The Biggest Moves of the 2026 Spring Portal

Reese Messer - Setter - USC to Kansas

One of the most promising freshman setters has left sunny California to come back home to Kansas. Messer, the 2024-2025 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, was a huge part of USC’s success this past season. She averaged nearly 11 assists per set, helping the Women of Troy to their best season record since 2015. But for some reason, be it homesickness or otherwise, she entered the portal this spring and landed with Matt Ulmer in Kansas. Given that Messer is almost guaranteed to start for the remainder of her tenure with the program, It will be interesting to see what this means for Cristin Cline (who followed Ulmer to Kansas from Oregon) and incoming 2027 setter Marissa Jones. 

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Ava Sarafa - Setter - Kentucky to SMU to UCLA

Here is perhaps the most bizarre transfer of this off-season. With Kassie O’Brien taking over as the 5-1 setter for Kentucky and having three (or four, if five to play five comes to pass) years of eligibility left, Sarafa decided to take her talents somewhere she would get the start, and Sam Erger of SMU was more than happy to take her on. Then, rumors started up about Erger going after Messer, which we would guess did not sit right with Sarafa. Even though Messer didn’t end up at SMU, the idea that she might be replaced so quickly is probably what led Sarafa to looking for a new home. So, after a brief stint down in Dallas, she’s joining UCLA under new head coach Matt Werle.

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Ava Utterback - Outside - Louisville to UCLA

Like last year, this has been a good spring portal for the Bruins. Whether new coach Matt Werle can put together the pieces in a way that is more successful than his predecessor still remains to be seen, but getting Ava Utterback on the roster is undoubtedly a win after saying goodbye to Cheridyn Leverette. Utterback didn’t see much play time at Louisville, and with Chloe Meester’s redshirt year being over, she was probably going to find herself sitting at fourth on the depth chart. Despite clearly loving the program, her teammates, and the staff, Utterback wanted to go somewhere she’d have a shot at starting. 

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Lucie Blažková - Middle - Washington State to Minnesota

This is a great pickup for Keegan Cook and Minnesota. At Washington State, Blažková ranked second in the WCC for blocks per set with 1.21 and set the program’s all-time single-season hitting percentage record at .443, which was ninth best in the NCAA. Blažková, who stands at 6’3”, is now the fourth middle on the Minnesota roster, and if last year’s onslaught of injuries taught us anything, it’s that having depth is important for the Gophers.

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Logan King - Opposite - Long Beach State to Florida

Ryan Theis has secured some great transfers ahead of his second year leading the Gators, and King is definitely one of them. King redshirted her first season at Long Beach and came out firing during her second, leading the team with 3.61 kills per set on a .277 efficiency. She was named a 2025 First Team All-Big West and Big West All-Freshman honoree and, being from Canada, has represented the nation as part of the U21 national team.

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Mallory Matheny - Setter - Indiana to Tennessee

After only one spring semester at Indiana, silver-level prospect Matheny jumped ship and landed at Tennessee. It’s a choice that makes sense for now; Matheny was unlikely to get the start over Teodora Krickovic at Indiana, and coming to Tennessee means that Matheny will have four years to play after spending this year sitting behind (and learning from) Caroline Kerr.

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Kaylie Kofe - Setter - Utah State to BYU

This was a big spring portal for setters. Following her former coach at Utah State, the 2025 Mountain West player of the year is headed to BYU. This move raises eyebrows given that returning setter Alex Bower initially planned to transfer out of BYU this past winter before deciding to stay in Provo. Whether new coach Rob Neilson is planning to start Kofe in a 5-1 or have her share time with Bower in a 6-2 remains to be seen.

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Olivia Klimis - Setter - Houston to Florida

Another setter! With Alexis Stucky taking her grad year at Penn State, Florida needed a backup for Taylor Parks. Interestingly, they seemed to fill that void during the winter portal when they signed Baylor’s Bri Denney. However, unless five for five happens and Denney returns in 2027, this will be her last NCAA season, so it’s possible that Ryan Theis wanted another depth piece with more eligibility remaining.

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Destiny Ndam-Simpson - Outside - Creighton to Arizona

With Trinity Schadd-Ceres transferring in, it’s not too surprising that Ndam-Simpson decided to look elsewhere for playing time. The 6’0” hitter’s 2025 season was cut short due to injury, but she demonstrated a lot of potential during her sophomore season with the Bluejays, when she recorded 1.5 kills per set on an excellent .417 efficiency. Ndam-Simpson should hopefully get to see plenty of action at Arizona.

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Alexis Roberson - Middle - TCU to Houston

In her two seasons at TCU, Roberson wasn’t the most prolific scorer, but she was very efficient when she did score. She averaged 1.5 points per set and a .302 hitting efficiency in the Big 12. For her grad year, she’s staying in-conference and in-state with Houston. Given that she’s proven to be effective in the Big 12, this could be a nice pickup for a Houston team that struggled quite a bit last year.

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Raegan Burns - Libero - Kansas to Tennessee

Burns got injured early in the 2025 season after getting plenty of playing time during her first two years with Kansas. In her freshman season, she was named to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team after recording 357 digs (3.47 per set), and she led the team again in her second season with 372 digs (3.44 per set). With Ohio State transfer Olivia Hasbrook likely to get the start at libero, Burns is now headed to Tennessee.

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Charlotte Vinson - Outside - Indiana to Dayton

Likely in pursuit of guaranteed playing time, Vinson left Indiana after one season to join the Flyers in Dayton. We barely got to see her in action in 2025, but Vinson was a highly touted recruit ahead of her freshman season. She broke the all-time kills record at her high school and was a member of the 2025 USA Girls U19 Volleyball team. We wouldn’t be surprised to see her emerging as one of Dayton’s leading scorers.

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Adrianna Bridges - Middle - Arizona to Miami-FL

After seeing limited time during her freshman year, Bridges was a starter in her sophomore campaign, during which she recorded 89 blocks (.87 per set) and 148 kills on a .284 efficiency. Given that she’s from 30 minutes outside of Miami, it’s no surprise that she ended up with the Canes after entering the portal.

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Kennedy Osunsanmi - Opposite - San Diego to Arizona

Osunsanmi played two seasons at San Diego, where she earned an All-WCC honorable mention and was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team in 2024. She didn’t get as much playing time during her sophomore campaign, which may be (at least one) reason for the transfer. She recorded 2.23 kills per set on a .244 efficiency in the WCC. 

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Sara Bowcutt - Outside - Texas A&M to Texas Tech

Arizona native Sara Bowcutt has transferred out of Texas A&M after just one spring semester with the reigning national champions. Perhaps feeling that she would be unlikely to see much playing time in the near future, she has shifted gears and taken her talents about 400 miles northwest to Lubbock. We had Bowcutt as a Red-level hitter in the 2026 class, so this is a nice get for the Red Raiders.