Sports
The best recruiter on Nebraska’s campus? Try the assistant volleyball coach
LINCOLN, Neb. — As a kid in Hawaii, Jaylen Reyes competed in club volleyball with a team of athletes straight out of the country club. In school, he befriended classmates from the Honolulu housing projects.
It is his superpower, Reyes said, the ability to connect. The way of life in his home state prepared Reyes for his career outside of it.
“In Hawaii, you have no choice,” he said. “You have so many cultures, you just learn how to interact with different people.”
Hired by Nebraska as an assistant in 2018 by then-coach John Cook, Reyes mixed his relational skills with a tireless work ethic to expand the recruiting reach of a program that won five national titles from 1995 to 2017.
At 33 years old, Reyes has emerged as the best recruiter on the Nebraska campus. His influence is all over the No. 1-ranked Huskers’ unbeaten season as they enter the final weekend of the regular season. Coaches in other sports at Nebraska so respect his acumen that they’ve tapped into Reyes’ recruiting expertise. No one else in the athletic department has assembled multiple top-ranked classes.
Reyes is such a known figure at Nebraska that he even hosts a weekly, hourlong radio show.
“He eats, sleeps and breathes recruiting,” said Cook, who retired after 25 seasons in January. “He wants to hoard players. Even when we were done recruiting, I’d be like, ‘Jaylen, we don’t have any more scholarships, we don’t need any more players.’
“And he was still recruiting. That’s why he’s great.”
A national championship has evaded Nebraska since Reyes arrived. Nebraska has played in four Final Fours in his seven seasons and lost twice in the championship match — against Texas in 2023 and Wisconsin in 2021.
Nebraska (28-0, 18-0 Big Ten) clinched a third consecutive conference title last week and will host Penn State and Ohio State on Friday and Saturday. A top seed in the NCAA Tournament awaits Sunday.
The Final Four this year will be played in Kansas City, Dec. 18 and 21. It’s ripe for a Nebraska takeover if the Huskers avoid an upset during the tournament’s first two weekends. Nebraska enters the postseason as a prohibitive favorite in large part because of the talent that Reyes stockpiled.
He recruited every player on the roster, which includes three of the 14 semifinalists for AVCA National Player of the Year and four returning All-Americans. Nebraska signed the No. 1-ranked recruiting classes in 2021 and 2023, and the No. 2 class last year.
Reyes signed a one-year deal at Nebraska after Dani Busboom Kelly returned to coach her alma mater, replacing Cook after leaving Louisville. Reyes could likely write his ticket as a head coach. He’s received opportunities, but he can afford to stay selective. His base salary of $170,000 exceeds the pay of some head coaches.
“There’s major turnover going on right now,” Cook said. “And he’s going to be at the top of those lists. But he’s got a few more things to continue to check off here. He’s not there yet, but he’s working toward it.”
A national championship next month would check a box. A big one.
Reyes’ dad, Tino, coached men’s volleyball for 17 years at the University of Hawaii as an assistant, then spent seven seasons as the head women’s coach at Hawaii Hilo. Even after Jaylen earned acclaim in the sport, first as a player at BYU and then for his role in building the Nebraska women’s program into a nationally recognized brand, he remained, at home in a volleyball hotbed, known most as Tino’s son.
Before his senior year of high school, Reyes figured he’d join his dad at Hawaii for college to play volleyball. But when Tino jumped islands to coach the women at Hilo, Reyes looked to the mainland.
Reyes knew he eventually wanted to coach. BYU appealed to him because it had produced the likes of Hugh McCutcheon and Kevin Hambly, great players who moved into coaching at the Team USA level and in the women’s collegiate game.
Reyes played libero on a Cougars team that lost in the NCAA title match in 2013. When he began his coaching career at BYU, Reyes saw others older than him in the men’s game being passed over for jobs coaching women.
Women’s volleyball offered better pay and more opportunities, so Reyes marked it as a goal. He never expected to hear from Nebraska.
Before his third year on staff at BYU — weeks after Cook’s team beat Florida in Kansas City to win the national championship — Reyes received a text out of the blue from the Nebraska coach.
Reyes was 25. Cook wanted a young coach who would stay in Lincoln. He had recently lost assistants in Busboom Kelly to Louisville, Chris Tamas to Illinois and Tyler Hildebrand to coach Olympians on the beach. Cook asked for a three-year commitment. Reyes offered him five.
“With him here, I knew it would help build our culture,” Cook said.
Cook was right. His players loved Reyes, whose recruiting talents had only begun to emerge.
“I’m still a firm believer that it’s about people,” Reyes said. “If you get to know them and let them get to know you, people still want to be around great people.”
Jaylen Reyes grew up as the son of a coach in Hawaii and played collegiately at BYU. (Courtesy of Nebraska)
Reyes leaned on his ability to connect.
“He’s that person who can push you when you need to be pushed but also support when you need that,” Nebraska libero Laney Choboy said, “And he could talk to anyone. He could talk to a wall if you asked him to.”
Reyes set a goal to clear hurdles that had slowed Nebraska’s push to bring the best talent to Lincoln. Reyes wanted top volleyball players and their families to see that the Huskers don’t play in a big arena next to a cornfield.
“I still hear about how Lincoln is not as diverse as Dallas or L.A.,” Reyes said. “And I’m not going to sit there and debate that. But since I got here, the diversity on our team has changed. We have kids from so many different backgrounds, whether it’s ethnicity or religion or where they come from.”
Undoubtedly, he’s opened doors for Nebraska to a wider range of athletes.
How?
“I’m literally a mix,” Reyes said. “My mom’s white. My dad’s Filipino and Hawaiian. Sometimes it’s hard to go somewhere and commit four years of your life when there’s not someone who looks like you or talks like you or understands you.”
Reyes set out to get ahead by identifying young players before they blew up as recruits. Cook didn’t want to travel to watch a ninth-grade club tournament. But Reyes did.
He coached in the Team USA program. He was aggressive with camp invites. When prospects accepted, rules allowed Nebraska coaches to interact with them on campus in Lincoln. The rest took care of itself.
“I think I’m a really good salesperson,” Reyes said. “I would also say, I’m selling the best product.”
Reyes plans to run his own program someday in the way that Cook designed Nebraska to operate. Over their years together, Cook talked often with Reyes about the requirements of a head coach.
Reyes sat on every word.
Cook’s coaching tree includes not just Busboom Kelly and Tamas in the Big Ten but Christy Johnson of Iowa State, Kentucky’s Craig Skinner, Dan Meske of Louisville and Dan Conners of UC Davis. Former collegiate head coaches Hildebrand (Long Beach State), Lee Maes (Virginia), Lizzy Stemke (Georgia) and Kayla Banwarth (Ole Miss) also worked for Cook.
“He would sit with me and say, ‘Jaylen, you coach out there and you do all that stuff really well. But how much of your job is actually in the gym?’” Reyes said. “I’m like, ‘Coach, probably 25 percent.’ And he goes, ‘It’s going to keep getting less and less. So if you want to be a successful head coach, you have to be able to do all the other things.’”
Reyes is chipping away. His experience in the only profitable collegiate volleyball program ought to earn Reyes points with an athletic director in a job interview, he said.
“We all know that he could be a head coach anytime he wanted,” Choboy said. “That’s just how good he is.”
He’s learned from Cook to adopt CEO qualities. And this year, Reyes is watching his new boss, who retained Reyes and fellow assistant Kelly (Hunter) Natter immediately after accepting the job.
“He’s been great for bridging the gap between John and myself,” Busboom Kelly said. “Having somebody that was here who can speak to both experiences, it’s huge. It’s big for me, too, trusting his eye. He’s been here for eight years and really understands everybody’s role.”
As an extension of his work in recruiting, Reyes said he meets players at a place that works for them. For instance, as a freshman two years ago, Choboy struggled to adjust.
“Jaylen was always my backbone,” she said. “We would go to film (sessions), and sometimes we wouldn’t even watch film. He would just ask how I was doing. And I’d sit there and cry in his office.”
Life in Lincoln for Reyes is good.
Reyes has set no deadline to advance in coaching. He’s comfortable at Nebraska but not content with the Huskers’ accomplishments. Neither are they. He’ll patrol the sideline this weekend from the head of the bench, relaying defensive instruction while Busboom Kelly runs the show.
Their push continues next month in the postseason for as long as this ride lasts. Because of what Reyes has helped build, the expectation is nothing short of eight more matches.
Sports
Practice grind begins for Hawaii men’s volleyball team
Sports
Andrea Roman Signs With Wake Forest Volleyball
A transfer from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Roman will join the Demon Deacons’ roster for the 2026-27 school year with one final season of eligibility remaining. She spent each of the last three seasons as a member of the Trojans’ volleyball program.
Roman is the second individual to ink with the Deacs this winter, as Catherine Burke also recently signed on Dec. 17.
Andrea Roman | 5-4 | Defensive Specialist/Libero | Humacao, Puerto Rico | Little Rock
One of the country’s top defensive players this past fall as a junior, Roman ranked second in the NCAA in total digs, finishing the 2025 season with 632. That total was good for the most by a Trojan in a single season throughout program history at Little Rock. In addition, her 5.31 digs-per-set average ranked fourth nationally. Roman’s stellar play led to her being named the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Defensive Player of the Year while also earning First Team All-OVC honors. Her clips in total digs and digs-per-set average both led the league. She had four performances of 30-plus digs and 13 with 20 or more while recording three of the top 10 single-match dig marks in program history during the season.
As a sophomore in 2024, Roman played in all 32 matches while making appearances in 125 sets. She led the team with a then-program record 624 digs and averaging 4.99 per set. Roman ranked first in the conference in total digs and fifth among all NCAA players. Her total ultimately helped Little Rock reach a new best single-season mark in digs as a team (2,227) through program history. She also played a notable role in the team’s setting tempo, finishing with 161 total assists. By the conclusion of the season, Roman was named Second Team All-OVC.
During her freshman season, Roman led the Trojans in digs (315) while seeing action in 22 matches and 79 sets played. She was also third on the roster in service aces (80). In all but one of the final 16 matches of the season, Roman led Little Rock in digs.
Andrea Roman Career Accolades & Accomplishments
- 2025 OVC Defensive Player of the Year
- 2025 First Team All-OVC
- 2024 Second Team All-OVC
- Ranks No. 1 all-time in single-season digs (632) at Little Rock
- Ranks No. 2 all-time in career digs (1,571) at Little Rock
- Five-time OVC Defensive Player of the Week honoree
Personal
Andrea is the daughter of Sylvia Gonzalez and Julio Roman – she also has two older siblings. In the classroom, Andrea plans to study Health & Exercise Science during her time on campus.
From Coach Hulsmeyer
“I’m so happy to have Andrea joining us to bring depth and experience to our libero group. With Emma Farrell graduating, Andrea provides an experienced defender who averaged over five digs per set this past season and is someone who has seen a lot of tough serving in the OVC. Getting her to Wake Forest in January will allow us to acclimate her for the speed of the ACC. I’ve known her former coach, Van Compton, for many years, so not only is she a well-trained skilled player, she is also someone of great character. She will be a wonderful addition to the Wake Forest family.”
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Sports
Vote in the Lakeshore Elite volleyball player of the year poll
Dec. 30, 2025, 3:00 a.m. CT
Who do you think deserves to be the Lakeshore Elite volleyball player of the year? You tell us.
Tom Dombeck made his choice, but you can choose from the six players to make up the first team.
You can vote for the Lakeshore Elite volleyball player of the year until noon on Jan. 6.
You don’t have to be a subscriber to vote.
Here is the ballot. If the poll does not display, refresh your browser.
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 ortdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at@Tom_Dombeck.
Sports
Meet the 2025 Press-Register All-Region volleyball team
High school volleyball teams in the Coastal Region won three state championships this season and 13 teams earned spots in the AHSAA state championship tournament.
McGill-Toolen dominated Class 7A, winning its fourth straight title and 25th AHSAA state championship while Spanish Fort won its second straight Class 6A title and fifth overall, all coming since 2015. Mobile Christian won its second straight Class 3A championship.
Class 3A St. Luke’s won to the title match before falling to Mobile Christian while Class 5A UMS-Wright and Class 4A Orange Beach each earned spots in the final four.
Other teams winning to the Elite Eight were Class 7A Bayside and St. Paul’s, Class 6A Saraland, Class 5A Faith Academy, Class 4A St. Michael and Class 1A Millry and Leroy.
The Press-Register All-Region team is compiled by the AL.com high school sports staff with input from coaches.
AL.com named Player of the Year, Attacker MVP, Defensive MVP, Setter MVP and Coach of the Year. Award winners are listed separately, but considered first-team selections.
PRESS-REGISTER ALL-REGION VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(Players listed alphabetically)
AHSAA Volleyball 6A State Championship
Zoẽ Beech, Spanish Fort
5-11, Sr., Middle
355 kills, 104 blocks, 404 digs, 59 aces
College: Undecided
Bennett Boulo, St. Paul’s
5-10, Sr., Setter/Right Side
1,091 assists, 354 kills, 51 blocks, 257 digs, 67 aces
College: Undecided
Grier Broughton, Bayside Academy
5-9, Sr., Outside Hitter
321 kills, 33 blocks, 171 digs, 20 aces
College: Undecided
Anna Grace Chason, Daphne
5-11, Sr., Right Side/Setter
1,024 assists, 233 kills, 37 blocks, 238 digs, 58 aces
College: Mississippi College
Caroline Downey, Spanish Fort
5-10, Sr., Outside Hitter
446 kills, 49 blocks, 336 digs, 55 aces
College: Mississippi College
Chloe Duggan, Faith Academy
5-6, Jr., Setter
701 assists, 43 kills, 25 blocks, 204 digs, 47 aces
College: Undecided
Haley Eldridge, Mobile Christian
5-6, Sr., Setter
1,006 assists, 43 kills, 34 blocks, 277 digs, 67 aces
College: Undecided
Baker Garside, St. Luke’s
5-6, Sr., Setter
1,018 assists, 99 kills, 9 blocks, 245 digs, 36 aces
College: Undecided
Victoria Holley, Spanish Fort
5-6, Sr., Libero
695 digs, 98 assists, 66 aces
College: Undecided
Cami Huff, McGill-Toolen
6-2, Sr., Middle
383 kills, 137 blocks, 23 digs
College: West Virginia
Hadley Kelly, Mobile Christian
6-1, Jr., Middle
463 kills, 139 blocks, 12 digs, 35 aces
College: Liberty
Catherine McClain, McGill-Toolen
5-9, Sr., Outside Hitter
538 kills, 41 blocks, 331 digs, 49 aces
College: Loyola
Payton McClarren, McGill-Toolen
5-2, Sr., Libero
534 digs, 75 assists, 69 aces
College: William Carey
Macey Moore, Gulf Shores
5-10, Sr., Setter/Right Side
336 kills, 430 assists, 77 blocks, 351 digs, 71 aces
College: North Florida beach volleyball
Kenly Nelson, Fairhope
5-11, Jr., Outside Hitter
333 kills, 49 blocks, 57 digs, 2 aces
College: Undecided
Charli Pearce, Saraland
6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter/Setter
368 kills, 504 assists, 36 blocks, 329 digs, 64 aces
College: South Alabama
Hayley Robinson, Bayside Academy
6-3, Sr., Right Side
370 kills, 70 blocks, 105 digs, 48 aces
College: Samford
Libby Rogers, Fairhope
5-8, Sr., Setter
710 assists, 166 kills, 33 blocks, 273 digs, 20 aces
College: Montevallo
Bella Rumley, Orange Beach
5-8, So., Outside Hitter
273 kills, 27 blocks, 42 digs, 46 aces
College: Undecided
Amelia Smith, St. Luke’s
6-0, Sr., Outside Hitter
543 kills, 50 blocks, 354 digs, 84 aces
College: UAH
Ella Clarie Sullivan, UMS-Wright
5-7, Sr, Libero
418 digs, 120 assists, 82 aces
College: Undecided
MK Whitehurst, Bayside Academy
5-3, Sr., Libero
504 digs, 59 assists, 44 aces
College: Undecided
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alice Wood, McGill-Toolen
5-9, Jr., Setter
Region second-best 1,362 assists, region-best 27.8 assists per match average, 57 kills, 76 blocks, 302 digs, 61 aces
College: Kansas State
ATTACKER MVP
Ella Lomax, Daphne
5-11, Sr., Outside Hitter
Region-best 753 kills, region-best 13.45 kills per match average, 35 blocks, 313 digs, 81 aces
College: UNA
DEFENSIVE MVP

Melissa Patel, Mobile Christian
5-5, Sr., Libero
684 digs, 57 assists, 40 aces
College: Southwest Baptist
SETTER MVP

Cailyn Boykin, Spanish Fort
5-8, Jr., Setter
Region-best 1,638 assists, 68 kills, 32 blocks, 351 digs, 66 aces
College: Undecided
COACHES OF THE YEAR

Kate Wood, McGill-Toolen

Gretchen Boykin, Spanish Fort

Mallory Boyington, Mobile Christian
HONORABLE MENTION
Outside Hitter/Right Side: Brooklyn McIlwain, Faith Academy, Sr.; Alexis Scott, Mobile Christian, Sr.; Marissa Smith, St. Paul’s, Fr.; Skylar Courtney, UMS-Wright, Sr.; LillyAnne Doggette, Millry, Sr.; Myah Skanes, Saraland, Jr.; Jaedyn Lang, McGill-Toolen, Sr.; Breanna Stokley, Millry, Sr.; Chandler Thomas, UMS-Wright, Sr.
Middle: Chelsey McReary, T.R. Miller, Jr.; Reece Wilmott, Bayside Academy, Jr.; Mikadyn Cauley, Faith Academy, Jr.; Natalie Maxwell, Spanish Fort, So.; Gabi Berlage, Fairhope, Sr.; Maddie McKinley, Washington County, Sr.; Raina Gunter, Washington County, Sr.; Lily Willingham, Saraland, Sr.
Setter: Sophie Hester, Bayside Academy, Jr.; Grace Thigpen, Daphne, Sr.; Ivey Marston, St. Paul’s, Sr.; Ella Bilbo, Orange Beach, Sr.
Defensive Specialist/Libero: Ava Hodo, Orange Beach, Sr.; Emma Kate Frazier, St. Luke’s, Fr.; Kendall Dougherty, St. Paul’s, Sr.; Addy Busby, Fairhope, Jr.
Sports
UNT Student-Athletes Boast Record Setting G.P.A.
For the first time ever all 14 athletic programs earned a semester G.P.A. above a 3.150. Six teams earned their highest semester G.P.A. in their respective program’s history and four others achieved their second highest semester G.P.A. in their program’s history.
This marked the 13th consecutive semester of a 3.0 or better department wide grade point average and the seventh consecutive semester that UNT improved on the previous semester’s departmental G.P.A.
“The Fall 2025 semester was an outstanding one for Mean Green Athletics in the classroom,” said UNT VP/Director of Athletics Jared Mosley. “Our student-athletes continue to demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence, and their success is a direct reflection of the support and expectations we have in place. I want to thank our academic services team, led by Suzanne Dickenson, for their leadership and dedication in supporting our student-athletes and helping them reach their full potential both on the field and in the classroom.”
For the sixth consecutive semester the UNT women’s golf team led the way for the department as they earned a 3.907 fall semester G.P.A.
The Mean Green tennis team has now recorded a team G.P.A. of 3.0 or better for 28 consecutive semesters. The UNT soccer team and swim and dive team have both also maintained streaks of 20-plus consecutive semesters with a team G.P.A. above a 3.0.
Fifty-two UNT student-athletes this past fall earned a 4.0 grade point average. The Mean Green women’s track team led the way as they had 11 student-athletes named to the prestigious 2025 Fall President’s List. The tennis team had the highest percentage of student-athletes earning President’s List honors as 72% of its roster had a 4.0 G.P.A.
The UNT men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s track and field, women’s basketball, women’s cross country and women’s track and field teams all earned their highest semester G.P.A.s in program history.
Lastly, 47 UNT student-athletes earned their diplomas this past fall.
Sports
Spencer McLachlin Named Head Coach at UC San Diego
McLachlin becomes the eighth head coach in UCSD program history and will coach the Tritons in their final season as members of the Big West (2026) before the program transitions to the West Coast Conference ahead of the 2027 campaign. He joins JJ Van Niel (Arizona State), Tyler Hildebrand (Saint Mary’s College), and Amy Pauly (Orlando Valkyries) as former USC assistants under Brad Keller who have moved into head coaching positions.
“This opportunity is no surprise and has been a long time coming for Spencer,” said Keller. “UCSD is getting one of the best coaches in the game. Spencer and I have worked together in many different phases of our careers, and I know USC is in a better place with a brighter future for everything he has done here. Spencer is an innovator, a creator, and most importantly, a dreamer. Our game needs more leaders like him. I couldn’t be prouder of what he has done and for this new opportunity for him and his family.”
In his three seasons at USC, McLachlin helped lead the Women of Troy to three straight NCAA tournament appearances. The Trojans advanced to the second round in each of their three postseason berths. Most recently, McLachlin helped USC reach 25 wins and finish in a tie for third place in the Big Ten. Six Trojans received awards on all-conference teams and USC led the league in blocking (2.76 bps). The Trojans also ranked second (12th in the NCAA) in total blocks (322.5) and were second for opponent hitting percentage (.184). OH London Wijay earned AVCA All-America honorable mention.
With McLachlin on staff in 2024, USC advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year and finished 22-10 overall with a 13-7 mark in the Big Ten (tied for sixth). Setter Mia Tuaniga was named to the AVCA All-America third team. In his first season with the Women of Troy, McLachlin helped USC go 19-13 with a 12-8 mark in the Pac-12 for a fifth-place finish. That season, OH Skylar Fields was honored with AVCA All-America first-team recognition.
McLachlin is married to former USC volleyball standout opposite hitter Diane Copenhagen (2004-07), a 2004 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team selection. The McLachlins are parents to two daughters, Leila and Malia, and a son named Koa.
The 14th-ranked Trojans (25-7, 15-5 Big Ten) finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten and were awarded one of 33 at-large berths—and a hosting bid—into the 2025 NCAA tournament. USC made its fourth straight appearance in the tourney under sixth-year head coach Brad Keller (41st all-time) and moved into the second round for the fourth consecutive year with a 3-0 sweep of Princeton. The Women of Troy were eliminated from postseason play in a hard-fought five-set loss to Cal Poly in the second round.
For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
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