2025 middle blocker Maya Flemister commits to Arizona volleyball

Maya Flemister made two trips to Tucson over the summer. In early June, it was to attend Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs’ “dream team” camp. In mid-August, she returned for the Red-Blue game. It was all she needed to see.

The middle blocker from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. will be a Wildcat. Flemister announced her commitment on social media Wednesday evening.

At 6-foot-2, Flemister has the physical tools she needs to be successful at the position. What she needs is experience.

On her Sports Recruits profile, she wrote, “I am a naturally gifted athlete that is just starting my club volleyball career.”

Flemister is gaining that club experience with Elevation Volleyball Club in Englewood, Colo. When she was very young, she played soccer and ran track, but she’s on an indoor court playing for the club’s 17 Peak team these days.

Flemister also has the family background to be a successful college athlete. Her father played college football at Iowa and went on to spend six years in the NFL. Her mother played volleyball at Wake Forest.

Middle blocker is a position of need for the Wildcats. This season, they have three on the roster. Starters Alayna Johnson and Nicole Briggs are juniors. Both will be gone by the time Flemister arrives in Tucson.

Journey Tucker is a freshman who is relatively new to the sport but has shown some promise in her limited time on the court. Next season, the team will welcome Adrianna Bridges, who is having a strong senior season at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The pair are scheduled to still be on campus when Flemister starts her career at Arizona in the fall of 2025.

Flemister shows both some strengths and some things she will need to improve on as she prepares to play Division I volleyball. Her high school stats show her averaging 2.6 kills and 0.6 blocks per set over her sophomore and junior seasons. She hits .193 over the course of her career.

Flemister has eight aces in 59 serve attempts this season after not serving as a sophomore. That’s an ace percentage of 13.6 percent, however she also has 17 serving errors. That means just 71.2 percent of her serves are in the court.

The serving is not a top priority; the libero generally serves for one of the middle blockers in NCAA volleyball. However, the young player will need to improve both her blocks and her hitting percentage. Fortunately, she is already showing improvements in both areas.

Flemister has improved from a .177 hitting percentage as a sophomore to .222 in 35 sets this season. She already has almost as many total blocks this year as she had all season as a sophomore. She has 30 total blocks (5 solo) in 35 sets this season. Last year, she finished with 35 total blocks (12 solo) in 71 sets.

Flemister becomes the fifth commit in the 2025 class. She joins outside hitter Paige Thies, who also visited during the Red-Blue game in August. In addition, Arizona has pledges from defensive specialist/libero Brookelyn Hatton, setter Chloe Giehtbrock, and opposite Renee Jones.

Highlights