The Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team has added their first 2028 commitment of the season. Kelly Sheffield has added 6'3 hitter Taylor Freeland, who is one of the top players in the nation for 2028, a No. 16 overall prospect according to Prep Dig. She is easily one of the top hitters in high school, and Sheffield continues to load up on hitters.
This is Wisconsin's first commitment of 2028, but Freeland will be coming into a Wisconsin squad that's loaded with talented young hitters. She will add another dynamic to the mix, but fits with Sheffield's philosophy of a pin-hitter who is not scared to hit it hard but also has a change of pace to her attacks. Freeland is known for her kills in high school and uses her timing and height to attack the net.
Taylor Freeland has committed to Wisconsin. The 6-foot-3 pin hitter is the No. 16 overall 2028 prospect according to PrepDig and is the 11th-best recruit according to VB Adrenaline. She attends Riverton High School in Utah and plays club with South County. pic.twitter.com/nL9LuoxxVv
— Lincoln Arneal (@Lincoln_VB) June 16, 2026
Wisconsin lands first commitment of the 2028 cycle with OH Taylor Freeland
Related: Wisconsin's loaded roster has created a new recruiting challenge for Kelly Sheffield
Wisconsin is an interesting spot when it comes to hitters. While Freeland wouldn't come to Madison for two more years, things will inevitably change between now and then. There are currently a ton of hitters on the roster. Not just any hitters, either, top-ranked, elite hitters. Wisconsin even recently added another hitter to the roster for next season when Puerto Rican superstar Decelise Champion reclassfied from 2027 to 2026.
Champion was the lone recruit for 2027, but with her reclassification, this leaves the Badgers with zero 2027 recruits. That might be for the best because if the transfer portal doesn't claim any Wisconsin volleyball players, there won't be any players leaving after the season.
By 2028, when Freeland is set to arrive at Wisconsin, the Badgers will have lost at least one pin-hitter in Grace Lopez to graduation. However, as we've learned every season, things are constantly in flux. So Sheffield knows he needs to load up now. One of the main positions he wants to load up at (always) is hitter.
This doesn't mean he doesn't want to add talent at other positions. Wisconsin is always in the mix for the top players in the nation, both in the recruiting cycle and in the transfer portal. In fact, Wisconsin boasted the top recruiting class in 2026, and those players will be a featured part of Sheffield's plan for the upcoming season.
The hard part with the roster math is never knowing who will decide to jump for another opportunity in the transfer portal. Wisconsin lost surprising players this last open portal, like Una Vajagic and both of their backup liberos, Aniya Warren and Maile Chan.
This all creates a need to keep adding elite high school talent and constantly paying attention to players to add in the portal. The addition of Freeland is important for Wisconsin, as she's another elite hitter and projects really well for when she arrives in Wisconsin. Sheffield probably isn't done in 2028 and could land a couple of other targets, but he will be very selective as his roster is still super young (even in 2028).
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