SEC 2019 - the PERFECTLY TIMED thread
Dec 12, 2018 12:14:59 GMT -5
BeiBei, bballnut90, and 18 more like this
Post by vbshrink on Dec 12, 2018 12:14:59 GMT -5
Thanks to vbprisoner for the suggestion to get things started with a not quite post-season, but close enough thread. It's still pretty early to be talking about what each team's personnel is going to be looking like, but I thought I'd kick this thread off with a look at what I think are the main questions that each team faces heading into the off-season - whether it be coaching transition, player development, etc. (Incoming recruits according to Rich Kern listed at the end in parentheses.) Please feel free to tell me how little I know about your favorite team!
Alabama - Well, who's going to be the coach? Will there be any player transitions (transfers in/out, decommits) associated with the new staff? Most of the key contributors are back, minus Hall at MB and Gary at DS/L, so the coach could have a lot of pieces to work with. (Emily Janek, 6'1" RS/S; Katie Shook, 5'7" L; Alyiah Wells, 6'2" MB) UPDATE - Ok, so we know that Lindsey Devine from ETSU is the new coach. Let's see what happens next, roster-wise. Consensus seems to be that this is a good hire. Update #2: Eboni Harris, a RS-Fr OH, has announced her transfer to South Florida. Harris tore her achilles shortly after signing day and sat out last year; she's a Florida kid, so she's heading closer to home. S Alexa Tomlak is also not listed on the 2019 roster, which is perhaps not a surprise given that Neelon and Byrd took over all the setting duties last year. She may have graduated, as her Insta bio lists her as a "UA Volleyball Alum." Update #3 As caught by secsportsfan , Mahalia Swink is not listed on Bama’s 2019 roster. Could be a significant loss for the Tide. Update #4 A new Bama release adds more information about the roster, as Coach Devine has brought in additional recruits. They include Alexa Bertsch, 6’2” OH, Eva Barrowdale, 6’3” OH (England, apparently a grad transfer), Jamie Brown, 6’1” MB, Taylor Drapp, 5’9” L/DS, and Peyton Garrison, 5’6” L/DS. This group certainly provides some attacking depth, which Bama needed. Update #5 Alabama announces a very late roster addition, Brooke Kuhlman, a grad transfer from FSU’s beach vb program. She’s listed on the Bama’s roster as a OH/DS; at 5’10”, she’s likely to be more of a defensive player.
Schedule outlook: Bama starts off the season in the Flour City (look it up) playing Marist, the host Bulls, and the Colgate Toothpastes (not really). The next weekend also has them on the road in RVA playing Navy, the host VCU Rams, and NC State. The third weekend finds our road warriors making a shorter trip to the Magic City to play the cross-state rival Blazers, Georgia State, and SWAC powerhouse, er, powderpuff, Alcorn State. The preseason schedule concludes with a midweek match at home — for the first time! — with Kennesaw State, and then a Friday road match versus Florida State. Only one home pre-SEC match against a pretty weak slate of opponents. 🤷🏻♂️ The SEC slate features home-and-home series with Arkansas, Auburn, UGA, Tenn, LSU, and Mizzou. The Tide will host Miss St., Kentucky, and Ole Miss, and they’ll travel to College Station , Gainesville, and COLA, SC. I’m not really sure how this schedule sets up Bama for possible post-season opportunities. The preseason is pretty soft, and the SEC slate is fairly middle of the road. The Tide will have to do really well, I think, to sniff an at large berth.
Arkansas - After a bit of a disappointing season, what happens player development-wise for the Hogs? They lose Valle's should-have-been-All-SEC performance at libero and do not have a clear heir apparent in the funny colored jersey, and they lose both of their starting OPPs, should they stick with the 6-2 (not a given). There are plenty of candidates to replace the RS players. Will the Hogs be able to upgrade their blocking, which completely disappeared at times this year? The staff is very, very high on the incoming freshman class. (Maggie Cartwright, 6'1" Pin; Natalie Perdue, 6' OH; Jill Gillen, 5'10" OH; Abbi McGee, 5'6" DS) UPDATE: The Hogs have added Devyn Wheeler, a transfer 6' MB from North Florida. Update #2 The Hogs are losing rising juniors OH Logan Brown and DS Paige Johnson to transfer (Johnson to UOk, Brown as yet unannounced), and current JR OH Reagan Robinson has decided to forego her senior season of competition. Update #3: The Hogs lose Associate HC Jon Newman-Gonchar to the big chair at New Mexico and replace him with former ASU OH and Asst Coach Macey Gardner. Update #4 Rich Kern indicates that the Hogs have picked up a commit from JUCO DS Savannah Downing from Iowa Western CC.
Schedule outlook: Arkansas has released its schedule! They start at home with a bit of a softball weekend hosting Northwestern St, in-state rival (which is very unusual for U of A teams) UALR, and Montana St. Week 2 is a very big step up, as they travel to California to take on WVU and co-hosts University of San Diego and San Diego State. Week 3 features a mid-week in-state match up with the weak sister Arkansas Pine Bluff squad, followed by a trip out east to play Princeton, George Mason, and the host Terrapins of U Maryland. The final pre-season weekend takes the Hogs to Athens for the SEC-ACC Challenge, which is a repeat of last year's event and puts Arkansas up against GA Tech and NC State (but not the host Dawgs). The Hogs will certainly hope for better results than the 0-2 they put up last year. That's four P5 opponents plus USD on the schedule, and a handful of "should-win" matches. Not the stuff of legend, but some good opportunities for solid wins. The conference slate includes double features with Bama, TAMU, UF, SC, OM, and MSU. The Hogs will host the rebuilding AU Tigers, the Vols, and the Not-Kreklow Tigers, and make road trips to Lexington, Athens (for the second time), and Baton Rouge. The schedule presents enough opportunities for the Hogs to succeed, but this team is still pretty young (Rippee is the only senior, and all 6 newcomers are likely to see some action), so they will have to gel pretty quickly to be successful enough to have a chance at the post-season.
Auburn - What is Latin for "Who sets?" Because that's the million dollar question facing this team. Or if not million dollar, insert whatever Coach Nold's current salary is. This team, like a few others, considerably under-performed relative to expectations, and they are losing both McIlroy, who was their biggest offensive threat, and Allison, who was their only SEC-capable setter. Uncharacteristically, defense was not really a strength for this year's AU squad, either, though perhaps that can be chalked up to the youth of the libero. On the brighter side, the blocking improved a good bit this year. There are some very good arms on this roster, but who is going to get them the ball? (Molly Pember, 5'6" DS/L; Lily Thomason, 6' OH) UPDATE: Word is that Gwyn Jones has also put her name in the portal as a likely transfer, further depleting the amount of offense AU has returning. Update #2: Jones's departure to Marquette has been confirmed. Update #3 It is now confirmed that Taylor Rowland's name is in the portal and that she, too, is likely to be playing somewhere else next season. So McIlroy (graduated), Allison (TR), Jones (TR), and Rowland (TR) all look to have put the Plains in their rear view mirror. The questions are really piling up for the Blue and Orange Tigers. Update #4: DS Karis Beasley has announced on twitter that she is grad transferring to JMU and will compete for the Dukes while finishing her master’s degree, bringing the number of players departing AU with remaining eligibility to four. Update #5: The Tigers have announced that former HC (and AC) Kris Grunwald is coming back to the Plains to serve as assistant coach for his third (at least?) stint on the bench for the Tigers. Alex Wilharm has reportedly left the program to pursue a career outside of coaching. Update #6 Rising junior MB Anna Stevenson’s name is no longer listed on Auburn’s 2019 roster, fueling speculation that she will be the fourth AU starter from last season (or at least a “frequent” starter) with remaining eligibility who is leaving the program (along with Allison, Rowland, and Jones). These four departures, along with grad transferring DS Karis Beasley, who was a significant defensive contributor, clearly point to a Rob-Patrick-at-Tennessee-level exodus. Not sure if the reasons are the same, but the drain of talent within such a short time is pretty dramatic. Update #7: Anna Stevenson announced as transferring to Louisville. Good pick up for the Cardinals, not good news for the Tigers. Update #8: Auburn has announced the addition of three transfers for the coming season. They include 6' MB Jaeden Brown (Jr) from USF, 6' OH/OPP Lauren Dorrell (Jr) from Colorado, and 6' S Marissa Hines (Soph) from Wyoming. Brown led a decent USF team in blocking and hit .277 for the season; Dorrell was a sometime starter for UC and hit .182 on the season; and Hines was a part-time setter in Wyoming's 6-2 (apparently, based on their stats) offense. These all seem like decent players, though not of the caliber of those Tigers who departed.
Schedule outlook: Unlike some of their conference opponents, the Tigers begin their out-of-conference season soft and work their way up in terms of difficulty. Don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it should give the team some time to gel. The first weekend is a home tournament featuring Tennessee State, New Mexico State, and Butler. Week 2 sends the Tigers down to Miami to face off against host FGCU, South Florida, and George Washington. Week 3 looks like a significant step up in competition, and Auburn heads to Ft Worth to take on the University of Miami and the host TCU Horned Frogs. The Tigers conclude their preseason up in Kalamazoo taking on Michigan State, hosts WMU, and IUPUI. Three P5 teams is what AU had on their schedule last year, too. In the SEC slate, there are pairs of matches against Florida, SC, Bama, TN, MSU, and LSU. The Tigers will host the CoMo Tigers, Jawjuh Dawgs, and the Wildcats on the Plains and make road trips to Oxford, Fayetteville, and College Station. Given the roster turnover, more than 4 or 5 conference wins would be a good showing for the Tigers, but the post-season is a longshot.
Florida - After a roller coaster season, what happens next? Kellum and Monserez the Elder are lost to graduation, but lots of talent remains. How does Mary keep the very talented arms on the roster happy? Will Hall make a full recovery? On the pinsit seems certain that Ceasar probably will not have to sit for 2019, but even if she does you still have Hall, Hammons, Greer, Soko, Carlton, and Warner vying for 3 or maybe 4 spots. Will Carlton and Monserez the Younger set a 6-2? If they run a 5-1, who will play OPP? Carlton, Warner, Soko? Whatever the answer, do the players who are NOT the answer stick around? Florida has a reputation for being a program where the players are happy and like/love the staff, but this kind of log-jam of top quality prospects seems unusual. 👀 (And I haven't even talked about this issue of having King, Dooley, and Kramer all vying for time in the middle...) (Ceasar as a transfer... no other recruits) Update: 5’8” Louisville setter Anaya Martin as announced her transfer to UF, adding some depth to the S position for the Gators. Update #2 Comments in the Florida thread seem to indicate that, contrary to what had been predicted, the SEC is not necessarily going to allow Ceasar to play next year; she may have to sit out a year due to intra-conference transfer. Worth 👀...
Schedule Outlook The Gators are among the first to announce their 2019 schedule, and again Coach Wise and crew have put together a preseason slate with some good marquee matchups. They'll start on the road in Louisville taking on the Cardinals and the Dayton Flyers. Then they host Stanford in a mid-week matchup before going on the road to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers. The third weekend features a home tournament with James Madison, Long Beach St., and South Florida. After another mid-week match up at home with Florida State, the final preseason weekend also finds the Gators hosting, rolling out the red carpet for Liberty, ULL, and -- in a "revenge" match -- Northern Arizona. This continues a recent pattern of having the weakest competition just before the SEC season starts. Overall, though, the Gators have put together a nice slate of opponents. Hard to get too worked up about ULL and Liberty when you have Minnesota, Stanford, Louisville, and FSU all on the schedule. In the SEC, the Gators have double-dates with Arkansas, Auburn, UGA, TAMU, LSU, and Kentucky. They get SC, Bama, and TN at home, and travel to CoMo, Oxford, and Starkville. Not exactly a cakewalk, but likely not the most difficult of conference schedules. Will be nice to see them have to face KY twice and travel to Mizzou. In terms of power, only playing single games against OM and MSU could be helpful (if those teams don't improve over last year). The schedule sets up the Gators well for post-season.
UGA - With Ceasar's mid-season departure, will it be addition by subtraction, or will UGA's rebuilding process have a bit of a hiccup while Coach Black and staff look to replace her production? What is gong to happen at MB, now that Bass and Karstens are gone? It was a given that UGA was going to have established starting OH's for the next two years, and now it seems the staff will have to scramble. Do they pull in a transfer? Or is Evans going to be ready to step in as a freshman? More questions than expected in Athens. (Kacie Evans, 6' OH; Alexa Fortin, 6' S; Meghan Froemming, 6' MB; Londyn Gray, 6'1" MB) Update: 6’3” OPP Kaylah House to transfer to UGA from Coastal Carolina. Update #2: Coach Tom Black has been chosen as the Canadian women's national team coach. He will hold both the UGA and Canada jobs at the same time, possibly raising questions about divided attention.
Schedule Outlook UGA begins the season road-tripping to ACC regional foe Clemson to play the rebuilding host Tigers, Kennesaw St, and Wofford (gotta love a team with the nickname Terriers). The next weekend, the Dawgs earn some frequent flyer miles and head out to the Beach to play the host 49ers, UCLA, and Texas State. Week 3 finds UGA back east in North Carolina to face the host Duke Blue Devils, Northwestern, and American University. The final preseason weekend finds the ACC-SEC Challenge coming to Stegeman, where Georgia will face NC State and GA Tech (but not Arkansas, the other team who’ll face off against the Pack and Ramblin’ Wreck). This is a very solid, quite tough preseason schedule. The only absolute gimme is Wofford; all the other matches should be at least competitive. If Georgia gets through this schedule with 7 or 8 wins, they will really be looking very solid. Kudos to Coach Black and his staff for assembling a very solid preseason. Within the SEC, the Dawgs play home-and-home series with SC, UF, TN, Bama, Kentucky, and Ole Miss. Single matches include road trips to Auburn, TAMU, and MSU and home matches with LSU, Arkansas, and Mizzou. Of those single matches, getting LSU and Mizzou at home could be advantageous. Drawing doubles against all three of KY, UF, and TN is tough luck, though. The overall strength of the schedule is impressive, and if GA puts together a solid season, they should face any questions about weak opponents.
Kentucky - Is it a disappointment that this team didn't make a regional final? Personally, I don't think so. They were the best team in the SEC, but I think their shortcomings were exposed a bit against the elite teams. Next year, everyone on the pins is back, as is the S and L. Paris was a very pleasant surprise opposite Morgan in the middle, but is she ready to be the main show? They lose key contributor Morgan and utility players Jewell and Nyberg, along with excellent DS Watson. But Edmund will be motivated to shine in her senior season, and Cooper will want to make the most of her last year as well. They return Lilley, Curry, and Skinner, as well. If -- if! -- they can replace Morgan, they look poised to be among the conference elite again next year. (Isabella Bell, 6'3" MB; Maddie Berezowitz, 5'6" DS; Azhani Tealer, 5'10" OH/RS). Update MB Leah Meyer has announced her transfer from Duke to KY, which certainly will go a ways toward replacing Morgan.
Schedule outlook: Kentucky has published its preseason schedule, and it is again quite impressive. The Cats begin the year in Salt Lake City playing Cal Poly, the host Utes, and St. Mary's. The next weekend they road trip again to Cedar Falls, IA, to face Creighton, Southern Cal, and the host UNI squad. Week 3 finds the Cats hosting Cleveland State, FGCU, and Indiana. And the last week features a mid-week home matchup versus Purdue and the traditional rivalry match with Louisville (also at home). That is a very challenging schedule, and we know from what the Gators have published that they will also face UF twice. Updated to include SEC schedule: Home-and-home matchups with Mizzou, UF, LSU, Ole Miss, UGA, and South Carolina. Pretty salty, as far as SEC slates go. The "Cats will host Arkansas, MSU, and TAMU, and travel to Alabama, Tenn, and Auburn. Getting TAMU at home and only having to travel to Tenn of the expected upper tier teams is not a bad draw. UK has a very strong preseason and a pretty competitive conference schedule this year. If they wind up with low single digit losses, they will have earned the good seeding they will end up with.
LSU - I'm not sure any team was more a negative surprise this year than LSU, although there were definite signs of improvement at the end of the season. Will Fran continue to try to make "Bannister OH" happen? Starters (usually) Beyer, Flory, and Rodriguez are all gone (as is stalwart utility player Kampen), and Armer -- who I thought was a revelation in 2017 -- slid into bench obscurity last season. Bannister, Cianciulli, Stokes, Mukes, and Foreman (who was starting to come on at the end) all return to provide a strong nucleus. The questions I have are, who are the pin hitters, and what pins are they hitting on? Bannister is a given somewhere, but the "where" seems to matter. Also, who sets? Zweibel was inconsistent (again) last year; does Goins challenge her? Do they run with two short setters (Goins and a Fr) in a 6-2 next season? Does Anwusi step right in, or will she need some time to adjust to the college game? Lots of potential and lots of questions for the Bayou Bengals. (Anita Anwusi, 6'3" MB; Samarah Hill, 6' OH; Meredyth Hill, 5'10" MB; Allee Morris, 6'2" MB/OH; Karli Rose, 5'6" S) Update Rich Kern indicates a new 2019 commit, 5’3” DS Jill Bohnet. Update: Rich Kern indicates that Paige Hilliard has transferred from LSU to Illinois State. She RS'ed her freshman season, so she should have four years of eligibility with the Redbirds. Update 2: The LSU 2019 roster does not include Jacqui Armer. Don't see any indication online (yet) that she is transferring - perhaps just hanging up the sneakers? The Tigers have certainly loaded up on MB talent (Anwusi, Morris, Foreman) in the past couple classes, but they will be short on experience in the middle with only the sophomore Foreman returning. Update 3: Per the transfers thread, Armer is transferring to Indiana. Hope she does well in Bloomington! Update 4: Per the transfer thread, Emmaline Walters, DS/L from Illinois, is transferring into LSU. Sort of curious here, as DS/L was not clearly a position of need for the Tigers, but I suppose you can’t have too many good defenders on the squad.
Schedule outlook: LSU starts the year in Houston facing off against UTA, AZ State, and Houston. The ASU match will be a good early season barometer. The second weekend is pretty boffo, with the Tigers traveling to Ames to face off against Penn State and the host Cyclones. Week 3 is a little bit of a return to earth, albeit a high elevation part of Earth, with a trip to Flagstaff to play Fresno St., the host Lumberjacks (who, according to sources in Gainesville, should not be taken for granted at home), and South Dakota State. The final week of preseason sees the Bayou Bengals play Fri/Sat home matches against regional rivals Southern Miss and Tulane. There are some very cool, challenging match-ups here, and nothing that is even remotely embarrassing from a scheduling standpoint. I'm excited about the PSU/ISU weekend and what LSU can do against quality competition on the road/neutral court. The SEC slate looks very rigorous and features home-and-home series with Mizzou, Kentucky, AND Florida, as well as Auburn, MSU, and Bama. LSU will travel to Knoxville, Athens, and Columbia (East), and will host Arkansas, Ole Miss, and TAMU. The pieces are all there for LSU to lock up a post-season bid. It will be exciting to see how the line-up comes together in Baton Rouge.
Mississippi State: What will the Darty roster look like in year 2? There could be practically a cast of thousands, though there are some players who have already headed for the exit, and perhaps some more who are likely to. Some of them are quality players, too. Regular-to-sometimes starters Morgan Kath, Khristian Carr, and Taylor Haskins are all out of eligibility. Key returners include Deja Robinson, Paige Shaw, Gabby Zgunda, maybe Gabby Waden (if she gets fully healthy), and the Jacksonville transfers (Cooks, Stamatis, and Murr). Koele (whose twitter now says Baylor '22 on it) and Gray are already removed from the roster, and I'm not 100% sure that Benner will be back. The biggest issue in Starkville seems to be overall level of talent - there are individual (very) bright spots, but overall it's not clear that there is enough SEC talent on the roster, and I'm not sure the large recruiting class really addresses that problem. (Katie Culumovic, 5'8" S/DS; Peyton DeBello, 5'8" DS/L; Jordan McKenzie, 5'11" OH; Maira Marsh, 5'11" RS/S; Caroline Minshew; 5'11" OH; Kate Smith, 5'3" DS; Carsyn Starr, 6' OH/RS; Burgundy Walters, 6' MB). Update There is some speculation that the highest-rated high school newcomer in the Bulldog's class, who enrolled early and competed with the team in the spring, may already be on her way out of Starkville. Unlike most other teams, MSU has not posted a 2019 roster yet, so it's hard to gauge whether there's any other roster shake-ups in store. Keeping 👀 on it for now. Update 2: Per the transfer thread, Carsyn Starr has transferred from MSU to Charleston Southern. (Wow - what a drop in level!) Update 3: Logan Brown, formerly of the Razorbacks, has announced on twitter that she is transferring to Mississippi State. “Let’s Darty,” she says. (She should have to sit out a year, just for that!! 😂😂😂) (just kidding) (sort of).
Schedule outlook: MSU's preseason schedule starts off with the Starkvegas (ugh. Stop trying to make Starkvegas happen, Gretchen) Classic with the Bulldogs hosting UT-Chattanooga, Mississippi Valley State, and Western Carolina. The next weekend features a road trip to the Big Easy to face host UNO, Arkansas State, and Southern Miss. Weekend 3, the Bulldogs make their way to Jacksonville, AL, to face Stetson, Sam Houston State, and the host Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. The last weekend of non-con sees MSU again hosting a trio of teams representing Jackson State, North Florida, and UAB. Not a single P5 opponent, and the average 2018 Pablo opponent rating is 223 (best = So Miss at 131, worst = MVSU at 335), which could be forgiven considering how much rebuilding the Bulldogs are going through. Still ... it's a pretty darn weak schedule that will not really help the conference very much. The SEC slate is fairly middle of the pack, with the Dogs facing LSU, SC, Tenn, TAMU, Arkansas, and Auburn twice each. The Bulldogs will host rival Ole Miss in their lone meeting of the year, as well as UF and UGA. They will make road trips to Bama, Mizzou, and UK. What will progress look like for the Bulldogs this year? This schedule certainly gives MSU the opportunity to gain confidence in the preseason as they build toward SEC play, but I am pretty sure I said the same thing last year. Hard to see this team finishing above the bottom 2/3 in conference, but that's why you play the games. Wishing the Fighting Dartys a good season!
Mizzou: A Mizzou squad without Alyssa Munlyn?!?!? That's what we're looking at. Big shoes (and a bigger block) to fill, but there are very good pieces in CoMo. It seems odd that the Kreklows might not actually have to replenish their roster this off-season in the transfer market! They have the Illinois transfers (Omazic, DeBerg), Member-Meneh, and Hollingsworth coming back to hit Fuentes' sets. That's not bad right there, and they have Caffey coming back from (I believe) a redshirt season. I think a reasonable question is how much depth there is behind those starters, but Wenting and Paumen are probably capable. How much better can this Mizzou squad get, and how much will they miss Munlyn? (Claudia Dillon, 6'2" MB; Leandra Mangual Duran; 6' OH; Kenna Sauer, 6' OH). Update: In what comes as a very surprising move, the Kreklows have announced their retirement from coaching at Mizzou. Did anyone see this coming? Their nephew-in-law, Josh Taylor, is announced as interim HC for 2019. This really surprises me - what a strange time of year to pull the plug on coaching! Just adding to the update - consensus seems to be that this is a way, basically, to force Mizzou's hand into handing over the program to Josh and Molly, giving them a season-long audition to become permanent coaches. Hooray, nepotism!
Schedule outlook: The CoMo Tigers start their season in Puerto Rico (¡Que agradable!) to play George Mason and two matches versus the University of Miami. The next weekend, Mizzou heads to Dayton to take on the B1G Wolverines, the host Flyers, and the Huskies of NIU. Week 3 sees the Tigers home for a five (!) team tournament (Fri/Sat/Sun) and playing Austin Peay, UNI, UMKC, and Boise State. The final weekend sees the Tigers heading south to take on Baylor and Hawaii in Waco. This is a pretty solid preseason schedule for the Battling Kreklows, and definitely a step up over previous years (imo). The SEC slate features pairs of matches with Kentucky, LSU, TAMU, Ole Miss, TN, and Bama. CoMo gets to host the battle of the Columbias, as SC will travel to Mizzou, as will UF and MSU, while the Tigers will visit The Plains (Auburn, for those still catching up), Fay-town, and Athens. Lots of opportunities to get the Tigers ready for the post-season on this slate, and that should clearly be the expectation for this team, who returns almost everyone.
Ole Miss - The Rebels did indeed struggle this year with finding offensive weapons besides Stroup's cannon of an arm. Fortunately, Stroup returns, though they lose Wernentin (who ended up being a decent contributor) and longtime L Adams, who I always thought was under-rated. There is a lot of talent in the middle, too, with Scott, Warnell, and Sultemeier each having some standout matches this year. How much more can they get out of Stroup, and who will step up to be the supporting pieces for her? Can they develop the ball control to utilize their middles more? What happens at S? Do they go back to the 5-2 Bars/Fate combo, or turn it over to Bars as a solo act? (Anna Bair, 6'2" OH; Lauren DeLo, 6' S; Ava Wampler, 6'4" MB). Update: 5'11" OH Izzy Guzik has announced her transfer to Ole Miss from Portland. Update #2: S Jordan Fate is no longer listed on the Ole Miss 2019 roster. Not sure if she is transferring or hanging up her vb shoes. It looks like Bars has the inside track on setting duties, though it'll be interesting to see how incoming Fr Lauren DeLo performs. Update #3 The timing is odd here, but Ole Miss has announced the departure of Associate Head Coach Ronnie Pacheco. McRoberts is now looking for another AC. The article doesn’t offer any explanations, which suggests a termination, but there is all kinds of friendly language in the article as well.
Schedule outlook: OM begins their preseason schedule with a home tournament featuring Rice, Iowa State, and UCF. The next weekend finds them in the Big Easy facing MO State, Houston Baptist, and the host Tulane squad. The Rebs' third weekend features a trip home for Coach McRoberts to Little Rock, where they will face UALR, Central Arkansas, and Oral Roberts. The last preseason weekend send OM to DC to face Howard and American. There are some challenging games in there, but they have only scheduled one Power 5 squad. UCF is good, Rice is good, and Tulane is improving, and American is a consistent tournament team, though. The SEC slate features home-home series with Tenn, Kentucky, Arkansas, UGA, TAMU, and Mizzou. Ouch. They get Auburn, Florida, and SC in Oxford, and have to travel to Starkville, Baton Rouge, and Tuscaloosa. If the Rebels can pull off some in conference upsets against upper echelon teams -- and the schedule gives them that opportunity in spades -- they could have a shot. But I think an awful lot will have to go right for them to have that happen.
South Carolina - How do the Gamecocks continue to build on their remarkable turnaround last season? Can they achieve their highest level of play consistently and avoid the low points that plagued them this year? The main losses are L Ezell (who will also be missed at the service line) and OH Courtney Furlong, but they return the Mikaylas (for Shields' senior year), McLean, Vastine, and Koehler. Will the Gamecocks be able to sneak up on anyone this year? How much better does Mendoza's squad get in year 2 of the rebuild? (Holly Eastridge, 6'3" RS; Anna Holman, 5'7" DS/L; McKenzie Moorman, 6' OH; Kylee Stokes, 6'1" MB -- RK still lists Kentessa Lawson as a USC commit, but she actually signed with WVU.)
Schedule outlook: The second year Mendozas start their season in Pittsburgh to take on Cincinnati, Cleveland State, and Pittsburgh. Week 2 sends them to Mickey Mouse land to face the host UCF squad, Kansas, and Albany. There is then a mid-week match-up against regional competitor UNC-Charlotte, followed by 2 matches at the Clemson tournament vs the in-state rival Tigers and Wisconsin. The final weekend of preseason brings the Gamecocks home to face Maryland, Kennesaw State, and -- drama -- High Point, Coach Mendoza's former squad. Kudos to Coach Mendoza's staff for putting together the toughest preseason slate for the Gamecocks that I can remember. The conference season features home-home series with UGA, Arkansas, Miss St, TAMU, Auburn, and UK. They will host LSU, Bama, and Tenn, and travel to Gainesville, Oxford, and the other Columbia. That seems like a pretty favorable schedule overall, so if the Gamecocks continue their momentum from last season and get some good results, they have a pretty decent chance to be dancing.
Tennessee - The SEC story of the year, no question. The Vols lose Treiber, one of my favorite players for the last 4 years, DS Schumacher, and role player Spencer. Everyone else is back. Replacing Treiber won't be easy, but it will be fun to watch Rowe develop after an off-season with the Vols staff. The roster does seem thin at MB, but if the rumors that Ava Bell may follow Coach Rackham to Rocky Top are correct, that problem is solved. Having a healthy Tessa Grubbs and a positive team environment has clearly done wonders for Tennessee, and next season should be very interesting (in a good way). (Maddie Bryant, 5'9" DS/L; Morgan Fingall, 6' RS; Kailey Keeble, 5'7" S; Emily Merrick, 6'4" RS; Madisen Werdell, 5'7" DS). UPDATE The rumors are true - Ava Bell announces her transfer from UNC to Tennessee. Update 2: As noted by volleycoachiq in the Transfers thread, Callie Williams, who split the setting duties with Sedona Hansen last year, is no longer on the UT roster. It looks like either the Vols will run a 5-1 around Hansen OR Fr Kailey Keeble will step into the second setter role in a 6-2 system, replacing Williams.
Schedule outlook: The Vols open their season with a home/home series with Illinois, which is a fine how-do-you-do to open your slate. The next weekend takes them to East Lansing to face the UC Bearcats, Miami (OH), and host Spartans. That’s three of their opening 5 matches against B1G opponents. Week 3 finds UT on the road again in Waco facing Houston and Baylor. The fourth weekend is at home, with contests against ETSU, GA Southern, and No Dakota State. That’s a solid preseason. The SEC scheduling gods have smiled on the Lady Vols this year, as they have two-fers with both Mississippi St and Ole Miss, Auburn and Alabama, UGA, and Mizzou. Only one (and maybe 2, depending on how UGA’s season goes) of those teams is likely to be in the top half of the conference standings, imo. Wow. They road-trip to South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and host TAMU, Kentucky, and LSU. If last year’s vast improvement didn’t do so already, this conference slate should vault Tennessee into the top 2-3 of any conference predictions.
Texas A&M - Also a good turnaround in College Station for Bird Kuhn's first squad, driven largely by improvements at S with Conner growing into the role, and Hans rebounding from something of a sophomore slump. Good player development in the MB position and the RS also helped. The notable loss is L Amy Houser, who was very solid; barring transfer, everyone else will be back for the Aggies. Should be a fun season to watch what they can do with some lineup consistency and increased player development. Shoring up the OH2 and RS positions should be a priority, imo. (Karly Basham, 5'7" DS/L; Ciera Hecht, 5'10" OH/DS). UPDATE TAMU has now announced their full signing class, and it includes four additional newcomers in addition to the two previously listed: Lauren Davis, 6’4” OH; Madison Bowser, 6’1” MB; Treyaunna Rush, 6’1” OPP; and Sabrina Sustala, 5’5” DS/L.
Schedule outlook: The first weekend of the season will find the Aggies road-tripping with, but not playing against, Florida to Louisville, where they will also play Dayton and the host Cardinal. The second week, the Aggies fly west to the Malibu beaches to take on Cal Baptist, Fairfield, and the host Pepperdine Waves. Week 3 brings the squad home to College Station to host Texas State, Northwestern State, and UTRGV. The final week of preseason features Big 12 reunion matches at home versus OU and on the road to arch-rival Texas. Meh. Like the matches with Louisville and Texas, but this is definitely a step-down from some previous TAMU pre-season schedules (which, to be fair, may have been TOO tough). The SEC slate brings double match-ups with Florida, Arkansas, Mizzou, Ole Miss, Miss St, and the Gamecocks. The Ags will host Bama, UGA, and Auburn, and make road trips to Knoxville, Lexington, and Baton Rouge. Double headers with the Gators, CoMo Tigers, and USC add some bite, and all three conference single-match road trips provide some good opportunities for quality road wins.
Alabama - Well, who's going to be the coach? Will there be any player transitions (transfers in/out, decommits) associated with the new staff? Most of the key contributors are back, minus Hall at MB and Gary at DS/L, so the coach could have a lot of pieces to work with. (Emily Janek, 6'1" RS/S; Katie Shook, 5'7" L; Alyiah Wells, 6'2" MB) UPDATE - Ok, so we know that Lindsey Devine from ETSU is the new coach. Let's see what happens next, roster-wise. Consensus seems to be that this is a good hire. Update #2: Eboni Harris, a RS-Fr OH, has announced her transfer to South Florida. Harris tore her achilles shortly after signing day and sat out last year; she's a Florida kid, so she's heading closer to home. S Alexa Tomlak is also not listed on the 2019 roster, which is perhaps not a surprise given that Neelon and Byrd took over all the setting duties last year. She may have graduated, as her Insta bio lists her as a "UA Volleyball Alum." Update #3 As caught by secsportsfan , Mahalia Swink is not listed on Bama’s 2019 roster. Could be a significant loss for the Tide. Update #4 A new Bama release adds more information about the roster, as Coach Devine has brought in additional recruits. They include Alexa Bertsch, 6’2” OH, Eva Barrowdale, 6’3” OH (England, apparently a grad transfer), Jamie Brown, 6’1” MB, Taylor Drapp, 5’9” L/DS, and Peyton Garrison, 5’6” L/DS. This group certainly provides some attacking depth, which Bama needed. Update #5 Alabama announces a very late roster addition, Brooke Kuhlman, a grad transfer from FSU’s beach vb program. She’s listed on the Bama’s roster as a OH/DS; at 5’10”, she’s likely to be more of a defensive player.
Schedule outlook: Bama starts off the season in the Flour City (look it up) playing Marist, the host Bulls, and the Colgate Toothpastes (not really). The next weekend also has them on the road in RVA playing Navy, the host VCU Rams, and NC State. The third weekend finds our road warriors making a shorter trip to the Magic City to play the cross-state rival Blazers, Georgia State, and SWAC powerhouse, er, powderpuff, Alcorn State. The preseason schedule concludes with a midweek match at home — for the first time! — with Kennesaw State, and then a Friday road match versus Florida State. Only one home pre-SEC match against a pretty weak slate of opponents. 🤷🏻♂️ The SEC slate features home-and-home series with Arkansas, Auburn, UGA, Tenn, LSU, and Mizzou. The Tide will host Miss St., Kentucky, and Ole Miss, and they’ll travel to College Station , Gainesville, and COLA, SC. I’m not really sure how this schedule sets up Bama for possible post-season opportunities. The preseason is pretty soft, and the SEC slate is fairly middle of the road. The Tide will have to do really well, I think, to sniff an at large berth.
Arkansas - After a bit of a disappointing season, what happens player development-wise for the Hogs? They lose Valle's should-have-been-All-SEC performance at libero and do not have a clear heir apparent in the funny colored jersey, and they lose both of their starting OPPs, should they stick with the 6-2 (not a given). There are plenty of candidates to replace the RS players. Will the Hogs be able to upgrade their blocking, which completely disappeared at times this year? The staff is very, very high on the incoming freshman class. (Maggie Cartwright, 6'1" Pin; Natalie Perdue, 6' OH; Jill Gillen, 5'10" OH; Abbi McGee, 5'6" DS) UPDATE: The Hogs have added Devyn Wheeler, a transfer 6' MB from North Florida. Update #2 The Hogs are losing rising juniors OH Logan Brown and DS Paige Johnson to transfer (Johnson to UOk, Brown as yet unannounced), and current JR OH Reagan Robinson has decided to forego her senior season of competition. Update #3: The Hogs lose Associate HC Jon Newman-Gonchar to the big chair at New Mexico and replace him with former ASU OH and Asst Coach Macey Gardner. Update #4 Rich Kern indicates that the Hogs have picked up a commit from JUCO DS Savannah Downing from Iowa Western CC.
Schedule outlook: Arkansas has released its schedule! They start at home with a bit of a softball weekend hosting Northwestern St, in-state rival (which is very unusual for U of A teams) UALR, and Montana St. Week 2 is a very big step up, as they travel to California to take on WVU and co-hosts University of San Diego and San Diego State. Week 3 features a mid-week in-state match up with the weak sister Arkansas Pine Bluff squad, followed by a trip out east to play Princeton, George Mason, and the host Terrapins of U Maryland. The final pre-season weekend takes the Hogs to Athens for the SEC-ACC Challenge, which is a repeat of last year's event and puts Arkansas up against GA Tech and NC State (but not the host Dawgs). The Hogs will certainly hope for better results than the 0-2 they put up last year. That's four P5 opponents plus USD on the schedule, and a handful of "should-win" matches. Not the stuff of legend, but some good opportunities for solid wins. The conference slate includes double features with Bama, TAMU, UF, SC, OM, and MSU. The Hogs will host the rebuilding AU Tigers, the Vols, and the Not-Kreklow Tigers, and make road trips to Lexington, Athens (for the second time), and Baton Rouge. The schedule presents enough opportunities for the Hogs to succeed, but this team is still pretty young (Rippee is the only senior, and all 6 newcomers are likely to see some action), so they will have to gel pretty quickly to be successful enough to have a chance at the post-season.
Auburn - What is Latin for "Who sets?" Because that's the million dollar question facing this team. Or if not million dollar, insert whatever Coach Nold's current salary is. This team, like a few others, considerably under-performed relative to expectations, and they are losing both McIlroy, who was their biggest offensive threat, and Allison, who was their only SEC-capable setter. Uncharacteristically, defense was not really a strength for this year's AU squad, either, though perhaps that can be chalked up to the youth of the libero. On the brighter side, the blocking improved a good bit this year. There are some very good arms on this roster, but who is going to get them the ball? (Molly Pember, 5'6" DS/L; Lily Thomason, 6' OH) UPDATE: Word is that Gwyn Jones has also put her name in the portal as a likely transfer, further depleting the amount of offense AU has returning. Update #2: Jones's departure to Marquette has been confirmed. Update #3 It is now confirmed that Taylor Rowland's name is in the portal and that she, too, is likely to be playing somewhere else next season. So McIlroy (graduated), Allison (TR), Jones (TR), and Rowland (TR) all look to have put the Plains in their rear view mirror. The questions are really piling up for the Blue and Orange Tigers. Update #4: DS Karis Beasley has announced on twitter that she is grad transferring to JMU and will compete for the Dukes while finishing her master’s degree, bringing the number of players departing AU with remaining eligibility to four. Update #5: The Tigers have announced that former HC (and AC) Kris Grunwald is coming back to the Plains to serve as assistant coach for his third (at least?) stint on the bench for the Tigers. Alex Wilharm has reportedly left the program to pursue a career outside of coaching. Update #6 Rising junior MB Anna Stevenson’s name is no longer listed on Auburn’s 2019 roster, fueling speculation that she will be the fourth AU starter from last season (or at least a “frequent” starter) with remaining eligibility who is leaving the program (along with Allison, Rowland, and Jones). These four departures, along with grad transferring DS Karis Beasley, who was a significant defensive contributor, clearly point to a Rob-Patrick-at-Tennessee-level exodus. Not sure if the reasons are the same, but the drain of talent within such a short time is pretty dramatic. Update #7: Anna Stevenson announced as transferring to Louisville. Good pick up for the Cardinals, not good news for the Tigers. Update #8: Auburn has announced the addition of three transfers for the coming season. They include 6' MB Jaeden Brown (Jr) from USF, 6' OH/OPP Lauren Dorrell (Jr) from Colorado, and 6' S Marissa Hines (Soph) from Wyoming. Brown led a decent USF team in blocking and hit .277 for the season; Dorrell was a sometime starter for UC and hit .182 on the season; and Hines was a part-time setter in Wyoming's 6-2 (apparently, based on their stats) offense. These all seem like decent players, though not of the caliber of those Tigers who departed.
Schedule outlook: Unlike some of their conference opponents, the Tigers begin their out-of-conference season soft and work their way up in terms of difficulty. Don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it should give the team some time to gel. The first weekend is a home tournament featuring Tennessee State, New Mexico State, and Butler. Week 2 sends the Tigers down to Miami to face off against host FGCU, South Florida, and George Washington. Week 3 looks like a significant step up in competition, and Auburn heads to Ft Worth to take on the University of Miami and the host TCU Horned Frogs. The Tigers conclude their preseason up in Kalamazoo taking on Michigan State, hosts WMU, and IUPUI. Three P5 teams is what AU had on their schedule last year, too. In the SEC slate, there are pairs of matches against Florida, SC, Bama, TN, MSU, and LSU. The Tigers will host the CoMo Tigers, Jawjuh Dawgs, and the Wildcats on the Plains and make road trips to Oxford, Fayetteville, and College Station. Given the roster turnover, more than 4 or 5 conference wins would be a good showing for the Tigers, but the post-season is a longshot.
Florida - After a roller coaster season, what happens next? Kellum and Monserez the Elder are lost to graduation, but lots of talent remains. How does Mary keep the very talented arms on the roster happy? Will Hall make a full recovery? On the pins
Schedule Outlook The Gators are among the first to announce their 2019 schedule, and again Coach Wise and crew have put together a preseason slate with some good marquee matchups. They'll start on the road in Louisville taking on the Cardinals and the Dayton Flyers. Then they host Stanford in a mid-week matchup before going on the road to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers. The third weekend features a home tournament with James Madison, Long Beach St., and South Florida. After another mid-week match up at home with Florida State, the final preseason weekend also finds the Gators hosting, rolling out the red carpet for Liberty, ULL, and -- in a "revenge" match -- Northern Arizona. This continues a recent pattern of having the weakest competition just before the SEC season starts. Overall, though, the Gators have put together a nice slate of opponents. Hard to get too worked up about ULL and Liberty when you have Minnesota, Stanford, Louisville, and FSU all on the schedule. In the SEC, the Gators have double-dates with Arkansas, Auburn, UGA, TAMU, LSU, and Kentucky. They get SC, Bama, and TN at home, and travel to CoMo, Oxford, and Starkville. Not exactly a cakewalk, but likely not the most difficult of conference schedules. Will be nice to see them have to face KY twice and travel to Mizzou. In terms of power, only playing single games against OM and MSU could be helpful (if those teams don't improve over last year). The schedule sets up the Gators well for post-season.
UGA - With Ceasar's mid-season departure, will it be addition by subtraction, or will UGA's rebuilding process have a bit of a hiccup while Coach Black and staff look to replace her production? What is gong to happen at MB, now that Bass and Karstens are gone? It was a given that UGA was going to have established starting OH's for the next two years, and now it seems the staff will have to scramble. Do they pull in a transfer? Or is Evans going to be ready to step in as a freshman? More questions than expected in Athens. (Kacie Evans, 6' OH; Alexa Fortin, 6' S; Meghan Froemming, 6' MB; Londyn Gray, 6'1" MB) Update: 6’3” OPP Kaylah House to transfer to UGA from Coastal Carolina. Update #2: Coach Tom Black has been chosen as the Canadian women's national team coach. He will hold both the UGA and Canada jobs at the same time, possibly raising questions about divided attention.
Schedule Outlook UGA begins the season road-tripping to ACC regional foe Clemson to play the rebuilding host Tigers, Kennesaw St, and Wofford (gotta love a team with the nickname Terriers). The next weekend, the Dawgs earn some frequent flyer miles and head out to the Beach to play the host 49ers, UCLA, and Texas State. Week 3 finds UGA back east in North Carolina to face the host Duke Blue Devils, Northwestern, and American University. The final preseason weekend finds the ACC-SEC Challenge coming to Stegeman, where Georgia will face NC State and GA Tech (but not Arkansas, the other team who’ll face off against the Pack and Ramblin’ Wreck). This is a very solid, quite tough preseason schedule. The only absolute gimme is Wofford; all the other matches should be at least competitive. If Georgia gets through this schedule with 7 or 8 wins, they will really be looking very solid. Kudos to Coach Black and his staff for assembling a very solid preseason. Within the SEC, the Dawgs play home-and-home series with SC, UF, TN, Bama, Kentucky, and Ole Miss. Single matches include road trips to Auburn, TAMU, and MSU and home matches with LSU, Arkansas, and Mizzou. Of those single matches, getting LSU and Mizzou at home could be advantageous. Drawing doubles against all three of KY, UF, and TN is tough luck, though. The overall strength of the schedule is impressive, and if GA puts together a solid season, they should face any questions about weak opponents.
Kentucky - Is it a disappointment that this team didn't make a regional final? Personally, I don't think so. They were the best team in the SEC, but I think their shortcomings were exposed a bit against the elite teams. Next year, everyone on the pins is back, as is the S and L. Paris was a very pleasant surprise opposite Morgan in the middle, but is she ready to be the main show? They lose key contributor Morgan and utility players Jewell and Nyberg, along with excellent DS Watson. But Edmund will be motivated to shine in her senior season, and Cooper will want to make the most of her last year as well. They return Lilley, Curry, and Skinner, as well. If -- if! -- they can replace Morgan, they look poised to be among the conference elite again next year. (Isabella Bell, 6'3" MB; Maddie Berezowitz, 5'6" DS; Azhani Tealer, 5'10" OH/RS). Update MB Leah Meyer has announced her transfer from Duke to KY, which certainly will go a ways toward replacing Morgan.
Schedule outlook: Kentucky has published its preseason schedule, and it is again quite impressive. The Cats begin the year in Salt Lake City playing Cal Poly, the host Utes, and St. Mary's. The next weekend they road trip again to Cedar Falls, IA, to face Creighton, Southern Cal, and the host UNI squad. Week 3 finds the Cats hosting Cleveland State, FGCU, and Indiana. And the last week features a mid-week home matchup versus Purdue and the traditional rivalry match with Louisville (also at home). That is a very challenging schedule, and we know from what the Gators have published that they will also face UF twice. Updated to include SEC schedule: Home-and-home matchups with Mizzou, UF, LSU, Ole Miss, UGA, and South Carolina. Pretty salty, as far as SEC slates go. The "Cats will host Arkansas, MSU, and TAMU, and travel to Alabama, Tenn, and Auburn. Getting TAMU at home and only having to travel to Tenn of the expected upper tier teams is not a bad draw. UK has a very strong preseason and a pretty competitive conference schedule this year. If they wind up with low single digit losses, they will have earned the good seeding they will end up with.
LSU - I'm not sure any team was more a negative surprise this year than LSU, although there were definite signs of improvement at the end of the season. Will Fran continue to try to make "Bannister OH" happen? Starters (usually) Beyer, Flory, and Rodriguez are all gone (as is stalwart utility player Kampen), and Armer -- who I thought was a revelation in 2017 -- slid into bench obscurity last season. Bannister, Cianciulli, Stokes, Mukes, and Foreman (who was starting to come on at the end) all return to provide a strong nucleus. The questions I have are, who are the pin hitters, and what pins are they hitting on? Bannister is a given somewhere, but the "where" seems to matter. Also, who sets? Zweibel was inconsistent (again) last year; does Goins challenge her? Do they run with two short setters (Goins and a Fr) in a 6-2 next season? Does Anwusi step right in, or will she need some time to adjust to the college game? Lots of potential and lots of questions for the Bayou Bengals. (Anita Anwusi, 6'3" MB; Samarah Hill, 6' OH; Meredyth Hill, 5'10" MB; Allee Morris, 6'2" MB/OH; Karli Rose, 5'6" S) Update Rich Kern indicates a new 2019 commit, 5’3” DS Jill Bohnet. Update: Rich Kern indicates that Paige Hilliard has transferred from LSU to Illinois State. She RS'ed her freshman season, so she should have four years of eligibility with the Redbirds. Update 2: The LSU 2019 roster does not include Jacqui Armer. Don't see any indication online (yet) that she is transferring - perhaps just hanging up the sneakers? The Tigers have certainly loaded up on MB talent (Anwusi, Morris, Foreman) in the past couple classes, but they will be short on experience in the middle with only the sophomore Foreman returning. Update 3: Per the transfers thread, Armer is transferring to Indiana. Hope she does well in Bloomington! Update 4: Per the transfer thread, Emmaline Walters, DS/L from Illinois, is transferring into LSU. Sort of curious here, as DS/L was not clearly a position of need for the Tigers, but I suppose you can’t have too many good defenders on the squad.
Schedule outlook: LSU starts the year in Houston facing off against UTA, AZ State, and Houston. The ASU match will be a good early season barometer. The second weekend is pretty boffo, with the Tigers traveling to Ames to face off against Penn State and the host Cyclones. Week 3 is a little bit of a return to earth, albeit a high elevation part of Earth, with a trip to Flagstaff to play Fresno St., the host Lumberjacks (who, according to sources in Gainesville, should not be taken for granted at home), and South Dakota State. The final week of preseason sees the Bayou Bengals play Fri/Sat home matches against regional rivals Southern Miss and Tulane. There are some very cool, challenging match-ups here, and nothing that is even remotely embarrassing from a scheduling standpoint. I'm excited about the PSU/ISU weekend and what LSU can do against quality competition on the road/neutral court. The SEC slate looks very rigorous and features home-and-home series with Mizzou, Kentucky, AND Florida, as well as Auburn, MSU, and Bama. LSU will travel to Knoxville, Athens, and Columbia (East), and will host Arkansas, Ole Miss, and TAMU. The pieces are all there for LSU to lock up a post-season bid. It will be exciting to see how the line-up comes together in Baton Rouge.
Mississippi State: What will the Darty roster look like in year 2? There could be practically a cast of thousands, though there are some players who have already headed for the exit, and perhaps some more who are likely to. Some of them are quality players, too. Regular-to-sometimes starters Morgan Kath, Khristian Carr, and Taylor Haskins are all out of eligibility. Key returners include Deja Robinson, Paige Shaw, Gabby Zgunda, maybe Gabby Waden (if she gets fully healthy), and the Jacksonville transfers (Cooks, Stamatis, and Murr). Koele (whose twitter now says Baylor '22 on it) and Gray are already removed from the roster, and I'm not 100% sure that Benner will be back. The biggest issue in Starkville seems to be overall level of talent - there are individual (very) bright spots, but overall it's not clear that there is enough SEC talent on the roster, and I'm not sure the large recruiting class really addresses that problem. (Katie Culumovic, 5'8" S/DS; Peyton DeBello, 5'8" DS/L; Jordan McKenzie, 5'11" OH; Maira Marsh, 5'11" RS/S; Caroline Minshew; 5'11" OH; Kate Smith, 5'3" DS; Carsyn Starr, 6' OH/RS; Burgundy Walters, 6' MB). Update There is some speculation that the highest-rated high school newcomer in the Bulldog's class, who enrolled early and competed with the team in the spring, may already be on her way out of Starkville. Unlike most other teams, MSU has not posted a 2019 roster yet, so it's hard to gauge whether there's any other roster shake-ups in store. Keeping 👀 on it for now. Update 2: Per the transfer thread, Carsyn Starr has transferred from MSU to Charleston Southern. (Wow - what a drop in level!) Update 3: Logan Brown, formerly of the Razorbacks, has announced on twitter that she is transferring to Mississippi State. “Let’s Darty,” she says. (She should have to sit out a year, just for that!! 😂😂😂) (just kidding) (sort of).
Schedule outlook: MSU's preseason schedule starts off with the Starkvegas (ugh. Stop trying to make Starkvegas happen, Gretchen) Classic with the Bulldogs hosting UT-Chattanooga, Mississippi Valley State, and Western Carolina. The next weekend features a road trip to the Big Easy to face host UNO, Arkansas State, and Southern Miss. Weekend 3, the Bulldogs make their way to Jacksonville, AL, to face Stetson, Sam Houston State, and the host Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. The last weekend of non-con sees MSU again hosting a trio of teams representing Jackson State, North Florida, and UAB. Not a single P5 opponent, and the average 2018 Pablo opponent rating is 223 (best = So Miss at 131, worst = MVSU at 335), which could be forgiven considering how much rebuilding the Bulldogs are going through. Still ... it's a pretty darn weak schedule that will not really help the conference very much. The SEC slate is fairly middle of the pack, with the Dogs facing LSU, SC, Tenn, TAMU, Arkansas, and Auburn twice each. The Bulldogs will host rival Ole Miss in their lone meeting of the year, as well as UF and UGA. They will make road trips to Bama, Mizzou, and UK. What will progress look like for the Bulldogs this year? This schedule certainly gives MSU the opportunity to gain confidence in the preseason as they build toward SEC play, but I am pretty sure I said the same thing last year. Hard to see this team finishing above the bottom 2/3 in conference, but that's why you play the games. Wishing the Fighting Dartys a good season!
Mizzou: A Mizzou squad without Alyssa Munlyn?!?!? That's what we're looking at. Big shoes (and a bigger block) to fill, but there are very good pieces in CoMo. It seems odd that the Kreklows might not actually have to replenish their roster this off-season in the transfer market! They have the Illinois transfers (Omazic, DeBerg), Member-Meneh, and Hollingsworth coming back to hit Fuentes' sets. That's not bad right there, and they have Caffey coming back from (I believe) a redshirt season. I think a reasonable question is how much depth there is behind those starters, but Wenting and Paumen are probably capable. How much better can this Mizzou squad get, and how much will they miss Munlyn? (Claudia Dillon, 6'2" MB; Leandra Mangual Duran; 6' OH; Kenna Sauer, 6' OH). Update: In what comes as a very surprising move, the Kreklows have announced their retirement from coaching at Mizzou. Did anyone see this coming? Their nephew-in-law, Josh Taylor, is announced as interim HC for 2019. This really surprises me - what a strange time of year to pull the plug on coaching! Just adding to the update - consensus seems to be that this is a way, basically, to force Mizzou's hand into handing over the program to Josh and Molly, giving them a season-long audition to become permanent coaches. Hooray, nepotism!
Schedule outlook: The CoMo Tigers start their season in Puerto Rico (¡Que agradable!) to play George Mason and two matches versus the University of Miami. The next weekend, Mizzou heads to Dayton to take on the B1G Wolverines, the host Flyers, and the Huskies of NIU. Week 3 sees the Tigers home for a five (!) team tournament (Fri/Sat/Sun) and playing Austin Peay, UNI, UMKC, and Boise State. The final weekend sees the Tigers heading south to take on Baylor and Hawaii in Waco. This is a pretty solid preseason schedule for the Battling Kreklows, and definitely a step up over previous years (imo). The SEC slate features pairs of matches with Kentucky, LSU, TAMU, Ole Miss, TN, and Bama. CoMo gets to host the battle of the Columbias, as SC will travel to Mizzou, as will UF and MSU, while the Tigers will visit The Plains (Auburn, for those still catching up), Fay-town, and Athens. Lots of opportunities to get the Tigers ready for the post-season on this slate, and that should clearly be the expectation for this team, who returns almost everyone.
Ole Miss - The Rebels did indeed struggle this year with finding offensive weapons besides Stroup's cannon of an arm. Fortunately, Stroup returns, though they lose Wernentin (who ended up being a decent contributor) and longtime L Adams, who I always thought was under-rated. There is a lot of talent in the middle, too, with Scott, Warnell, and Sultemeier each having some standout matches this year. How much more can they get out of Stroup, and who will step up to be the supporting pieces for her? Can they develop the ball control to utilize their middles more? What happens at S? Do they go back to the 5-2 Bars/Fate combo, or turn it over to Bars as a solo act? (Anna Bair, 6'2" OH; Lauren DeLo, 6' S; Ava Wampler, 6'4" MB). Update: 5'11" OH Izzy Guzik has announced her transfer to Ole Miss from Portland. Update #2: S Jordan Fate is no longer listed on the Ole Miss 2019 roster. Not sure if she is transferring or hanging up her vb shoes. It looks like Bars has the inside track on setting duties, though it'll be interesting to see how incoming Fr Lauren DeLo performs. Update #3 The timing is odd here, but Ole Miss has announced the departure of Associate Head Coach Ronnie Pacheco. McRoberts is now looking for another AC. The article doesn’t offer any explanations, which suggests a termination, but there is all kinds of friendly language in the article as well.
Schedule outlook: OM begins their preseason schedule with a home tournament featuring Rice, Iowa State, and UCF. The next weekend finds them in the Big Easy facing MO State, Houston Baptist, and the host Tulane squad. The Rebs' third weekend features a trip home for Coach McRoberts to Little Rock, where they will face UALR, Central Arkansas, and Oral Roberts. The last preseason weekend send OM to DC to face Howard and American. There are some challenging games in there, but they have only scheduled one Power 5 squad. UCF is good, Rice is good, and Tulane is improving, and American is a consistent tournament team, though. The SEC slate features home-home series with Tenn, Kentucky, Arkansas, UGA, TAMU, and Mizzou. Ouch. They get Auburn, Florida, and SC in Oxford, and have to travel to Starkville, Baton Rouge, and Tuscaloosa. If the Rebels can pull off some in conference upsets against upper echelon teams -- and the schedule gives them that opportunity in spades -- they could have a shot. But I think an awful lot will have to go right for them to have that happen.
South Carolina - How do the Gamecocks continue to build on their remarkable turnaround last season? Can they achieve their highest level of play consistently and avoid the low points that plagued them this year? The main losses are L Ezell (who will also be missed at the service line) and OH Courtney Furlong, but they return the Mikaylas (for Shields' senior year), McLean, Vastine, and Koehler. Will the Gamecocks be able to sneak up on anyone this year? How much better does Mendoza's squad get in year 2 of the rebuild? (Holly Eastridge, 6'3" RS; Anna Holman, 5'7" DS/L; McKenzie Moorman, 6' OH; Kylee Stokes, 6'1" MB -- RK still lists Kentessa Lawson as a USC commit, but she actually signed with WVU.)
Schedule outlook: The second year Mendozas start their season in Pittsburgh to take on Cincinnati, Cleveland State, and Pittsburgh. Week 2 sends them to Mickey Mouse land to face the host UCF squad, Kansas, and Albany. There is then a mid-week match-up against regional competitor UNC-Charlotte, followed by 2 matches at the Clemson tournament vs the in-state rival Tigers and Wisconsin. The final weekend of preseason brings the Gamecocks home to face Maryland, Kennesaw State, and -- drama -- High Point, Coach Mendoza's former squad. Kudos to Coach Mendoza's staff for putting together the toughest preseason slate for the Gamecocks that I can remember. The conference season features home-home series with UGA, Arkansas, Miss St, TAMU, Auburn, and UK. They will host LSU, Bama, and Tenn, and travel to Gainesville, Oxford, and the other Columbia. That seems like a pretty favorable schedule overall, so if the Gamecocks continue their momentum from last season and get some good results, they have a pretty decent chance to be dancing.
Tennessee - The SEC story of the year, no question. The Vols lose Treiber, one of my favorite players for the last 4 years, DS Schumacher, and role player Spencer. Everyone else is back. Replacing Treiber won't be easy, but it will be fun to watch Rowe develop after an off-season with the Vols staff. The roster does seem thin at MB, but if the rumors that Ava Bell may follow Coach Rackham to Rocky Top are correct, that problem is solved. Having a healthy Tessa Grubbs and a positive team environment has clearly done wonders for Tennessee, and next season should be very interesting (in a good way). (Maddie Bryant, 5'9" DS/L; Morgan Fingall, 6' RS; Kailey Keeble, 5'7" S; Emily Merrick, 6'4" RS; Madisen Werdell, 5'7" DS). UPDATE The rumors are true - Ava Bell announces her transfer from UNC to Tennessee. Update 2: As noted by volleycoachiq in the Transfers thread, Callie Williams, who split the setting duties with Sedona Hansen last year, is no longer on the UT roster. It looks like either the Vols will run a 5-1 around Hansen OR Fr Kailey Keeble will step into the second setter role in a 6-2 system, replacing Williams.
Schedule outlook: The Vols open their season with a home/home series with Illinois, which is a fine how-do-you-do to open your slate. The next weekend takes them to East Lansing to face the UC Bearcats, Miami (OH), and host Spartans. That’s three of their opening 5 matches against B1G opponents. Week 3 finds UT on the road again in Waco facing Houston and Baylor. The fourth weekend is at home, with contests against ETSU, GA Southern, and No Dakota State. That’s a solid preseason. The SEC scheduling gods have smiled on the Lady Vols this year, as they have two-fers with both Mississippi St and Ole Miss, Auburn and Alabama, UGA, and Mizzou. Only one (and maybe 2, depending on how UGA’s season goes) of those teams is likely to be in the top half of the conference standings, imo. Wow. They road-trip to South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, and host TAMU, Kentucky, and LSU. If last year’s vast improvement didn’t do so already, this conference slate should vault Tennessee into the top 2-3 of any conference predictions.
Texas A&M - Also a good turnaround in College Station for Bird Kuhn's first squad, driven largely by improvements at S with Conner growing into the role, and Hans rebounding from something of a sophomore slump. Good player development in the MB position and the RS also helped. The notable loss is L Amy Houser, who was very solid; barring transfer, everyone else will be back for the Aggies. Should be a fun season to watch what they can do with some lineup consistency and increased player development. Shoring up the OH2 and RS positions should be a priority, imo. (Karly Basham, 5'7" DS/L; Ciera Hecht, 5'10" OH/DS). UPDATE TAMU has now announced their full signing class, and it includes four additional newcomers in addition to the two previously listed: Lauren Davis, 6’4” OH; Madison Bowser, 6’1” MB; Treyaunna Rush, 6’1” OPP; and Sabrina Sustala, 5’5” DS/L.
Schedule outlook: The first weekend of the season will find the Aggies road-tripping with, but not playing against, Florida to Louisville, where they will also play Dayton and the host Cardinal. The second week, the Aggies fly west to the Malibu beaches to take on Cal Baptist, Fairfield, and the host Pepperdine Waves. Week 3 brings the squad home to College Station to host Texas State, Northwestern State, and UTRGV. The final week of preseason features Big 12 reunion matches at home versus OU and on the road to arch-rival Texas. Meh. Like the matches with Louisville and Texas, but this is definitely a step-down from some previous TAMU pre-season schedules (which, to be fair, may have been TOO tough). The SEC slate brings double match-ups with Florida, Arkansas, Mizzou, Ole Miss, Miss St, and the Gamecocks. The Ags will host Bama, UGA, and Auburn, and make road trips to Knoxville, Lexington, and Baton Rouge. Double headers with the Gators, CoMo Tigers, and USC add some bite, and all three conference single-match road trips provide some good opportunities for quality road wins.