AVCA Reveals Preseason Watch List for 2026 DI Volleyball Player of the Year

Kentucky leads the nation with four selections.

Cari Spears represents Texas on the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List. / Texas Athletics

The American Volleyball Coaches Association has revealed the 30 players who landed on the Preseason Watch List for its 2026 Division I Player of the Year Award. 

The list was put together by the  AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball Awards Committee, and those coaches will be working throughout the season to name an official Player of the Year by December. 

Player of the Year Timeline 

• Midseason addition of players- October
• Semifinalists- November
• Finalists- estimated Dec. 14
• Player of the Year reveal in San Antonio at the AVCA Awards Banquet- Dec.18

The AVCA is excited to name the final group of players who are on the Preseason Watch List for its 2026 Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball.
Today’s group of 10 rounds out the preseason list of 30 players.https://t.co/nAPDnRQe0l#WeAreAVCA pic.twitter.com/VNvA6Uefpl

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) July 31, 2026

Player of the Year Watch List 

Name	School	Position	Year
Noemie Glover	Arizona State	RS	Senior
Andi Jackson	Nebraska	MB	Senior
Harper Murray	Nebraska	OH	Senior
Bergen Reilly	Nebraska	S	Senior
Kennedy Martin	Penn State	RS	Senior
Favor Anyanwu	SMU	MB	Junior
Suli Davis	SMU	OH	Sophomore
Carli Spears	Texas	RS	Sophomore
Torrey Stafford	Texas	OH	Senior
Evan Hendrix	TCU	OH	Junior
Ana Burilovic	Colorado	OH	Senior
Brooklyn DeLeye	Kentucky	OH	Junior
Morgan Gaerte	Kentucky	OH	Junior
Kassie O'Brien	Kentucky	S	Sophomore
Molly Tuozzo	Kentucky	L	Senior
Alanah Clemente	Oregon	RS	Sophomore
Lizzy Andrew	Stanford	MB	Junior
Logan Parks	Stanford	S	Sophomore
Jaela Auguste	Wisconsin	MB	Junior
Charlie Fuerbringer	Wisconsin	S	Junior
Taylor Anderson	Purdue	S	Senior
Grace Heaney	Purdue	RS	RS Senior
Kenna Wollard	Purdue	OH	Senior
Rachel Van Gorp	Iowa State	L	Junior
Nayelis Cabello	Louisville	S	Junior
Chloe Chicoine	Louisville	OH	Senior
Olivia Babcock	Pitt	RS	Senior
Izzy Starck	PItt	S	Junior
Natalie Ring	Texas A&M	OH	Junior
Kyndal Stowers	Texas A&M	OH	Junior

Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats lead the nation with four selections on the Player of the Year Watch list. 

This is DeLeye’s third season being named to the preseason finalist list, with Gaerte, O’Brien and Tuozzo all making their first appearance. Kentucky returns to the court against Wisconsin on August 21 and will start its voyage to its 10th straight SEC championship and a return trip to the NCAA Volleyball Final Four. 

Keep your eyes on these Cats😼👀

Brooklyn DeLeye, Morgan Gaerte, Kassie O’Brien and Molly Tuozzo have all been named to the AVCA Player of the Year watch list!#WeAreUK x #BBN pic.twitter.com/K70jGn15Ra

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) July 30, 2026

Nebraska Cornhuskers 

The Huskers have three of the strongest players representing on the AVCA Watch List. 

Jackson is coming off a junior campaign where she was named the AVCA Middle Blocker of the Year and received First-Team All-American honors for the second consecutive season in 2025. Murray earned AVCA All-America and All-Big Ten First Team honors for the third straight season in 2025, and Reilly was named a First-Team All-American and selected as the AVCA Setter of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Setter of the Year last season. 

Nebraska will make history on Aug. 27 at the Spikes Under the Lights showcase, as the team and three other powerhouse programs compete for a $1 million prize pool, the largest money award ever in women’s college sports. 

preseason nods for big red 🙂‍↕️

Three Huskers were named to @AVCAVolleyball's POY watch list + @B1GVolleyball's All-Conference team!#GBR pic.twitter.com/LtYSOsUUno

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) July 30, 2026

Purdue Boilermakers 

Purdue’s three All-American selections tie as the most in the Big Ten and are second-most in the nation. Anderson, Heaney, and Wollard helped lead the Boilermakers to rank No.1 in the nation in 2025 in team kills (1,834) and team assists (1,702). Anderson’s 1,420 assists alone led all D1 setters. 

Purdue’s first regular-season match of the season will be against Creighton on August 28 at the State Farm Volleyball Showcase in South Dakota. 

2/3 😤@tay2anderson x @AVCAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/rRAErpSF5h

— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) July 31, 2026

Can Pitt’s Olivia Babcock Three-Peat? 

Babcock collected her second straight AVCA Division I Women’s Player of the Year honor after she helped the Panthers advance to the NCAA championship semifinals for a fifth year in a row. 

She averaged a career-high 5.11 kills per set and 2.11 digs per set, also receiving 2025 ACC Player of the Year and AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year honors, while also being named NCAA Championship Regional Most Outstanding Player.

First step as we look ahead to the season. pic.twitter.com/790aYqnSt5

— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB) July 31, 2026