![Florida Gators outside hitter Kennedy Martin (18) hits the ball during the first set against the FGCU Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Women s Volleyball Championship at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, November 30, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4392,h_2470/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/146/01jt6fv4w0pgp4a0n14m.jpg "Florida Gators outside hitter Kennedy Martin (18) hits the ball during the first set against the FGCU Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Women s Volleyball Championship at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, November 30, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
Shocking news has hit the college volleyball world as one of the nation's top players and a candidate for Player of the Year for next season, Kennedy Martin, has entered the transfer portal. She posted on Instagram today that she loved Florida, but it was time to "close that chapter." The 6'6" opposite hitter is one of the best players in the nation and could alter the course of a program that lands her.
HUGE NEWS: Florida's Kennedy Martin is entering the transfer portal. The 6-foot-6 opposite is a two-time All-American with two years of eligibility remaining.
— Lincoln Arneal (@Lincoln_VB) May 1, 2025
She will be a game-changing addition for any program. pic.twitter.com/Ea9iCuYlyt
Wisconsin in need of a opposite hitter may be the one with the most to offer Florida's Kennedy Martin
This spring, Wisconsin volleyball suffered a devasting loss when an incoming transfer from Miami, Grace Lopez, went down with an injury. She will need to miss the entire season and was poised to be a massive addition as an opposite hitter. Lopez was to be a key to the run that head coach Kelly Sheffield and the Wisconsin Badgers planned to have this season.
After that injury, Sheffield said on multiple occasions that he would need to go back to the portal for another opposite hitter. I don't know if he anticipated one of the nation's best opposite hitters would be jumping in the portal, but the stars have aligned. The bigger question is, will they have the resources to pull it off? The opportunity is there, the chance for a championship is there, the question is what is it she is mainly looking for?
Some thoughts on where Martin might end up:
— Emily Ehman (@emilyehman) May 1, 2025
• Wisco needs an OPP bad after Grace Lopez tore her ACL — Sheffield told me before the spring match, that was what they needed to get from the portal
• Nebraska doesn’t NEED her and has the pieces as of now but I still can’t imagine… https://t.co/IwCc9uPtmr
The other big favorite would be Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers are always looking to spend money on elite volleyball. Analyst Emily Ehman also mentions Penn State as a potential landing spot. The main reason she's listing Big Ten schools is for two primary reasons. First, that's where the best volleyball is played in college, and second, if she transferred to another SEC school, she would have to sit out a year. That doesn't seem realistic, and thus, her attention will likely turn to the Big Ten.
It seems Wisconsin may be the early favorite to land Kennedy as the need, opportunity, and championship ambitions are all lining up.