Following a disappointing upset loss to Utah State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, seven players for Lady Vols volleyball have entered the transfer portal.
With another four players graduating, the Lady Vols will have to fill a massive void with over half of their roster departing from Tennessee. Luckily for the Lady Vols, however, some key players will be riding out the storm and returning for the 2026 season.
Here’s a look at the state of the roster since the beginning of December.
Current returnees
Caroline Kerr
Fortunately for the Lady Vols, the star setter will be returning to the court in 2026.
During this season, the redshirt junior posted 217 digs and 54 blocks across 27 matches while recording a .371 hitting percentage– all of which will be critical in holding the program together next season.
Maggie Dostic
The freshman outside hitter appeared in 26 matches in her first season at Tennessee, where she served as a defensive specialist, tallying 150 digs and 30 assists.
Chelsea Sutton
Posting a career high of 215 kills and 284.5 points this season, the sophomore middle blocker will be essential to holding the team together in 2026.
Sydney Jaynes
The junior libero played in 22 matches this season, where she recorded 48 total digs, with four matches containing five or more digs.
Alaina Jarrett
Though she redshirted her freshman year, the middle blocker will return to Rocky Top and make her way onto the court in 2026.
Mackenzie Plante
Plante set a career high in all major categories this season, including digs, assists and blocks. Though she graduated, she still maintains eligibility.
Who’s out
Paityn Chapman
A shock to the Lady Vols and UT community, the prominent sophomore starting setter announced her decision to enter the transfer portal in early December.
In her career with the Lady Vols, Chapman appeared in 50 matches, putting up 390 kills and 460.5 points. This included double-digit kills in nine matches in 2025, with six of those matches containing 13 or more.
Chapman has already committed to playing for Illinois next season, captioning her Instagram post, “apparently I love orange and blue”.
Starr Williams
After splitting her first four years of eligibility between New Mexico State and Long Beach State, the redshirt senior arrived on Rocky Top, where she tallied 198 kills, 44 digs and 224 points across 65 sets.
The outside hitter announced her decision to enter the portal for her final year of eligibility on her Instagram with an emotional caption that read, “I am thankful to be graduating from this university and to of had the experience and memories that I do”.
Zoe Humphrey
The redshirt freshman made the decision to enter the portal after an incredible season that earned her the honor of being named to the 2025 SEC All-Freshman team.
Humphrey ended the season with the second all-time highest hitting percentage (.381) in program history while also putting up 75 kills and 111 points across her 22 match appearances.
Humphrey thanked Vol Nation on social media for “the opportunity to write a chapter in my book.”
She announced her commitment to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for her final year of eligibility on Dec. 18.
Izzy Mogridge
This season, the freshman setter appeared in a limited role, with just one match start among 17 appearances. However, with this, she tallied 172 assists, which ranked at second-most on the team, along with 33 digs and 10 blocks.
Mogridge said she’s “ready for what’s next” as she prepares to depart Tennessee.
She recently announced her commitment to play for the Utah Utes for the 2026 season on Dec. 18.
Camdyn Stucky
The redshirt freshman setter appeared in just four matches this season, missing most of the season due to injury.
Stucky will receive four more years of eligibility as she commits to Kansas State for the 2026 season.
Keondreya Granberry
With another devastating injury, the senior middle blocker played in three matches before missing the rest of the season.
Granberry is medically redshirting and heading to Indiana to play her final year of eligibility with the Hoosiers.
Cate Schnell
Schnell appeared in 17 matches this season, posting just 16 digs and 14 points.
The redshirt sophomore announced that she is ready for a “step towards what’s next” on her Instagram in her decision to enter the portal.
Sydney Jones
The sophomore transfer from Temple is not officially out for next season but an arrow in her Instagram bio indicates that she may be on the move.
Graduates
In addition to the mass exit through the transfer portal, four Lady Vols will be graduating following their final year of eligibility.
Hayden Kubik, Brynn Williams, Klaudia Pawlik and Gulce Guctekin have all graduated or will be graduating in the spring, leaving a sizable void in the Lady Vols’ roster.
