Jane Manecke has scholarship offers from all over the country in basketball and volleyball. She's a player out of Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park, Illinois, who's multi-sport talent and her rare 6'2 height have coaches from two different sports working to get her to commit. The coach who won out was Kelly Sheffield, and the sport that ultimately won was volleyball.
Jane Manecke has committed to the Badgers for the 2026 recruiting class and will join the program shortly to play in the fall (or maybe even spring?). She should be the last commitment of the class, as the others are already on campus and part of the spring roster. She joins Halle Thompson, Lynney Tarnow, Kymora Scott, Isabelle Hoppe, and Audrey Flanagan in the 2026 recruiting class.
Jane Manecke, a middle blocker in the 2026 class, has announced her commitment to #Badgers volleyball: pic.twitter.com/uDYdjib62Q
— John Steppe (@JSteppe1) March 10, 2026
Wisconsin picks up the sixth commitment for 2026 with middle blocker Jane Manecke
Manecke had multiple basketball offers, including Belmont and DePaul, but ultimately chose to pursue volleyball. She's also an elite volleyball player who took her love of blocking shots in basketball to the volleyball court, where she imposes her will as a middle blocker.
Kelly Sheffield is now loaded at middle blocker after losing his two stars from last year to graduation. Both Carter Booth and Alicia Andrews had run out of eligbility but Sheffield has reloaded. Wisconsin has added transfer Jaela Auguste from Florida, coming in to be the presumed mainstay in the middle. Arguably the best middle blocker recruit in the nation with Lynney Tarnow and fellow 2026 recruit Kymora Scott (who may also play right side).
Add in Manecke and last year's depth piece, Natalie Wardlow (who ended up being an elite server), and the depth is set to be pretty impressive, but it also opens up some competition. No spot will be handed to a player, and each spot will be earned on the court, especially with all of them, including Auguste, being underclassmen.
There's one more position Sheffield needs to add before the season, a backup libero. Right now, it's only Kristen Simon on the roster.