Defending national champion Stanford, which will be playing for its ninth national championship this week in Pittsburgh, is known for its formidable front line. 

There’s 6-6 outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, 6-3 middle Holly Campbell, 6-5 outside Kendall Kipp, 6-6 opposite Audriana Fitzmorris, and 6-3 middle Madeleine Gates.

The Leilah Smith File

Position: Middle Blocker

Height: 6-4

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

High School: The Hockaday School

College Commitment: Stanford

After the 2019 season, Gates, Plummer, and Fitzmorris will all graduate, but head coach Kevin Hambly already has plenty of size and talent coming in next year to fill the gaps. Headlining in that category is First Team Under Armour High School All-American middle blocker Leilah Smith. 

The 6-4 middle from Dallas, Texas, touches just two inches shy of 11-feet and could dunk a basketball as a high school freshman. PrepVolleyball ranks her fifth in the Class of 2020, but first among middles.

Leilah Smith was named to the Allen Texas Open All-Tournament Team. Hockaday Varsity Volleyball made it to the Championship Bracket and finished 9th out of 32 teams. pic.twitter.com/HWjOKg1tgj

— Hockaday Athletics (@HockadayATH) August 17, 2019

This fall, Smith averaged 2.8 kills and 1.5 blocks per set, hitting .397 for The Hockaday School. She was named to the Dallas Morning News All-Area first team, and recognized as one of the top 24 high school volleyball players in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, which named her First Team Under Armour All-America.

Watch Leilah Smith in action at the 2019 Under Armour High School All-America Match, streaming live right here on FloVolleyball, Dec. 31 at 7 PM ET.

Smith is one of two Stanford commits on the Under Armour first team, joined by Hawaii native Elena Oglivie. Another Dallas-area Stanford-bound middle, Annabelle Smith, made the second team. 

Leilah Smith (‘20) has committed to Stanford University to play volleyball. She has also been named the #5 recruit in the 2020 class. Congratulations, Leilah! #GoCardinals ? pic.twitter.com/1pa1UH8QhW

— Hockaday Athletics (@HockadayATH) September 6, 2019

In club, Smith played for an unparalleled 2018-19 Texas Advantage 17 Black team that also featured first team All-American Paige Flickinger, the aforementioned Annabelle Smith, as well as Texas-bound Madison Williams, UCLA commit Iman Ndiaye, and future Hawaii setter Kate Lang, just to name a few. Ranked in PrepVolleyball’s top five throughout the 2018-19 season, TAV 17 Black won the Northern Lights Qualifier, the JVA West Coast Cup, and USAV Junior Nationals in 17 Open. With Smith playing a key role, the squad lost just four matches all season.