jumps in NCAA Championship

Jeremy Crabtreeby:Jeremy Crabtree•12/01/22•

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The NCAA Volleyball Championship begins on Thursday, and it starts with Texas, Wisconsin, Stanford and Louisville grabbing the top seeds. Along with the top teams, the event is chock-full of top players and some of the biggest brands from a NIL standpoint.

Here’s a look at five volleyball players with high On3 NIL Valuations and why they could see big jumps in value throughout the tournament.

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Alexa Hendricks – Louisville

Position: Defensive Specialist
On3 NIL Valuation: $90,000
On3 Per Post Value: $1,300

Louisville senior defensive specialist Alexa Hendricks has 81 block solos for the Cardinals, who are the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. It’s Hendricks’ third straight season of making an impact for the Louisville defense. She also has excelled off the court, earning academic All-ACC honors in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Hendricks has built one of the strongest, if not the strongest, NIL brands in volleyball. She has more than 183,000 followers on social media, including more than 96,000 on TikTok and 86,000 on Instagram.

Along with the large list of followers, Hendricks has executed deals with Clarks Shoes, Jersey Mike’s, Pepsi, GE Profile, adidas, Kroger, Lulus and others. Furthermore, over the past five weeks, Hendricks has also seen a 10% growth of her On3 NIL Valuation that’s now at $90,000.

Brooke Nuneviller – Oregon

Position: Outside Hitter
On3 NIL Valuation: $56,000
On3 Per Post Value: $848

Oregon outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller is a star on and off the volleyball court for the Ducks.

Nuneviller was considered one of the nation’s top volleyball recruits coming out of Chandler (Arizona) Corona del Sol High School. As a freshman at Oregon, she was selected to the All-Pac-12 Freshman team as the Ducks’ libero.

Between her freshman and sophomore seasons, she was the libero for the USA Volleyball Women’s Junior National Team at the FIVB U20 World Championships.

Nuneviller moved to the outside for her sophomore season and finished second on the team in kills (331).

Her meteoric rise continued during her junior season. She was a second-team AVCA All-America pick, becoming only the 12th player in program history to earn All-America honors. Nuneviller became the first Pac-12 player in the rally-scoring era to average at least 4 digs and 3 kills per set in a seasonNuneviller had another All-America season in 2021, becoming the sixth player in program history with two All-America team selections.

Things got even better in 2022. She earned back-to-back-to-back All-Pac 12 recognition, and she averaged a career-high 4.02 kills per set during her senior season. That was good enough to help the Ducks earn a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Nuneviller has taken great advantage of NIL at Oregon, striking deals with Alba Botanica, Simple Mills, Fans Meet Idols, Ducks of a Feather and volleyball staple Wilson Sports. She also has a massive social media following of more than 207,000 – including 174,000 on TikTok alone.

Her On3 NIL Valuation has grown by 5% over the past nine weeks to the $56,000 mark entering the tournament.

Nicklin Hames – Nebraska

Position: Setter/Defensive Specialist
On3 NIL Valuation: $52,000
On3 Per Post Value: $817

Nicklin Hames returned to the powerhouse Nebraska program for her super senior season as one of the nation’s most honored players.

In her first year, she was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and received AVCA All-America honorable mention and AVCA All-North Region honorable mention honors. In 2019, she started all 33 matches for the Huskers and led the squad with a .266 hitting percentage with 10.88 assists per set. She was recognized with AVCA All-North Region and All-Big Ten First-Team honors, as well as AVCA All-America honorable mention for the second year in a row.

In 2020, Hames was honored as an AVCA second-team All-American for the first time in her career. She also received All-Big Ten first team and AVCA All-North Region honors for the second straight year. Hames led the Big Ten in assists with 10.91 per set.

In 2021, she received AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-North Region First Team and second-team All-Big Ten recognition. She was also named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team and the Minneapolis Regional Most Outstanding Player.

This season Hames battled injuries, which kept her off the All-Big Ten honors list. But she’s still made a huge impact for the Big Red and is a key reason why it enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed. She’s been battling an illness that limited her in practice this week.

Hames has been active on the NIL front, including executing deals with Scooter’s Coffee, adidas, Ameritas, First National Bank of Omaha and many, many others. Additionally, her On3 NIL Valuation has climbed 7% over the past nine weeks, and it’s now at $52,000.

Logan Eggleston – Texas

Position: Outside Hitter
On3 NIL Valuation: $50,000
On3 Per Post Value: $802

Logan Eggleston returned to Texas for the 2022 season after winning VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year in 2021.

She was also recognized in 2021 as an AVCA first-team All-American, Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and AVCA Southwest Region Player of the Year.

In 2021, she led the Longhorns with 387 kills and 3.91 kills per set. In 2020, Eggleston earned AVCA first-team All-American, Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and Big 12 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Eggleston finished second in the Big 12 Conference with 468 kills and 4.63 kills per set.

In 2022, she was named the Big 12 Player of the Year for the third time. She joins former Longhorn Haley Eckerman and Nebraska’s Sarah Pavan as the only student-athletes to win Big 12 Player of the Year three times. 

Along with her success at Texas, she was named the most valuable player and best server with the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team in 2018.

Eggleston has been extremely active on the NIL front with deals with Degree, Champion, Orgain, GoFundMe, Sprouts and others. She has seen her On3 NIL Valuation – which is now at $50,000 – climb 7% over the past nine weeks. If the Horns make a deep run in the tournament, and she dominates, look for that valuation to continue to soar.

Liz Gregorski – Wisconsin

Position: Outside Hitter
On3 NIL Valuation: $47,000
On3 Per Post Value: $731

After battling through injuries for most of her career, Liz Gregorski broke through for the Badgers in the 2022 season. She was named team captain. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Gregorski scored one service ace in at least 10 matches.

Gregorski has a huge social media presence with 89,000 followers, including more than 54,000 on TikTok. Because of her huge following, she’s generated more than 1.6 million likes on TikTok and has become a trusted presence for brands to engage with. Accordingly, she was a part of the first class of NIL athletes with MoneyLion.

Other names to watch

  • Devyn Robinson: She was a first-team unanimous All-Big Ten selection after the 2022 season for the Wisconsin Badgers. Robinson has more than 140,000 followers on social media and has already done NIL deals with American Eagle Outfitters and Barilla.
  • Claire Chaussee: She was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2022. Entering the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Chaussee led the Cardinals with 3.81 kills per set to fuel the Louisville offense. She has built a large social media following, including more than 30,000 on TikTok, and a deep run in the tournament could help her earn a big NIL payday.
  • Julianna Dalton: Her consistency is one of the biggest reasons why Pitt is a No. 2 seed in the tournament. Dalton has also been a consistent winner in NIL, fulfilling deals with Dunkin’, CVS, Roots Natural Kitchen and others. Additionally, she’s seen a 219% growth in her On3 NIL Valuation of the past seven weeks.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

The On3 NIL Valuation is a proprietary algorithm that calculates the projected annual value of high school and college athletes’ marketability in the NIL ecosystem. It includes a student-athlete’s brand value and roster value, which incorporate their respective value to third-party sponsorship opportunities and to their team. The latter factors in the influence of NIL collectives, which are organizations ranging from marketing agencies to nonprofit organizations that facilitate NIL deals.