COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec 16, 2025) – From the NTDP courts to the NCAA semifinals, the impact of USA Volleyball’s development pipeline is on full display once again. Athletes and coaches from all four teams will bring rich experience from NTDP programs and U.S. national teams, showing how the pathway continues to prepare players and staff for the sport’s biggest stages.

The NCAA semifinals are set for Thursday, Dec. 18. No. 1 Pitt and No. 3 Texas A&M square off in the first semifinal at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 1 Kentucky and No. 3 Wisconsin, 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match. Both matches are live on ESPN.

The final is December 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Pitt

Pitt’s roster is led by 2025 U.S. Women’s National Team athlete Olivia Babcock, who competed with the team during Volleyball Nations League. She also helped the senior national team earn silver at the 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six.

Fifty-eight percent of Pitt’s NTDP-eligible roster (international athletes not included) have either participated in an NTDP Training Series or with an age-group national team.

• Blaire Bayless: 2024-25 U21 National Team (2024 U21 Continental Championships, gold; 2025 U21 Pan Am Cup, gold); 2023 U19 National Team (2023 Pan Am Cup, gold and MVP)
• Abbey Emch: 2025 U19 National Team (2025 U19 World Championship, silver)
• Bre Kelley: 2022-23 U21 National Team (2022 U21 Pan Am Cup, gold; 2023 U21 Pan Am Cup, gold); 2018  U18 National Team (2018 U18 Continental Championship, gold)

Babcock, Bayless, Emch, Sophia Gregoire, Ryla Jones and Haiti Tautua’a are all NTDP Training Series athletes.

Head coach Dan Fisher brings extensive USA Volleyball history to Pitt’s sideline, including coaching stints with the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams. He’s also led age-group national teams to multiple Pan American Cup golds. Fisher and assistant coaches Kamalani Akeo and Kellen Petrone hVW also both coached with NTDP.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M’s emergence this season reflects its deep ties to NTDP.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla was MVP and Best Blocker of the gold-medal winning 2025 U23 Pan Am Cup team, and Logan Lednicky was part of the 2025 Women’s National Team, competing in weeks one and two of Volleyball Nations League. Kirra Musgrove was on the 2024 Girls U19 National Team.

Sixty-nine percent of TAMU’s NTDP-eligible roster (international athletes not included) have either participated in an NTDP Training Series or with an age-group national team.

Musgrove, Addi Applegate, Megan Fitch, Lexi Guinn, Margot Manning, Taryn Morris, Morgan Perkins, Ava Underwood and Maddie Waak are all NTDP Training Series athletes.

Head coach Jamie Morrison brings world-class credentials from his years with both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, as well as leading multiple age-group national teams to gold medals.

TAMU Director of Analytics Joe Skinner is a former coach with the U.S. Men’s Sitting National Team (helping lead them to the 2016 Paralympic Games) and has also coached with NTDP, as has assistant coach Jeff Fiorenza.

Kentucky

Kentucky continues its proud NTDP tradition, led by Brooklyn DeLeye, MVP of the 2024 and 2025 U21 NORCECA events, and Eva Hudson, who played for the 2025 U.S. Women’s U23 National Team and the 2024 senior national team. DeLeye was also part of the 2023 U19 National Team.

Seventy-one percent of Kentucky’s NTDP-eligible roster (international athletes not included) have either participated in an NTDP Training Series or with an age-group national team.

• Eva Hudson: 2025 U23 National Team (U23 Pan Am Cup, gold); 2024 Women’s National Team (Pan Am Cup Final Six, silver); 2024 Women’s National Team Spring Training; 2023 U21 National Team (U21 Pan Am Cup, gold)
• Brooke Bultema: 2025 U23 National Team
• Molly Tuozzo: 2025 U21 National Team

Hannah Benjamin, Bultema, Jordyn Dailey, Kassie O’Brien, Asia Thigpen, Kennedy Washington and Georgia Watson are all NTDP Training Series athletes.

Associate head coach Meredith Jewell and assistant coach Kyle Luongo have both worked within NTDP.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin showcases a strong NTDP background, with Carter Booth also having senior U.S. National Team experience.

Sixty-nine percent of Wisconsin’s NTDP-eligible roster (international athletes not included) have either participated in an NTDP Training Series or with an age-group national team.

• Carter Booth: 2024 Women’s National Team (Pan Am Cup Final Six, silver); 2020-21 U20 National Team; 2019 U18 National Team (U18 World Championship, gold)
• Mimi Colyer: 2023 U21 National Team
• Charlie Fuerbringer: 2025 U21 National Team; 2023 U19 National Team (U19 World Championship, gold); 2022 U19 National Team
• Natalie Wardlow: 2025 U19 National Team; 2024 U19 National Team
• Aniya Warren: 2025 U19 National Team; 2024 U19 National Team (U19 Continental Championship, gold)

Colyer, Grace Egan, Fuerbringer, Addy Horner, Madison Quest, Kristen Simon, Wardlow and Warren all have NTDP Training Series experience.

Assistant coach Lauren Carlini, a 2024 Olympian and longtime Women’s National Team setter, brings elite experience to the Badgers’ bench, and assistant coach Brittany Dildine has worked with NTDP.

From collegiate courts to the international arena, NTDP athletes continue to elevate the level of play. As the NCAA semifinals unfold, these connections underscore USA Volleyball’s commitment to developing world-class talent, with coaches and players alike from youth programs to the highest stages of competition.

Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly all earned first-team All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Wednesday. Rebekah Allick was recognized on the second team.

It was the second straight year that Jackson was voted on to the first team. She set a Big Ten record for hitting percentage in conference games at .559 this season.

Murray and Reilly each earned a spot on the AVCA All-American team for the third season in a row, but made the first team for the first time this year. It was the first All-American honor for Allick in her fourth year of college.

For the Creighton Bluejays, Ava Martin and Kiara Reinhardt were voted onto the second team, while Annalea Maeder joined the third team.

All three Bluejays on the AVCA team are seniors, and this year’s team is the 14th in a row that included a Creighton player.

A committee of 11 Division I volleyball coaches selects the 42 players that make up the first, second and third teams for the prestigious honor.

Nebraska tied with Kentucky and Texas A&M for the most players on the first, second or third teams, with four players each. Creighton was next in line with three players.

The Huskers and Bluejays are among seven schools to place more than one All-American on the AVCA team for five years straight, joining Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Stanford and Wisconsin.

Both in-state programs dropped a match in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament last weekend.

NU fell, 3-2, against Texas A&M. The Cornhuskers ended the campaign 33-1 under first-year coach Dani Busboom Kelly. Only one team in school history has finished the season undefeated. That was the 2000 squad, former head coach John Cook’s first in Lincoln.

Creighton lost to Kentucky in a 3-0 sweep. The Bluejays were also under a first-year head coach, Brian Rosen, who led the program to its second consecutive and third-ever Elite Eight appearance. It finished the season with a 28-6 record and a 16-0 conference record.

This is only the fifth AVCA All-America honors in program history for Utah State and the first since Liz McArthur also earned honorable mention in 2010.

Kofe led the Aggie offense to a program-record .274 hitting percentage this season, ranking third in the nation with 11.08 assists per set and also earning Mountain West Player of the Year honors. Kofe is the only player in the nation with three matches of 60 or more assists. Her 1,330 total assists this season ranks fifth all-time at USU while she already sits in eighth for career assists at Utah State with 2,290. Kofe also added 32 kills, 28 aces, 285 digs and 37 total blocks on the year.

Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter, @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at /USUVolleyball or on Instagram, @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.

 – USU –

The AVCA is pleased to announce its women’s volleyball All-America Teams for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, as chosen by the NAIA Volleyball All-America Selection Committee.

The 2025 class includes 42 players—14 on the first, second, and third teams—from 29 schools, and an additional 55 players were honorable mention selections. Bellevue University (NE), Northwestern College (Iowa), and the University of Providence (MT) lead the way with three players each on the first three teams, and seven schools had two players chosen.

Coach of the Year: Candace Moats, Indiana Wesleyan University
Assistant Coach of the Year: Angie Boldt, Concordia University Nebraska
Player of the Year: Eva Joldersma, Indiana Wesleyan University, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Evelyn Brown, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, MH

AVCA All-Americans

Honorable Mention All-Americans

Degree Type: Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration 
Next Steps: MBA program at Charleston Southern University, full track scholarship
Hometown: Hyattsville, Maryland

Yassine Kamara understands what it takes to succeed at a high level. As a member of the Bowie State University track and field team, she has won many events in shot put and discus and has been recognized for numerous achievements. She is graduating this winter with a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration and preparing to take her next step as both a scholar and an athlete. Kamara has earned multiple athletic achievements during her time at Bowie State, and she has applied the same discipline and drive that fuel her success in competition to her academic pursuits. After graduation, she plans to pursue her MBA and continue her track and field career at Charleston Southern University. 

“When I originally toured the Bowie State campus with the track coach, it just felt like home. I felt comfortable,” Kamara said. 

But being a collegiate athlete, maintaining her grades, working and finding social connections turned out to be a difficult challenge for Kamara. She struggled for her first 18 months at Bowie State to find a healthy balance. 

“At first, I didn’t really have any friends outside of track. It was a repetitive cycle of workout, practice, class, work, then go straight back to my room. I was having a hard time socially,” she said. 

In addition to sports and school, Kamara was also working two jobs at a nursing home and an assisted living facility. Her schedule didn’t leave much time for social interactions. She leaned into her time with the track team to build friendships with her teammates, who became a support system for her. 

“I’m an extreme introvert, and I didn’t really break out of that until my senior year,” she said. 

Kamara made the most of her time on the track and field team, accumulating many wins and honors. She is a three-time CIAA discus champion, a 2025 NCAA First Team All-American, the fall indoor 2024 Field Athlete of the Year, earned 11 medals across seven meets including seven gold and four silver, made history as Bowie State’s first All-American in track and field since 2010, was named to the 2025 USTFCCCA All-Region Team and recognized earlier in the season as the CIAA Female Field Athlete of the Week. 

Impact of Bowie State Experience 

In addition to her athletic achievements, Kamara has thrived academically thanks to several resources at Bowie State. She points to the Academic Advising Center, Career Development Center and tutoring services as essential to her academic success. 

“These resources helped me stay on track and maintain my spot on the Dean’s List every semester since majoring in health services administration,” Kamara said. 

She also credits the Wellness Center for helping her prioritize her physical and mental well-being while managing the demands of school and athletics. 

“Bowie State has provided me with the resources, experiences and support to grow into the person I am today,” she said. 

After graduation, Kamara plans to use her education from Bowie State University and her eventual MBA from Charleston Southern University to work in administration, human resources or management at a nursing home or senior care facility. 

“I’ve always known that I wanted to work with seniors,” Kamara said. 

Kamara leaves Bowie State University ready for what comes next, grounded in the values, preparation and confidence she gained as a Bulldog.