Breaking Down the SEC

SEC Conference Overview Heading to Conference Play

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Texas - 8-0 Slightly ahead of even the most optimistic of Austin area fans. This group definitely has the chemistry (oh, and the talent). Moving Spears to the RS has worked beautifully, and the back row combos have been a killer tandem. They did all the little things right in non-con; they needed to pull out matches. Direct tribute to leadership. Sometimes it’s not all about accolades; it’s about what kind of leader you are and how your team gets along. This crew is meshing very well; it’s been fun to watch, unless you are the rest of the SEC.

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Kentucky - 7-2 Who are the ’25 Kentucky Wildcats? They realistically can be ranked #1 in the country right now. They have as much talent as anyone, but you just never know quite who will show up yet. They had Nebraska beat a couple of times, but lost. Then ran into a veteran Pitt team that kinda took it to them in Ft Worth. But, last week they went into enemy territory and showed some championship heart and toughness in a road W vs. Louisville that hasn’t happened in forever. They have owned the SEC for nearly a decade.  

And as a rivalry fan and fan of big matchups, I will say I have that date in November circled when they head to Austin!  The ‘Cats will be there all season. Do they come up with that little bit extra a champion finds when they need it in December? TBD, but they are so fun to watch.

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Texas A&M - 8-2. We are still sticking with the Aggies at 3, and even though they had one rough night in Dallas, they would like to forget they had an impressive non-conference. That is also the difference between loading up your schedule with contenders or cupcakes. They are battle-tested and were also able to get some Freshman meaningful reps during non-con play. They should be right in this mix all the way.

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Mizzou - 8-3 The Tigers will have to turn it up for SEC play to live up to preseason expectations. They do not have an impressive win under their belt in non-conference play and none vs. a ranked opponent, so they are going to need to knock off some of the conference front-runners for those crucial resume builders. Maybe we are thinking of last year’s Cinderella, but we are sticking with Mizzou at four.

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Florida - 5-4 You are either loving or hating Gator Volleyball 2025 edition. It simply hasn’t been a theme park ride. The Gators still come in with a talented roster; they have the “names” and talent, whether they are all chomping in the same direction, who knows? The non-conference was up and down as well. Look for SEC play to be more of the same. They could take Texas to five on Thursday and get swept by someone on Sunday. Look for a 14-8-ish SEC record.

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Tennessee - 9-1 The Lady Vols are another team that is in the mix every year now. A steady program that doesn’t necessarily have the flash or hype, but will win, especially at home. 9-1 non-conference will be tested as we see how they do vs. the top end of the conference.

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Auburn - 8-2 The Auburn staff has been a favorite of ours for the past couple of years for their work on the recruiting trail and how they are slowly bringing in better and better talent to camps and campus. They are also slowly adding wins to their program total. Look for Auburn to move up the SEC standings this season and, with an upset or two, push for a tourney spot.

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LSU - 7-4 The Tigers were up and down this non-con as well. Playing some heart stoppers like SMU 5 setter right off the bat, but then struggling with Cal. Their front row has some obvious athletes who can score. The Tigers need to be in the back and with first contact. They are going to have to pull out some close matches and cut down on defensive errors to separate themselves and move to the upper 1/3 of the conference.

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Mississippi State - 10-0. Where is the love for the undefeated Bulldogs? We still have to see it in conference play to believe the squad is for real. It’s been a dry spell in Starkville, and many aren’t quite believers just yet.

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Vanderbilt - 4-5 The Commodores took an aggressive approach in program reboot season one, and it was taxing. First, the way they started, everyone wanted a piece of the shiny new toy, and that made for a brutal first 10 days with a whacked-out travel and play schedule. Go play difficult teams in Lincoln, NE, at the First Serve Showcase for the first matches ever. Zip home and then play an outdoor match and all that entails on campus. Then zip across town and play Illinois two days later for the Bridgestone Classic.

So the record couldn’t have been what Vandy hoped for, but that wasn’t a fair travel schedule for the athletes either, even if they were an Olympic team lol. I think the team will settle in, and they are talented. Playing the regular SEC schedule will benefit them, and I can see them getting on a roll and winning their share of matches in season one.

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Ole Miss - 8-3 The Rebs had the great run last year and I thought this was the program on the rise then a tough loss at South Dakota State University early on hurt those hopes. This is a team filling holes and with some inexperienced pieces. The fight will be there, and they will get better and play hard, and can see them taking a match or two they shouldn’t, but this may be a development year for the Rebs.

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Georgia - 8-2 No better way to head into SEC play than a rivalry win over a ranked Georgia Tech squad to give a program a boost. The Dawgs are a program that has been on the rise in recruiting the past couple of years, making more of a splash with bigger national recruits. Now they need to roll all of that into SEC wins. The middle of this conference is a big old question mark, and a couple of aces or service errors here or there could be the difference between ending up #5 or #10 in the conference standings. Georgia could be anywhere from the 7-12 range this season, but the Ga Tech win shows the potential.

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Alabama - 8-2 The staff has been in place for a couple of years now, and recruiting is picking up. A solid non-con start has some optimism in Tuscaloosa. How do they fare now that they go to the conference? They are building and improving, but so are programs around them, so we will see when it comes to match time who is doing it faster and better.

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Oklahoma - 8-2 The Sooners are right in the middle of this SEC pack and trying to make the jump back up into tourney contention, but it might take the new regime a little while to put together a roster that can contend in the top 1/3 of the SEC. We will see.

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South Carolina - 6-4 New coach with energy and excitement hit the recruiting trails hard this summer and will bring life to SC It won’t happen this season in the SEC, however. The future will look much better in South Carolina, but this will be a year of growth and learning for a young Gamecocks squad.

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Arkansas - 4-7. It seems like quite a while ago that the Razorbacks were playing for a spot in the Final Four and the Cinderella of the tourney. This will be a difficult conference season in Fayetteville W wise for one of the really good guys in the coaching profession.

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Conference Storylines Heading Into Conference Play:

Texas and Kentucky battle for the SEC and National Championship Titles

Texas A&M looks to play spoiler for the favorites and has legit Final Four talent

Overall Talent continues conference-wide in every program.

The gap between the top and the bottom becomes decreasingly thin.

Five or Six Programs with Serious Intentions of Climbing out of the basement into the Top 5-6 of SEC Standings for good.