Preseason predictions for Aggie volleyball in 2026

Jamie Morrison and the Fightin’ Texas Aggie volleyball team open the 2026 season on Friday with a neutral-site showdown vs. No. 7 Louisville in the AVCA First Serve. We’re looking ahead to the upcoming campaign with our 2026 Texas A&M Volleyball Preview Series.

Regular-season record: 21-6
After concluding 2025 with the best regular-season record in 41 years (22-3), logging six losses feels foreign for a program so accustomed to winning. Yet, a brutal non-conference slate could make for some early-season slip-ups. A 1-1 outing at this weekend’s AVCA First Serve is a realistic result. Winning two of the four between Purdue, Indiana, Stanford and Wisconsin is a good sign. SEC play could be relatively smooth sailing for the Aggies, but big-time matchups at Kentucky and at Texas in the back half of the season will be challenges. Still, 21-6 feels like a high standard, but it’s not demanding perfection.

Place in final SEC standings: Third
The Aggies were picked to finish on the podium, and that's where I see them landing. Both Texas and Kentucky welcome back double-digit returners and have the talent, skill and coaching to ascend in the SEC. With five Wildcats landing on the preseason All-SEC team, Kentucky appears in good shape to pursue its 10th consecutive SEC title. Although giving the nod to Jerritt Elliott's squad is morally difficult, it's hard to deny the Longhorns' history of greatness, and their 2026 squad has plenty of it.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Jamie Morrison’s Aggies went 14-1 in conference last season. The lone loss was a four-set battle with Kentucky on Oct. 8, 2025.

Leader in kills: Kyndal Stowers (506)
In 2025, A&M was incredibly efficient at distributing the wealth. Three attackers recorded over 300 kills for the Maroon & White, but only one returns for the 2026 season. When Stowers gets set, good things happen. All-American opposite Logan Lednicky led the team with 467 kills last year, but Stowers has the ability to surpass that number in fewer games. Even though she will be at the top of every opponent's scouting report, expect the standout junior to still take over matches. She recorded double-digit kills in 21 games last season, but she has the ability to do so in all 27 this year. The 2025 NCAA Tournament MOP will be in the running for every premier award, and I'll call my shot now: She will be one of four AVCA Player of the Year finalists.

Leader in blocks: Kaia Castle (122)
Castle has a strong case to become A&M's next leader at the net. A transfer from Ohio State, the 6-foot-4 middle recorded 91 blocks in 103 sets last season. Jamie Morrison has a rich history of developing middles, and Castle already owns the physicality and skill to anchor the Aggies' block. She etched her name in the Buckeye record books with the single-game block record (15) and proved capable of taking over matches defensively in the Big Ten. After recording 140 blocks in the Mountain West, Eliza Sharp’s total could dip against the stiffer competition in the SEC, but she could rival Castle for that top spot. Ultimately, I'm going with Castle to rack up rejections, with some fiery celebrations to go along with them.

Danny Grant, TexAgs

Kaia Castle averaged 0.88 blocks per set as a redshirt freshman at Ohio State in 2025.

Leader in digs: Gabi Rodriguez (380)
The battle for the libero remained highly competitive during fall camp between sophomore Addi Applegate and the freshman Rodriguez, but Rodriguez's reps in the 'bro jersey in A&M's exhibition vs. Baylor lead me to believe she earned the spot. Replacing the leadership, communication and stability of Ava Underwood will be a lofty challenge for a freshman, but if anyone can do it, it's her. She finished just shy of 3,000 digs in her four-year high school career at McKinney North and set the record for most digs in a UIL State Championship match on any level with 43. After enrolling early and getting accustomed to the speed of the college game, there is plenty of reason to have high hopes for the rookie.

Leader in aces: Natalie Ring (27)
Recording 34 aces at Marquette in 2025, Ring made the most of her opportunities as a six-rotation player. Ring’s serve packs plenty of heat, but her precision behind the line adds another layer to her game. The numbers tell you many Big East teams had trouble with her serve, so you can expect the same to be said of SEC competition this season. On campus since January, she has talked about the growth she has made in multiple facets, and her work behind the service line has likely come a long way in that time.

Leader in assists: Lily Nicholson (950)
Expect solid production from the veteran setter in her senior season. Nicholson registered 594 assists in her lone year at Florida State, but expect that number to skyrocket when dishing it out to a few All-Americans and a top-10 team. In her second season at TCU, she documented 1,108 assists on the Horned Frogs' NCAA Tournament second-round team, proving she can be a workhorse. In 2025, Maddie Waak recorded 1,153 assists on her way to All-American honors. With her graduation, this opened up competition in the setter room. Although Kirra Musgrove has pushed herself into consideration for a starting spot and should get meaningful reps throughout the season, Nicholson's experience and steady hand should ultimately make her the team’s primary facilitator.

Callie Garner, TexAgs

Across three seasons, Lily Nicholson has dished out 2,322 assists in her 83 career matches played.

Make the NCAA Tournament? Yes
A&M will head back to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. Multiple top-25 wins and sweeps in the SEC will have the Aggies squarely in the conversation to be playing postseason volleyball at Reed Arena, which leads to...

Host the NCAA Tournament? Yes
Finding success against this brutal schedule will push the Aggies to be one of 16 hosts. Wildly underseeded as a No. 3 in 2025, that seeding could be realistic for a team that drops a few more games. Regardless, Reed Arena should be swapping hardwood for Taraflex once December rolls around.

Top-four national seed? No
A&M will not do enough to claim one of the four top spots in the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies have enough talent to make a deep run, but the combination of roster turnover, a difficult schedule and a potential lack of a conference crown makes it hard to project that the Maroon & White will be in that exclusive quartet.

NCAA Tournament result? Elite Eight
Projecting the Aggies to reach the Elite Eight feels like a fair middle ground between respecting what the program is and acknowledging what it had to replace. A second weekend appearance in back-to-back-to-back years would solidify the Aggies as a top-10 program nationally, proving A&M has staying power beyond a single championship run. A Sweet 16 would feel like a job well done with some of the hurdles they have leaped/will leap over, but Morrison doesn't stop when he feels a pat on the back. The Aggies will push into the Elite Eight and knock on the door of a Final Four appearance in San Antonio. Ultimately, I think the young team runs into a senior-laden squad whose experience proves to be the difference.

Project starters by SEC opener
OH: Kyndal Stowers/ Natalie Ring
MB: Kaia Castle/Eliza Sharp
S: Lily Nicholson
OPP: Taryn Morris
L: Gabi Rodriguez