Offseason Outlook
Projecting where the position battles will be this spring and what the coaching staff will do with the spring portal window
It’s been a hot minute since we last chatted about it, but the voices are clear: we want more updates about your personal rec volleyball league journey, Josh! Putting aside the fact that exactly nobody has clamored for this, I do need an intro to this article, and the offseason seems like a great opportunity to get in some “get to know you” time. So here goes nothing.
Last time I injected some information about my talent (or limitations, depending on who you ask) in rec volleyball, I was mostly bragging on how good my serve had gotten during a sand volleyball tournament to the point that I was getting complaints about the velocity with which I was picking on the middle back player. At the time, I really only had the capability of delivering a standing float serve - and even that only saw the ball actually “float” maybe 20% of the time. I’m happy to report that I have since added a standing top-spin serve to the repertoire, something that has earned legitimate compliments from opponents trying to receive it rather than merely complaints. Of course, this change in attitude about my serving may be a reflection of my team advancing from the lowest skill level the local rec league organizing body offers to the “intermediate” level rather than a full-throated change of service philosophy, but I digress…
With last Thursday being the start of the winter season for my current team, the Hard Swingers, I decided that my goal for the season was to become a more consistent blocking threat when I’m in the front row. For those of you who know that I’m 6’ 3”, this is probably more of a “no shit, man” moment than a revelation regarding my role in recreational volleyball. Regardless, I’ve been working on my timing so that I can at least slow down attacks from our opponents. Sometimes that means jumping and closing my eyes and hoping the ball hits me in the arms and stays on the opponent’s side of the net; sometimes that means just scaring someone shorter than me into a soft tip over my block so that my teammates can cover the play behind me. Either way, it was fun last week to get back-to-back blocks on someone and hear his team yell at him for it, only for him to yell back “He’s in my heeeeead!” If that’s our starting point this season, then I have very high hopes for the steps forward I’ll be able to take over the next 6-8 weeks.
Asjia O’Neal production incoming, right?
Anyway, in my last article, we broke down the roster situation following the graduation of four seniors and the unexpected transfer of middle blocker Ayden Ames from the Texas volleyball program. With fourteen names, four open roster spots, and a dream, let’s discuss where the areas of intrigue will be this season, especially with regard to the transfer portal opening once more in a few months.
Back Row
Let’s start this conversation with the littles, a room I expect to see as little intrigue as any. While the defensive core of this team won’t be without its storyline(s), I would be extremely surprised if any spots turn into grueling battles for playing time or the singular focus of hostile offseason chatter amongst the fanbase. Inevitably, there will be someone spending all their free time on Instagram or Volleytalk complaining about how their favorite player isn’t a lock to play a ton, but those folks will be few and far between.
I know we just talked about it two weeks ago, but here’s a reminder of the women in the picture here:
Sr Anja Kujundzic
Sr Ramsey Gary
rFr Callie Krueger
Fr Emma Cugino
With two good, experienced options and two talented young guns, the back row is far from an area of concern for the Longhorns heading into the spring. Ramsey Gary is the heir apparent to Emma Halter’s black libero jersey, but there could be some drama for the DS spots. Anja played plenty in 2025 in a service specialist role, and Jerritt could easily decide to expand her responsibilities into a full defensive specialist. Emma Cugino, however, didn’t come to Texas as the #1 libero recruit without the intention of pushing for playing time right off the bat; the last freshman little named Emma managed to beat out more established and experienced names for the starting DS role in 2022, after all.
Cugino and Callie Krueger both will be doing everything in their power to make Jerritt’s job difficult in determining who his best DS options are in 2026. Barring any sort of surprise exits following spring camp, I would be surprised to see movement into this room by way of the transfer portal outside of a grad transfer super senior depth piece.
Setter
Choose your fighter:
Sr Ella Swindle
Jr Rella Binney
Fr Genevieve Harris
While neither I nor Point Texas at large see this as a spot in flux, it is a hotly-contested subject in the fanbase. Brittany and I are in agreement that Ella’s leadership qualities and what she offers for blocking are far too crucial to relegate to the bench, even if you want to make the argument that there are better “pure” setters on the team (will the 2024 Longhorns please stand up?). With that in mind, this is Texas, and the easiest way to lose your starting position is to assume you’ve already done enough to have earned it - not that this has ever been the way Ella operates.
Fans of the team had the opportunity to bear witness to plenty of Rella Binney in 2025 thanks to the team’s use of the double substitution as well as the match with Vanderbilt where Ella sat out with an injury. Given that she is an upperclassman at this point, she’ll want to push Ella hard to try to unseat her as the incumbent starter. That also makes her a potential spring transfer candidate if she’s unsuccessful in that endeavor, though she could just as easily opt to try to beat out Genevieve Harris in 2027 after Ella graduates.
Harris does throw a big monkey wrench into the whole situation. This freshman class is uber-talented, arguably even moreso than the 2025 class which saw Taylor Harvey, Cari Spears, and Abby Vander Wal earn plenty of starts as true freshmen. Of course, they didn’t have anyone in front of them who was already entrenched in their respective starting roles, offering a clear pathway to playing time. Ordinarily, you’d probably be safe to assume that Harris was destined for a redshirt with two upperclassmen ahead of her. But, in a similar situation to Emma Cugino, it’s wildly unlikely that Harris doesn’t have her sights set on competing for playing time right from the get-go.
Again, signs point to things being all settled in this room in terms of available personnel. Unlike the back row, I wouldn’t even expect to see a depth piece added. The only chance of adding someone in the spring window is if Rella ends up taking the portal route (and I would prefer that she not do that). The only exception is if there is a surprise can’t miss transfer candidate floating out there.
Outside Hitters
Here’s a reminder of the members of the most crowded room on campus right now:
Sr Torrey Stafford
So Abby Vander Wal
So Cari Spears
rFr Addy Gaido
Fr Henley Anderson
If there’s anyone on this team that you can guarantee what their role will look like in 2026, it’s Torrey Stafford. The semifinalist for AVCA Player of the Year and First Team All-American in 2025 returns to Gregory Gym for her senior year and will be the featured attacker and face of the program this fall. Torrey will again be playing all six rotations as the premier OH for the Longhorns.
Flipping things over to the right side, Cari Spears figures to still be a fixture at opposite after an unbelievable freshman campaign. Fans will be eager to see Cari’s growth in her game as a sophomore, especially in her blocking and her back row defense. If she can develop the defense enough to play a few additional rotations, it’ll open up a lot for the coaching staff in terms of substitutions and playing matchups.
After that, things get a little bit more wild for the pin hitters. Abby Vander Wal had a productive freshman year as the consistent starting OH2. We know that Jerritt Elliott was eager to get AVW on campus as well, so it is hard to imagine him not going into the spring strongly preferring keeping her in that spot. However, there’s yet another recruit in the 2026 class who was #1 at her position (and in this case, #1 overall!) waiting in the wings and hungry to compete for playing time. Does Henley Anderson challenge AVW for that OH2 spot? She’s played a lot from the right pin as well with Team USA and has been productive from that side, so could she figure into Devin Kahahawai’s role as the opposite in a double sub? Or does Jerritt park her on the bench for a redshirt year so that she’s primed to play a ton alongside AVW and Cari in 2027?
Astute readers will likely notice that I did not mention Addy Gaido in that battle, and that could very well be overly-dismissive of me. However, my primary reason for leaving her out of the conversation is the rumblings around the folks “in the know” among the fanbase that she may be cross-training at middle blocker. Is a full-blown position move in the cards there? Texas’ official roster for the spring still lists her at outside hitter, so perhaps that rumor amounts to nothing?
Regardless, this is prime territory for Texas to add a depth grad transfer, even if only to fill out the practice gym with three pin hitters per side. If Gaido does become a middle blocker, then the coaching staff likely goes hunting for two transfer pins in the spring window.
Middle Blocker
Just two players officially, then crickets:
rJr Nya Bunton
So Taylor Harvey
Nya Bunton started the year as MB2, got benched a little bit in favor of Taylor Harvey, worked her way back into the starting rotation, and now starts the spring as the presumptive MB1 following Ayden Ames’ departure for Creighton. The battle between the two really comes down to who starts the match in the front row, and who is subbed off immediately in favor of Ramsey Gary or a DS.
Many fans - myself included - expected Texas to be active in the winter portal window, wishcasting star MBs such as Florida’s Jaela Auguste to Austin (she ultimately ended up transferring to Wisconsin). Much to everyone’s surprise, nothing really came to fruition. It is the overwhelming question mark on this team for 2026. It was enough of an issue in 2025 to play the season with only three MBs on the roster; you simply cannot go into the fall with only two this time around. As mentioned above, Addy Gaido could provide some depth here, but that’s still far from ideal to be relying exclusively on a position change as your first player off the bench if an injury impacts either of the starts (furiously knocking on wood having typed this sentence).
Without question, Texas will need to get to at least three bodies in the MB room, and I would argue strongly in favor of four. You know what you’ve got out of your presumptive starter, and you can’t count on someone equal or better to enter the portal in the spring, so that means we’re likely in the market for pure depth players. Experienced grad transfers like 2024’s Soah Franklin are the name of the game: women who want to join the practice gym and are okay with the reality that they may never see the floor in their final year of eligibility.
Spring Portal Confidence
Call this the “tl;dr” (“too long; didn’t read” for our readers who aren’t terminally online) for the above. Cards on the table. What does the spring portal window look like for Texas, Josh? What’s the likelihood of getting to the full 18-player roster? I’ll tell you my confidence levels in Texas adding to each room right now, so let me cook.
5% - Defensive specialist/libero - Only if neither Cugino nor Krueger inspires confidence for the coaching staff
15% - Setter - Only in the event of a transfer out of the room
65% - Pin hitter - Entirely for depth in the practice gym
24,601% - Middle blocker - Absolutely cannot do it with only two in the room as it stands
BONUS: 85% - Pin hitter or middle blocker - Whichever room Addy Gaido ends up in, the other one will get a consolation prize
I’d honestly be surprised to see Texas end up filling all 18 roster spots for the 2026 season, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I think Jerritt Elliott ends up at 16 or 17 by summertime, adding two or three players via the portal. Adds at setter or back row would merely be luxuries, so it’s hard to see the staff taking four players in the portal at OH and MB without simultaneously losing anyone to it.
In my next article in two weeks, I’d love to try doing a Q&A article. Either in the comments here, on Reddit at r/LonghornNation, or on Instagram, shoot us some questions you’d love to get a response to from someone who can at least speak with the confidence of someone who knows the correct answer, even if they don’t at all.
Until then: Hook ‘em!