Wisconsin volleyball has been without Grace Egan for a couple of matches now, and when Kelly Sheffield was asked about it, he said, "TBD." He spent a few minutes explaining that there are no required injury reports in college volleyball and that, since it's not required, he doesn't help in any way to disclose them ahead of the match.
This is already not a great clue, because if she were ready to go, he'd say so, as the teams will prepare for Egan if she's healthy. Yet, if she's not, they clearly won't. Therefore, his "I won't tell you." Tips the scales towards "probably not" more than "probably so." Yet, that's just being nitpicky with clues. The other ones are worse.
The most alarming clue is that Egan doesn't appear to have traveled to Texas with her team. Media members have not seen her at open practices, and she's not appearing in any of the photos taken. Nor was she seen on the bench for the Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M game. That's never a great sign.
Grace Egan has not been any of the #Badgers’ social media posts from Texas, nor was she spotted the practice open to media in the past week.
— Karl Winter (@KarlWinterTV) September 12, 2026
The program has been quiet about the “undisclosed injury” to the junior pin hitter, who last played Sept. 2 v. Florida. https://t.co/Sk1lO1icmP
Grace Egan is clearly dealing with an injury but the severity is being kept close to the vest
Related: Kelly Sheffield's reason for constantly changing Wisconsin's lineup is secretly genius
She's been absent, and Kelly Sheffield is dodging the questions. Those are two big and rather alarming clues, and yet it's dangerous to speculate. There didn't seem to be an obvious injury in her most recent match against Florida. She played in all five sets, and at no point did anyone notice or see an injury. Yet, she hasn't returned since and didn't play at all against Auburn.
She then missed Texas A&M too and missed the trip entirely. None of this is adding up to a good sign. Yet, Wisconsin fans can remain hopeful that it's a minor injury that needs rest and not plane rides... hopefully. Is it the same injury that caused her to miss the match against Pitt?
There's a larger bone to pick, though, with volleyball and even a little with Kelly Sheffield. The Wisconsin head coach has been a major part of the rise in volleyball. Even the scheduling this year was part of an effort to keep the sport growing. It's been working well, but not having injury reports is not great for the game.
Sheffield's excuse was gambling, and he said that if sports gambling continues to rise, then maybe injury reports will be required. It's not just gambling. As a fan, gambling on college volleyball has never crossed my mind, not even a little. That doesn't mean, as a fan, I don't want to know what's happening behind the scenes with my favorite team.
It's also nice as a fan to know the injuries on other teams. Of course, it helps other teams' game plans, but if it's equal across the board, it's not a real issue. Most sports deal with this all the time. Volleyball, as part of the growing sport, should do injury reports for the fans. If you want to be big time, act big time.
Hopefully, Egan is back for the Marquette match next week in Madison, but until then or until Sheffield decides to be more candid, we only have breadcrumbs to work with.
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