Updated Dec. 21, 2025, 3:18 p.m. PT

SAYLOR HALVORSEN, Thousand Oaks:
In just her second year of high school volleyball, the 6-foot-2 sophomore outside hitter was simply a dominant force on the court this fall. Nicknamed “Gamechanger” by head coach James Park, Halvorsen racked up 373 kills, 61 aces, 147 digs and 44 total blocks, including an incredible 41 solo stuffs, and led her team in kills, aces and blocks. She had the best hitting percentage amongst the best hitting corps in the area. Halvorsen received first-team all-Marmonte League honors. 

DOMINIC MASSIMINO/THE STAR

The buzz from a thrilling NCAA volleyball tournament final four in Kansas City and a Texas A&M national championship hasn’t dimmed, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too early to start thinking about next season. With the transfer portal already open, most of the country’s players and coaches already have.

Nebraska’s dominance this season looked like a forgone conclusion. Then one afternoon in Lincoln, Texas A&M shocked the world and turned the run to the national championship into a wide-open affair.

That’s what 2026 should be from the outset. So many great players like Pitt’s Olivia Babcock, Nebraska’s Harper Murray and Kentucky’s Brooklyn DeLeye are back and will be on teams with a chance at a title.

The transfer portal has yet to take hold in full. Many rosters could get a shake up in the coming weeks. This top 10 is based on what we know now and is a little peek into how the run to next season’s final four in San Antonio could shake out.

1. Texas Longhorns

The freshman class, led by Cari Spears and Abby Vander Wal, was instrumental in getting the Longhorns back to a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. The Longhorns’ recruiting class for 2026 looks just as good with top-rated outside hitter, Henley Anderson, and top setter, Genevieve Harris. They will all still be led by Torrey Stafford, the 12th-best point producer in the country and one of the best all-around players.

2. Stanford Cardinal

Stanford tied for the ACC championship and did it with 14 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Top hitter Elia Rubin will be tough to say goodbye to, but the Cardinal will have the depth and talent to win their first national title since 2019.

3. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The invincibility of 2025 Nebraska won’t be there with the losses of Rebekah Allick and Taylor Landfair. But Bergen Reilly, Murray and Andi Jackson form a core capable of the national championship that eluded the Huskers following their stunning loss to Texas A&M in the regional finals.

4. Wisconsin Badgers

The offseason might be nearly as long for Wisconsin as it is for Nebraska, as the Badgers ponder how it let the national semifinal match against Kentucky slip away. Coach Kelly Sheffield will also have to worry about replacing the likes of Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth, but a talented group of underclassmen led by All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer will make Wisconsin a final four contender again.

5. Pittsburgh Panthers

The good news is that Pittsburgh has reached five straight final fours and still has Babcock for one more season. The bad news — the Panthers again failed to advance to a national championship game and will lose all-ACC setter Brooke Mosher.

6. Kentucky Wildcats

With the graduation of Eva Hudson, who was so vital to the Wildcats’ run to the final four, and the jump that Texas is expected to take, Kentucky’s streak of nine straight SEC titles could be in jeopardy. But top hitter DeLeye is back for her senior year and she’ll be joined by Lizzie Carr, Asia Thigpen and Kennedy Washington, Kentucky’s third-, fourth- and fifth-best scorers from this season.

7. Louisville Cardinals

With the ACC Freshman of the Year in Kalyssa Blackshear, the conference leader in blocks in Cara Cresse, the ACC’s second-leading setter in Nayelis Cabello and their top two hitters — Payton Petersen and Chloe Chicoine — all back, the Cardinals will be in position to shake off the disappointment of a fourth-place ACC finish and a loss in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament, their earliest exit since 2020.

8. SMU Mustangs

While setter Averi Carlson and top hitter Malaya Jones have used up their eligibility, the sophomore trio of Jadyn Livings, Favor Anyanwu and Natalia Newsome are expected back. Full, healthy seasons from Livings and Newsome would be a big boost. So will the addition of Big 12 Freshman of the Year Suli Davis, who has already announced her transfer to SMU from BYU.

9. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue, the surprise team of the season, was picked seventh in the Big Ten in the preseason yet reached the Elite Eight. Ravaged by transfers (Hudson and Carr were Boilermakers in 2024) and graduation and with a roster with just two seniors, Purdue leaned into its underdog role. That won’t be the case in 2026 if Purdue can keep a well-balanced team led by Kenna Wollard and Grace Heaney intact.

10. Texas A&M Aggies

The losses of program mainstay Logan Lednicky and setter Maddie Waak make repeating this season’s magic seem unlikely. However, the star power of Kyndal Stowers is obvious, which might be good enough to make the SEC a three-team race.

Also considered: USC, Minnesota, Creighton

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Logan Lednicky had 11 kills, Maddie Waak had 29 assists and Texas A&M won its first NCAA volleyball championship, sweeping Kentucky 3-0 on Sunday.

The Aggies (29-4) accomplished the rare feat of defeating three No. 1 seeds. They defeated Nebraska and Pittsburgh earlier in the tournament. They did not drop a set in the final four.

Texas A&M led 13-10 in the third set before a kill by Lednicky started a 6-1 scoring run for a commanding 19-11 lead, six points from the national championship.

At 24-18 in the third set, Kentucky held off a couple of match points before the Aggies took advantage of a free ball and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla delivered the championship point, crushing a set from Waak out of the middle.

Kyndal Stowers finished with 10 kills and hit .304. Cos-Okpalla added eight kills, hitting .235 and Lednicky hit .250.

Eva Hudson had a match-high 13 kills for Kentucky and Kassie O’Brien had 34 assists.

The Aggies hit .257 as a team, compared to Kentucky’s .148.

Set scores were 26-24, 25-15, 25-20.

The Aggies trailed throughout the first set until they tied the score at 20 and also saved a set point to tie it at 24. The Aggies took their first lead at 25-24 on an attack error by Kentucky’s Brooklyn DeLeye, her fifth of the set. Stowers finished off the 26-24 first-set win for the Aggies with a tip off the Kentucky block.

After taking that 25-24 lead, the Aggies did not trail at any point in the rest of the match.

Kentucky (30-3) continued to struggle at the net in the second set. The Wildcats had nine errors in the first set and six more while falling behind 19-9 in the second. The Aggies continued to dominate, winning 25-15 after outhitting their SEC rival .253 — .077.

Stowers and Lednicky had eight kills each in the first two sets, with Stowers hitting .368 and Lednicky .240.