7 Bold Takes For Texas' 2025 Season

As one of the most talked about programs in the country, just about everyone has opinions on Texas Volleyball. And for good reason as they enter the season the #5 team in America competing for another national title. Here are some of my hottest, semi-informed, some-more-realistic-than-others takes on Texas' 2025 college volleyball season.

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The Horns Get a Statement Win Over Stanford

The home opener will be one of the most important games on the entire schedule this year when Stanford comes to town on Sunday, September 7th. Both teams will already be battle tested by this point, but the game still happens very early on in the season. For a Stanford team that lost two of its emotional leaders in Kami Miner and Elena Oglivie, they may still be trying to find their identity the first few weeks of the season. With a roaring crowd in the first-ever match in the 10,000-seat Moody Center, this is a winnable match and I think the Longhorns take advantage with a decisive 3 or 4 set victory.

The SEC Tournament Doesn't Matter

For the first time since 2005, the SEC will host a conference tournament after regular season conference play this season. And don't get me wrong, I think it's great that the conference is bringing this back. It's really exciting to get all the teams into one city competing for a title and it will bring more eyeballs to the sport. But at that point in the year, teams are focused on one thing, and that's the real tournament. And doing well in the conference tournament doesn't always mean doing well in the NCAA tournament. In fact, sometimes getting knocked out early gives you the time to rest and mentally focus for a deep playoff run. I'll be rooting for my Horns on Thanksgiving week, but I'd rather have a regular season SEC title than a postseason SEC title.

Texas Volleyball Will Not Host a Regional

As the preseason #5 ranked team, Texas is just on the outside looking in to the 4-team threshold of 1-seeds that get to host the regional round. This always feels like a battle within the war especially throughout the first half of the season because of the immense advantage of hosting those games in the sweet sixteen and elite eight. Texas has missed out on hosting the past two seasons and I think it's most likely that will happen again. This is a team with a lot of new faces that will improve throughout the season and the gauntlet to start the year may prove too difficult to handle, and out of conference matches have a huge impact on end of season seeding. Or Texas could be sitting there with wins against Creighton, Wisconsin, Stanford, Louisville, and Arizona State a month from now. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Abby Vander Wal Wins National Freshman of the Year

I can't even sit here and guarantee you that Vander Wal will be a starter for this team with all the depth and experience on the roster. But I think she is just too special to leave on the bench, at least for most of the season. Her shot variation on the offensive side of the ball and physicality on the defensive side of the ball make her a super impressive athlete. And as a regular contributor on the outside for one of the nation's top teams, she can build a very compelling case for best freshman in the country.

Three Freshmen Will Start in the Season

On that note, she won't be the only freshman too good to keep off the court. At some point we will see Vander Wal for sure, and we will also see Cari Spears for sure as a starter, who has improved over the summer months. I'm not saying both will start the whole year, but this is a dynamic duo that will be a part of this season and a very big part of this program over the next few years. Also in the fold is Taylor Harvey. Now, I don't expect her to start on day 1; next weekend, I expect the starters to be Ayden Ames and Nya Bunton. Harvey was the only freshman that wasn't on campus in the spring, so she's still working on building connections and learning Texas' systems. But as the season progresses, I can absolutely see her reaching her potential and competing for a starting spot.

Taylor Harvey Leads Team in Hitting Percentage

Speaking of which, give me Harvey to lead the team in hitting percentage. Middles tend to have higher hitting percentages because they usually only get set in system, so that's a big factor in this pick. But as the connection with Ella Swindle continues to improve, Harvey is the most offensively minded middle on the team and can lead in efficiency, whatever her sample size may end up being.

Emma Halter and Ramsey Gary Will Both Have a Good Pass Percentage Over 60%

This is a very impressive benchmark to keep the offense in system on 3 of every 5 serves, but with these two commanding the back row I think it's doable. Teams are going to have difficulty choosing who to serve it to with so many elite options in serve receive. These two are incredibly vocal and do a great job of communicating, which is so important for passing and will help the first ball offense run like a well-oiled machine.