Torrey on Top?? Preseason POY Awards Watchlist

As we get closer and closer to the official start of the season when Texas travels to Wisconsin and takes on Creighton in just over two weeks, let's take a look at some of the players with a shot at winning some awards this season, as well as the main competition they have to compete with across the NCAA to win them. Although it is a team sport and that's the focus, we can also give some shoutouts to players that will have their own storylines throughout the 2025 campaign. And whether or not they like to admit it, individual awards are indeed something that players think about.

In this edition, we will focus on awards for Player of the Year, both in the SEC and in the NCAA as a whole. The AVCA recently published its preseason watchlist for National Player of the Year with 30 athletes that are on their radar, and the only Longhorn that made the list is Torrey Stafford. There are some other Texas players deserving of some preseason praise, but the truth is that if a Texas players wins one of these awards, it will be Torrey Stafford, just because of how heavily skewed they are towards pin hitters.

You don't need me to tell you that Torrey Stafford is good at volleyball. She is as strong an offensive threat as there is. The question is whether or not she will thrive as the #1 option on her team. She has spent the last two seasons at Pitt playing alongside last year's NPOY, Olivia Babcock. The move to Austin means Stafford will get the opportunity to break into the spotlight and be the face of her team. And being the OH1 for Texas is a pretty good gig for winning NPOY awards: Logan Eggleston won it in 2022 and Madisen Skinner didn't win the AVCA award, but did win the VolleyMag.com award in 2023.

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Now let's break down her biggest competition for the SEC Player of the Year:

Brooklyn DeLeye (Kentucky) - The reigning SEC Player of the Year, DeLeye is once again a leading contender for the award. She led the Cats to an SEC championship season, and is the captain of this squad once again. Although she won't be the only major attacking threat on this team any more thanks to the next player on this list.

Eva Hudson (Kentucky) - Hudson transferred in from Purdue to offer Kentucky a shiny new 1-2 punch at outside hitter. Although less likely to stand out with DeLeye leading the charge on her team, there is a world where Hudson shines on her new team enough to look like the best player in the conference.

Logan Lednicky (Texas A&M) - Lednicky enters her senior year looking to have her best one yet. Again, this is just the best pin hitter on one of the top teams in the conference so it's a boring pick, but A&M is good largely because Lednicky is very good, not the other way around.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla (Texas A&M) - It's a bit tougher for middles to win this award than pin hitters, but Cos-Okpalla has an elite blocking ability that makes her stand out. Her defensive stats would have to be insane for this to happen, but she has shown it's within the realm of possibility.

Some strong competition here especially with DeLeye and Lednicky, but give me Stafford for SEC POY.

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If Stafford has a super successful season, National Player of the Year is also within reach, though more things would need to break in her favor. So let's break down her biggest competition for NPOY outside of the SEC:

Olivia Babcock (Pitt) - The reigning NPOY, Babcock has a chance to be the first player to go back-to-back in the award since Kathryn Plummer in 2017-18. As Stafford's former teammate, both players have a shot at being the best in the nation. The question for Babcock is the same as it is for Stafford... can she do it on her own? Can Babcock thrive without a #2 option as dangerous as Stafford to take some of the defensive pressure off of her?

Harper Murray (Nebraska) - Still has yet to put all the pieces together in one season, but there's no doubt her ceiling contains an NPOY award.

Andi Jackson (Nebraska) - Widely considered to be the best middle in the nation, as confirmed by the VB Adrenaline coaches poll, it would be wrong not to consider her a contender. The last middle to win the award was Dana Rettke in 2021, who posted a fantastic statistical season on both sides of the ball... 3.41 kills/set on .430 hitting percentage adding 1.43 blocks/set on a team that won the national championship. It would have to be that type of season for Jackson.

Kennedy Martin (Penn State) - Ranking right next to Stafford's transfer from Pitt to Texas, Martin's transfer from Florida to Penn State was the biggest of the offseason. Both players will strive to be the best in the game, and Martin gets to do it with the reigning national champs.

Izzy Starck (Penn State) - If you want to take a flyer on a non-pin hitter, Starck is your best bet (maybe besides Jackson). She won National Freshman of the Year last year, and is ranked the #1 setter according to the coaches poll. Another deep playoff run could build a compelling case for the sophomore.

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Outside of the performance of the team, this is another storyline Texas fans should keep an eye on as the season progresses.