2026 Texas Roster Preview
Predicting the starting line-up and other critical role players for the fall season
It’s finally that time of year again here at Point Texas - our weekly article rhythm returns! Through the remainder of the offseason all the way until the season, we will be dropping a new article every Friday focusing on the 2026 season preview for Texas volleyball (with the exception of Friday, July 3rd in recognition of the Independence Day holiday). That all kicks off this week with us taking a dive into who Texas has on the roster for 2026 and where we think the strengths of this team will lie.
Next week, we’ll begin the process of previewing every single one of Texas’ 2026 opponents, crossing our fingers that Jerritt will finalize the schedule before we get too deep in the weeds. As it stands right now, we just need him to decide if we’re going to add any matches between the Wisconsin match at Moody on Sunday, September 13th and the start of SEC play against Tennessee on Friday, September 25th. As long as he does that before the last Friday in June, our plan will work out swimmingly.
Texas did finally confirm last week an announcement made weeks ago that they would be facing off with the USC Trojans in Austin at Gregory Gym on Wednesday, September 2nd for their first home game on the calendar. I failed to include that match on the schedules I shared in the past few articles, so let’s take a look at how things are shaking out so far:
With that in mind, let’s talk about Texas’ starting rotation as I see it currently.
Starting Rotation
In a departure from the MO of the last few years in the 512, the Texas rotation is littered with familiar faces after only losing libero Emma Halter to graduation from the program and middle blocker Ayden Ames to Creighton viathe transfer portal. Pin hitter Whitney Lauenstein also hit the portal and headed to Penn State after coming on strong late in the year following a long road to recovery from injury. Not to minimize the impact of their contributions - Halter had a phenomenal four years in burnt orange, and Ayden Ames was clearly the most impactful single middle on the roster last season - but there is definitely some comfort to be had in knowing that every single name listed below spent a lot of time on the floor last fall too.
OH1 - Sr Torrey Stafford
2025 pGIS - 9.1 (#1 OH/RS nationally - min. 10 matches vs RPI Top 50)
Torrey Stafford is back for potentially her final year in Austin (we’ll see how the 5-in-5 rule ends up getting implemented by the NCAA which could grant her an additional year of eligibility) after an absolutely elite 2025. Her season-long positional GIS rating of 9.1 was not only the highest of all the outside hitters in the country last year but also overall. By our fancy and obviously flawless new metric, she should have won the Player of the Year award over her 2024 teammate in Pitt’s Olivia Babcock (the #8 OH, by our approach).
Stafford wasn’t just dominating the weak opponents on the schedule. In the 17 matches Texas played against Top 50 RPI opponents, she delivered an even more impressive 9.3 pGIS rating on the year. Her best match came against the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC tournament championship where she had 28 kills on a .471 hitting percentage and 10 digs, amounting to a match pGIS rating of 9.99.
If you want a reason to believe that Texas won’t be taking a step back this season, look no further than #4. Stafford led the way for the Longhorns with the most points, kills, and service aces on the team last year. The All-American is without question one of the best players in the country coming into the season.
OH2 - So Abby Vander Wal
2025 pGIS - 4.6 (#79 OH/RS)
AVW was, at times, phenomenal in 2025, posting impressive match scores in games against Ole Miss and Texas A&M during a wicked stretch of matches in late October as a freshman. Much like Torrey Stafford, Vander Wal also actually performed better against better teams. Her season-long pGIS score against RPI Top 50 opponents was .2 better than her overall, indicating that she absolutely has additional gears for the staff to unlock.
Based on how this spring went, I fully anticipate that AVW’s biggest impact this season will be in her apparent ability to be an absolute weapon from the service line. That should allow her more time on the floor and thus more opportunities to stack stats and develop her defensive game as well. There is a future where a well-rounded Abby Vander Wal is one of multiple 6-rotation pin hitters for Texas a la Eva Hudson and Brooklyn Deleye for Kentucky last year.
The name of the game for Abby this fall will be finding that consistency and proving that she’s capable of playing at that level night in and night out. I’m exceedingly confident in this coaching staff’s ability to help an outside hitter in that regard. There is no doubt that elevating young pin hitters is well-within their wheelhouse.
OPP - So Cari Spears
2025 pGIS - 4.8 (#67 OH/RS)
If there’s a prime example of the limitations of the GIS metrics as they currently stand, Cari Spears is it. Despite a pGIS rating that would imply a “meh” campaign from the freshman, the people who actually know volleyball voted Cari as a third team All-American in 2025.
Much of the reputation Spears developed in 2025 was established in the early days of the schedule; her single best match came in the sweep of the Baylor Bears in September where she hit .654 for 18 kills, an ace, and three block assists for a match rating of 9.71, firmly in elite territory.
Where Cari really suffered was late in the season. She turned in pGIS ratings of 8.0 or better in six matches before October 1st but only eclipsed that two more times the rest of the season. Both Brittany and I wrote at length last fall about the inherent inconsistency of freshmen, and I think that was amplified a bit by the tape on how to slow her down spreading across the country as well as what appeared to be some challenges getting on the same page as setter Ella Swindle as the year wore on.
I said I was confident in the staff’s ability to develop young pin hitters with regard to Abby Vander Wal, and there is no reason to not feel the same way with Cari Spears. Reminder: Last year was the first time she had ever consistently played from the right side. What’s she gonna look like with another offseason to continue honing her craft?
MB1 - Jr Nya Bunton
2025 pGIS - 3.3 (#83 MB)
It’s no secret that Texas struggled for long stretches in 2025 with their ability to get a consistent block. That narrative started to shift slightly late in the year as the coaching staff shifted not only their schematic approach to blocking but also as the two inexperienced options at MB2, Bunton and Harvey, grew into their roles and started to find their footing.
While Nya Bunton’s best statistical game came early in the year with an 8.26 pGIS against Wisconsin in the opening sweep of the Badgers, she came on with stronger consistency late. Before November, Bunton only had two matches with a pGIS over 6.0; she had five such matches in the last six weeks of the season alone. As a result, she produced better against RPI Top 50 teams with a pGIS of 4.2 in those matches.
Bunton’s position as the “elder statesman” in the middle blocking room will be especially critical with the departure of Ayden Ames (pGIS 5.6, #35 MB) in the December transfer portal. With the room as thin as it is, Bunton will have significantly more chances than she did last season after appearing in 23 of the 30 matches Texas played last season. Jerritt has established Texas as MBU during his time in Austin, and it’s Bunton’s turn to reclaim that crown.
MB2 - So Taylor Harvey
2025 pGIS - 3.1 (#86 MB)
Despite playing in two fewer matches and 17 fewer sets than her counterpart, Taylor Harvey was still able to put up some decent numbers in our metric. The lone member of the 2025 recruiting class to not be on campus for spring camp last year, she was able to contribute pretty quickly once she did get her chances to get on the floor.
Something that has turned out to be a calling card for this Texas team is their ability to find an additional gear when playing quality opponents. Harvey’s pGIS of 4.1 in matches against the RPI Top 50 indicates she’s no exception. While I’ve listed her as MB2 for the time being, it wouldn’t shock me if she ends up responding extremely well to the additional play and practice time to the point of finding herself MB1 before too long.
Regardless, Texas will need both Bunton and Harvey to take the next step in 2026 in order to make a deeper run in the tournament, and the feeling around the program is that they’re capable. Jerritt’s lack of activity in either of the portal windows to bring in reinforcements here would indicate the same. Though between Addy Gaido’s shift into the middle and rumors that 2027 MB commit Camille Presley may be working to reclassify and join the team this fall, perhaps the room isn’t as light on bodies as we initially feared.
S - Sr Ella Swindle
2025 pGIS - 5.8 (#21 S)
Ella’s passion and leadership is beyond question at this point, though some fans still find her to be an easy scapegoat when the team encounters adversity through the season. While the numbers appear to bear out that she’s not necessarily statistically elite, I still firmly believe she’s capable of quarterbacking Texas to another national championship.
This spring seems to indicate that running a true 6-2 offense may be on the table for the Longhorns this season, so it’ll be interesting to see which version of Ella we get in response. The messy and disjointed handling of the setter situation in 2024 with Averi Carlson led to a wonky and non-productive campaign. While 2025 was better for Swindle, she hasn’t quite matched the promise shown during her freshman campaign in 2023 when she turned in a 6.5 pGIS (and 7.0 in RPI Top 50 matches!) and was the #14 setter in the country.
Keeping Ella engaged if the 6-2 does come to fruition will be paramount, especially if the Texas block doesn’t get off the line hot again. Her size impacts Texas’ play at the net both on the block and offensively in ways that Rella Binney or freshman Genevieve Harris might not.
L - Sr Ramsey Gary
2025 pGIS - 0.7 (#83 L/DS)
Our metric combining liberos and defensive specialists makes this a deceptive stat for anyone not wearing the special jersey for the team. Ramsey was very good for Texas last season while playing a position that simply doesn’t vacuum up countable stats to inform the Game Impact Score formulas. The 4.7 pGIS rating and #31 ranking in 2024 while at Indiana gives a better picture of what she’s really capable of. With the stronger supporting cast around her in Gregory Gym than she had in Bloomington, it’s more than fair to expect her to flourish. Emma Halter was able to deliver a 6.3 pGIS in the black jersey in 2025 when she was the #6 libero in the country (#1 Symone Sims at K-State delivered a 7.1 for the year).
Other Role Players
While this may (or may not! I’m wrong a lot!) encompass the starting rotation, even the more casual volleyball fans know that players coming off the bench are still integral to the success of the team. That becomes doubly true if Texas does indeed run a 6-2, requiring an additional setter and right side hitter to be effective contributors for the offense to function appropriately.
In her limited role as the double-sub setter in 2025, Rella Binney only managed to compile enough stats for a season-long pGIS of 0.2, though she did turn in a respectable 7.1 match rating in her lone start of the year against Vanderbilt in relief of the injured Ella Swindle. An increased workload could be something she responds especially well to.
On the right side, all eyes will be on highly-anticipated freshman pin Henley Anderson. If she’s able to come in with similar ability to immediately contribute compared to what Cari Spears brought in 2025, she’s going to be absolutely massive for the Horns. As you can probably imagine, I’m not actually savvy enough to have pGIS ratings from high school matches. Imagine if I did though. I’d have so many college programs throwing money at me.
There is also, of course, the question of the defensive specialist(s). Callie Krueger looked good in the televised spring match against Houston but didn’t get opportunities in 2025 while taking a redshirt. True freshman Emma Cugino will of course also be making her arguments for why she should see plenty of time as the primary DS this fall. Anja Kujundzic will be looking to step up from her service specialist role in 2025. Anja put up a pGIS of 5.8 as the libero at VCU in 2024, though she saw a very limited number of RPI Top 50 opponents that season.
We’re finally into preview season! While volleyball still feels like it’s a long way out right now, it’ll be here before we know it. Be sure to follow along with us every Friday between now and the first serve against Arizona State on August 22nd. Hook ‘em!