Sofia Maldonado Diaz may have been a little under the radar as a recruit. The fact that U.S. volleyball coaches got to see her so rarely had a lot to do with that. She’s certainly making an impact for the Arizona Wildcats in her first season, though, including being named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Tuesday.
Arizona head coach Dave Rubio said that he first saw his emerging star at the SCVA Las Vegas Classic when she was a high school sophomore. By the time she was a senior Chris Tobolski of Volleyball Mag was writing, “If Maldonado was playing for an American club she would very likely be considered the top recruit in the country.