Wisconsin was at the top of the world last National Signing Day with a bus full of top high school talent coming to Madison. Kelly Sheffield signed his biggest and most prestigious class ever, with the additions of Halle Thompson, Lynney Tarnow, Audrey Flanagan, Kymora Scott, Isabelle Hoppe, Jane Manecke, and Alyssa Konrad.
That's basically an entire roster full of freshmen. He would even go on to add the top player in the 2027 recruiting class, Decelise Champion, who reclassified and joined the 2026 group. She was arguably the best recruit in either class and has already proven why.
Sheffield adding eight players basically eliminated him from looking too deeply at the 2027 class. He tied his horse to a really young team that will have a lot of learning moments, but with a very high ceiling, as the majority of that class is high-profile talent and top recruits.
This is the major reason why Sheffield is sitting out this year's National Signing Day. While other programs are loading up, Sheffield is staying put and working to keep the current players in the fold to run it back next season.
Wisconsin has zero players losing eligibility, and yet there's no guarantee this group stays together
Wisconsin currently has zero players who will run out of eligibility at the end of this season. Wisconsin has three players listed as seniors on the roster. Eva Travis and Grace Egan are part of the class that will get a fifth season. Both could come back to Wisconsin if they want to next season. Grace Lopez is also listed as a senior, but she not only falls into the same class as Travis; she missed an entire season to injury and would easily get an extra year for that.
Then you have Charlie Fuerbringer, Jaela Auguste, and Morgan Van Wie listed as juniors. There's also the curious case of Anna Bardaro, who came from the international volleyball world after playing in Italy. She's listed as a freshman but is 21 years old. Don't be surprised if the NCAA changes her eligibility to a junior or senior.
Yet, Sheffield isn't jumping into the recruiting class for this period, and there are no guarantees that this current group will stay together for another year. The transfer portal has changed all of that, and there are some high-profile players on the roster who are barely playing.
Lopez is a great example, and while the excuse may be that she isn't 100% still, it would be tough to imagine her getting her starting spot back from Champion. We also have this double-libero thing happening, and Kristen Simon gets a ton of playing time and is extremely important to this team. Does she care about wearing the libero jersey?
Is Halle Thompson going to be patient enough to let the development take place for her to be a big factor next season or beyond? What about Eva Travis, who has had flashes of really impressive games but has, at times, looked out of sorts and outmatched? There are freshmen like Thompson coming for her spot.
Sheffield will do his best to run this group back out there next year, but there will certainly be some changes; there always are.
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