Volleyball recruiting is now live for the 2028 class, and Wisconsin faces an interesting and difficult dilemma. One in which Wisconsin volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield is not used to navigating. The Badgers won't have any players graduating next season; the only losses will be in the portal, and yet that makes it hard to predict. How does Sheffield navigate a recruiting class when he has to believe all his current players will stay, but knowing that won't be the reality?
Then the question becomes, well, where do these departures happen? Are there current 2028 recruits that add significant upgrades to the roster? In which ways does Sheffield add depth behind some of the players as he prepares for the future? And finally, if every player does remain, does Wisconsin even have room to recruit?
Let's answer the last question first, as the Badgers will be sitting at 16 players going into the season. The new limits for D1 NCAA rosters for volleyball are 18. So yes, there is room on the roster for two more, even if everyone stays.
Wisconsin has a loaded but extremely young roster making the roster math complicated for volleyball
The other questions are a bunch more complicated. The roster for next year features zero seniors. However, there are six juniors: Jaela Auguste, Charlie Fuerbringer, Morgan Van Wie, Eva Travis, Grace Egan, and Grace Lopez (medical redshirt). Though don't be surprised if Van Wie qualifies for a redshirt and is actually listed as a redshirt sophomore next season.
There are a huge number of sophomores and freshmen. The sophomores include Madison Quest, Kristen Simon, and Natalie Wardlow. The freshmen are Halle Thompson, Lynney Tarnow, Kymora Scott, Isabelle Hoppe, Audrey Flanagan, and Decelise Champion. It also appears that international libero Anna Bardaro will be listed as a freshman.
So in an ideal world, none of these players will leave, as none will be graduating or losing their eligibility after the season. If there was a group to target as a potential transfer, you'd think it would be in the hitters; there's just so much young talent there, and not all of them will be able to be featured. However, that group could sustain a loss or two without Sheffield feeling the need to replace.
That being said, Sheffield loves recruiting hitters and may be looking to add another right side to the rotation to eventually grow into the spot that Grace Lopez will vacate in two seasons.
You could maybe make a case that Wisconsin could add another setter in the freshman class to eventually compete for Fuerbringer's spot, but there are also already two former top recruits waiting in line: Hoppe and Van Wie.
We do know that Sheffield is recruiting in the class, and most likely it will only be those players that can either push for a starting spot after a year or two on the roster, or essential depth pieces. Dennis Punzel lists some of the major targets (though it's behind a paywall, so we will leave it at this).
Sheffield won't sit idle in recruiting, but he's in a very weird spot, a spot he's never really been in, and his approach to the 2028 recruiting class will be interesting. It was already assumed that he might only take Champion and one other. Now with Champion in the fold, is there only one or two on his list?
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