Texas A&M volleyball is navigating a difficult rebuilding season after capturing the 2025 NCAA title, grappling with injuries and the loss of nine seniors from last year’s championship squad. The Aggies have struggled to find consistency, posting a 10-7 overall record and 3-2 in SEC play, with recent conference losses to unranked Oklahoma and Arkansas on the road.
Head coach Jamie Morrison has been upfront about the challenges involved in following up a national championship. After the title win, he cautioned against expecting a repeat every year, saying on TexAgs Live, “This can’t be the expectation every single year. I know it’s what everybody wants… All of the care and love that goes into our athletes, getting them a degree, all of these things. This is a byproduct (that) will happen every once in a while if we are doing it right.”
The Aggies have brought in a strong group of transfers from the portal to help fill the roster gaps, but the season has felt like a rebuilding effort. Morrison described it as “exhausting” to face opponents eager to defeat the defending national champions, noting, “Everyone’s going to give us their best shot. Everyone comes out on fire looking for the graphic of defeating the defending national champions.”
The SEC remains one of the toughest conferences in the country, with eight teams ranked in the top 35 of the RPI. Morrison pointed out the competitiveness of the league and expressed pride in his team’s efforts despite missing several starters. “If you look back at what we did, especially missing four or five starters for a lot of that, I’m pretty proud of the accomplishments that we had and I thought that caught up to us a little bit,” he said.
Injuries have been a persistent problem. Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers, last season’s NCAA Tournament most outstanding player, has missed matches early in the season due to injury but has been a critical contributor when on the court. On October 4th against Mississippi State, Stowers set a school record for points in a three-set match with 26.5, recording 21 kills, five aces, and a block.
Stowers spoke about the team’s depth as a key factor in managing the pressure of defending the title. “It’s amazing to be able to go in and not have to worry so much every single game,” she said. “I think a lot of people talk about, like, ‘Is there a lot of pressure after last year?’ And I’m like, ‘Not really.’ I mean, there’s five other girls on the court that are out there with me. So it’s great to be able to rely on everybody.”
Junior middle blocker Eliza Sharp, a transfer from Boise State and the 2025 Mountain West freshman of the year, has also been sidelined by an ankle injury after leading the team in blocks. Morrison indicated Sharp is close to returning and expects her presence to strengthen the middle block. “I think she’s got a happy edge to her,” he said. “I don’t know the right way to word it, but she will make a difference in what we’re doing. And obviously offensively, you can look at the numbers she was putting up. That will make a difference as well.”
Looking ahead, Texas A&M faces a challenging test against No. 7 Florida at home on Friday. The Gators, who recently lost their first conference match to No. 24 Vanderbilt, have themselves reloaded through the portal with outside hitter Kamryn Chaney. Chaney, formerly of Princeton and Vanderbilt, leads Florida in kills and points. She was the 2024 Ivy League player of the year and helped Vanderbilt revive its program last season.
Morrison acknowledged the difficulty of the SEC schedule but remains confident his team can compete. “One of my staff members was telling me this when we were in the front of the bus and I literally had to shake myself to realize it’s true, but if we win out, we would still win the SEC,” he said. “Which is a crazy thing ahead of us that we have a possibility (of) and a road to having control over that. I also told our team I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t have belief, and I do have belief that this group is good enough to go do great things this year.”
According to Yahoo Sports.