AVCA First Serve 2026

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Hoolio

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The teams, but not the matchups, have been announced for the AVCA First Serve 2026. All 4 Final Four teams from this year plus Arizona State, SMU, Texas & Louisville. Wish the Gophers were part of it but dang I can't wait for the season to start.
 

Hoolio said:
The teams, but not the matchups, have been announced for the AVCA First Serve 2026. All 4 Final Four teams from this year plus Arizona State, SMU, Texas & Louisville. Wish the Gophers were part of it but dang I can't wait for the season to start.
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I can't wait to see if Cook is going to land an impact player(s) from the portal.
 

walleye said:
I can't wait to see if Cook is going to land an impact player(s) from the portal.
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Would have been wonderful, if he had. I'm beginning to question how well of a job he actually does at recruiting. IMO KK was our recruiter and since her departure it hasn't really happened. That's why this newly hire with Nassar is so important because Nellie also IMO was pretty absent in this area for our program.
 

I'm taking the lack of transfer portal activity as a sign that they expect the injured players to be ready to go in the fall. Assuming they are ready this team will have great depth. 3 middles, 4 Littles, 2 setters, and 6 hitters. That works.
 

Hoolio said:
I'm taking the lack of transfer portal activity as a sign that they expect the injured players to be ready to go in the fall. Assuming they are ready this team will have great depth. 3 middles, 4 Littles, 2 setters, and 6 hitters. That works.
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They need more than that. They need a least one Impact player like Hanson. They need one of the hitters to make the big step like Hanson did in her Junior year. It would also be nice if someone on defense became an Impact player, too. I am still hoping that they pick up an Impact player from the portal because I am not confident that anyone on the team is going to step up to the next level. Without a couple of Impact players, they will be a good team but not an outstanding team.
 


walleye said:
They need more than that. They need a least one Impact player like Hanson. They need one of the hitters to make the big step like Hanson did in her Junior year. It would also be nice if someone on defense became an Impact player, too. I am still hoping that they pick up an Impact player from the portal because I am not confident that anyone on the team is going to step up to the next level. Without a couple of Impact players, they will be a good team but not an outstanding team.
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Thats not Keegans approach. He is not going to overrecruit his players. He is all about developing.
 

I agree. Also, if we can't be "confident that anyone on the team is going to step up to the next level," then this team has more problems than a transfer player could possibly fix. Fingers crossed that Wucherer stays healthy and that the other players continue to improve. We are not Wisconsin and Penn State and I, for one, am glad we are not. If your team has no principles, why on earth would you be a fan?
 

So help me understand what some of you are trying to say.

We have transferred in since Cook has become our HC: Awoleye, Grote, Acevedo, Engeman, Thibault, Murr, Lee and Myers.

So none of these players should have joined the Gopher Program? We should never be transferring in players but always going with the players that have been recruited?

This program isn't even close to becoming Wisconsin, Penn State, Texas, Pitt, Kentucky, or Louisville, when it comes to Portal Transfers. However, we have not maintained being a Top 10 Team like these previously mentioned either.

So, I guess, we shall see if the continuous developing of all our recruits will payoff some season and get us back to a Top 10 program. Then again, that might not be what some of you are trying to say or want.
 

I think the problem some posters like Ruffda have is with the transfer landscape in general. There are a number of teams that just reload every year with transfers. No need to recruit and develop your own players when you can just buy someone else's every year. It's really kind of distasteful. What Cook has done is target very specific areas of need. In the case of Acevedo and Thibault picked up a highly regarded player who can be part of the program for three or four years.
 



I have no problem accepting transfers in areas of need. This is no different from recruiting -- and almost all of the players mentioned were either coming home, were grad students, or were not playing at their previous school.

I have a HUGE problem with programs which use the transfer portal as their primary means of building their program. And I will never be a fan of a program that does it.

Unfortunately this is the direction college sports is headed. And I am headed out the door. I REFUSE to cheer for a uniform.

[And why the bleep does "were" autocorrect to "we're"?]
 

And a player like Wucherer should be admired, not defamed, as some chose to do.
 

I think I had a pretty good understanding of your position Ruffda and I agree with it. I hate the mercenary attitude of the players these days and I'm not fond of teams using the portal as their primary team building tool. There were players in the tournament this year on their 3rd team in 4 years. That's absurd. We had a number of All-Americans transfer again this year. What for? A larger check? No matter what it's just sad.
 

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