Gopher Volleyball 2023 Season

Donate To GopherHole
If it really was about homesickness, maybe Colorado State would be in play?


I was shocked to learn that they have one of the best home attendance in the nation. Had no idea.
 


Ignatius L Hoops said:
This is Cook's team. There's no Hugh when it comes to evaluation and recruiting.
Click to expand...
Anyone who is not willing to listen to or consult experts in their field is doomed to failure. Hugh knows the players in the Big Ten who are in the portal better than Cook does. He can save Cook time by telling him who needs a serious look and who doesn't. Hugh knows the Gopher players and can give Cook insights. He also knows the high school players who they have been recruiting or following. Cook likely knows players in the PacTen and West Coast better than Hugh and probably doesn't need his advice. Cook doesn't have the time to watch hours and hours of tape before offering to some of these players and his staff may not be up to speed. He needs to move quickly. Ultimately, Cook makes the final decision, but he needs every bit of information that he can glean.
 

Bfan said:
A large number of transfers are in the portal.

Like middle blocker Reagan Hope, She was injured so hard to know what she can do. Oregon beat Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament:
Click to expand...

Gophers_4life said:
Sure, we’ll always have someone decent. They’re unlikely to be as good as Booth though.
Click to expand...

Bfan said:
Just a quick glance.... the transfer portal looks like an all you can eat buffet. Surely Minnesota is a destination players strive join. Just a few samples below.... plus of course the Ohio State stunner transfers.


Click to expand...


Bfan said:
Kara McGhee: Middle Blocker


wacotrib.com

Baylor's McGhee named to AVCA All-America squad

Baylor senior Kara McGhee has been chosen as an honorable mention All-American on the American Volleyball Coaches Association team.
wacotrib.com wacotrib.com

Click to expand...

Gophers_4life said:
VT rumor that she's going to Oregon, I assume to replace their middle who is on the way out.

Would be hilarious -- and quite silly, borderline absurd -- if Hope came here, McGhee went to Oregon, and Booth went to Baylor in a musical chair rotation.


Would call that a full step down for Booth, but would signal that the move is highly about religion/culture and perhaps somewhat about weather.
Click to expand...

Bfan said:
Reagan Hope to UCLA. Since she plays beach that makes sense.
Click to expand...

Gophers_4life said:
So much for my 3-way musical chairs idea.
Click to expand...


Ignatius L Hoops said:
Maybe create a UCLA recruiting thread?
Click to expand...


I think volleyball looks like the next sport deserving a full section at GopherHole. That would have several threads under it, such as a transfer portal thread, like football and basketball.
 



Ignatius L Hoops said:
Click to expand...
Welcome to coach Cook. Looking forward to see how he fills the holes in the gophers roster. Loss of Wenass and Booth really hurt. Not surprised at Wenass leaving since Texas lost a lot talent this year. Losing Booth is devastating as she so dominate in her freshman year. Look for 3 DS/Liberio, 1 OH, and 2 MB in the transfer portal as Lino as everyone else stays.
 

Bfan said:
I think volleyball looks like the next sport deserving a full section at GopherHole. That would have several threads under it, such as a transfer portal thread, like football and basketball.
Click to expand...
Amen to that. If womens BB can have their own thread, volleyball most certainly should!
 

The tea on Booth is really spilling over. Right now focus is only on Wisconsin besides Minnesota.

Christmas morning and I am reflecting on the Minnesota Volleyball Program since Hugh has been here. I know how excited I was when it was announced he would be taking over for Mike Hebert. It was an unbelievable moment. Now he has left the program and turned it over to, hopefully, another all inspiring Head Coach.

I have been self reflecting more and more on what defines success. I feel we saw that during the first half of Hugh's time here. We had teams with many local girls, who played club and possibly High School volleyball together before playing at the U of MN. That was combined with some blue chip out of state and other country talent. This to me was a time, when the entire team enjoyed playing together for a "unified goal".

However, today's world is so so so different and I'm afraid the decommitting and transferring out of athletes reflects that. Maybe it is time for the Gopher program to go back to that mindset when it comes to recruiting. To me many of the higher ranked players end up in a handful of colleges and I am not sure that is going to change anytime soon....I believe Landfair, Shaffmaster and Wucherer are those exceptions.

Now I am hoping that Crowl, Hanson, Schnichels, Gray and soon the Swenson Twins along with all of our PRESENT out of state/country talent can begin a whole new era of Team Unity to the Gopher Program. I truly feel, if you want to play Volleyball here, YOU MAKE IT WORK.

Blue Chippers please come to Minnesota, this team is waiting for you.
 

4EverAGopher said:
The tea on Booth is really spilling over. Right now focus is only on Wisconsin besides Minnesota.

Christmas morning and I am reflecting on the Minnesota Volleyball Program since Hugh has been here. I know how excited I was when it was announced he would be taking over for Mike Hebert. It was an unbelievable moment. Now he has left the program and turned it over to, hopefully, another all inspiring Head Coach.

I have been self reflecting more and more on what defines success. I feel we saw that during the first half of Hugh's time here. We had teams with many local girls, who played club and possibly High School volleyball together before playing at the U of MN. That was combined with some blue chip out of state and other country talent. This to me was a time, when the entire team enjoyed playing together for a "unified goal".

However, today's world is so so so different and I'm afraid the decommitting and transferring out of athletes reflects that. Maybe it is time for the Gopher program to go back to that mindset when it comes to recruiting. To me many of the higher ranked players end up in a handful of colleges and I am not sure that is going to change anytime soon....I believe Landfair, Shaffmaster and Wucherer are those exceptions.

Now I am hoping that Crowl, Hanson, Schnichels, Gray and soon the Swenson Twins along with all of our PRESENT out of state/country talent can begin a whole new era of Team Unity to the Gopher Program. I truly feel, if you want to play Volleyball here, YOU MAKE IT WORK.

Blue Chippers please come to Minnesota, this team is waiting for you.
Click to expand...
Booth is confirmed to Wisconsin:
 





Wonder if Pedro received a Holiday Card from Sheff thanking him for "the devleopment of their new MB?" Their program was not in need of a MB. Their fans and program can sugar coat it all they want to.

I just feel Booth's transfer speaks volumes about her character and not necessarily in a positive way.
 
Last edited:

4EverAGopher said:
Wonder if Pedro received a Holiday Card from Sheff thanking him for "the devleopment of their new MB?" Their program was not in need of a MB. Their fans and program can sugar coat it all they want to.

I just feel Booth's transfer speaks volumes about her character and not necessarily in a positive way.
Click to expand...

I am interested to see how that goes for her. I believe Carter’s hitting percentage was much better off of one foot, which would be limited if they run a 6-2. She would be more likely to hit in front of the middle, instead of a slide. In regards to her character, she is a kid. I love the Gophs, want them to succeed, but student athletes need to go to programs where they feel they comfortable and believe they have the best chance to grow as a player and help their team. Many players committed to MN because of Hugh’s style and approach to developing the whole person. If he is gone, then I don’t blame her if she feels the need to find a good match and not be part of this next chapter of Gopher Winning Volleyball.
 



From the Facebook page:

“I wonder if something happened or if there was drama. I saw some the girls like McKenna, Rachel and Ellie comment congrats to Jenna and wishing her luck. However none congratulated Carter. Even worse, Taylor and Melanie unfollowed her 😞.”
 

I’m new to the site, but have been a football season ticket holder for about 25 years. I also follow and support the volleyball team closely. I am dumbfounded by the news. I just spoke with Carter Booths mom before the Northern Iowa match and she told me how much They loved Minnesota. She even invited my daughter and I to come down and meet Carter for picture taking after the match, which we did. Now she transfers to Wisconsin? Does not make ANY sense to me.
 

Jenna's transfer made sense because she doesn't want to play OPP so I think both fans and teammates are happy for her since she found a good place to land and Texas is not in the B1G. Not only did Carter transfer within the B1G but she went to our #1 rival. I think the only thing worse is if she'd have gone to Nebraska. I can cheer for Jenna and follow her progress at Texas and hope she does well. I cannot bring myself to do the same for Carter. This actually hurts worse than when Barnes transferred there.
 

There must have been team chemistry issues behind the scenes. Her mom said that they wanted Carter to become an “all-around” player, and she agreed when I said Minnesota was the best fit for her. They obviously don’t know that not only will she have limited playing time at Wisconsin, they don’t develop players like Carter for the next level. I’ll bet she will develop just a few skills for specific situations on the court, just like Smrek. She made a very poor choice in my opinion: i would really like to know why
 

madison.com

Talented freshman transferring from Minnesota to Badgers

The Badgers received a holiday gift with the commitment from Minnesota's middle blocker who won AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year.
madison.com madison.com

This article begins to answer some questions about what went into Carter's decision. It did seem the decision was a pretty quick turn-around for her. In case you run into a paywall, here's a portion of it:

"Booth, who committed to Minnesota as an eighth grader while also being recruited by UW, said she hadn’t given much thought to transferring until returning home to Denver after the end of the first semester last week.

"While she said it was somewhat unsettling when Minnesota coach Hugh McCutcheon announced in midseason that he would be stepping down at the end of the season, she had no intention of leaving until recently.

“'From that point up until last week I was going to stay,' she said. 'I hadn’t had a chance to process what that change would entail because we were in season and I wasn’t thinking too far ahead. I was taking it day by day and trying to get the job done. We still had big goals that we wanted to accomplish.'

"It wasn’t until she got home and had a long talk with her parents that she thought about making a change."
 
Last edited:

IDK the facts, but some families make decisions for their children.

Again, IDK, but there was a Prima Donna several seasons ago in this program. I remembr this OH abruptly leaving after a few conversations with the HC. Believe they were trying to run the offense through the middle more or definitely bring the middle more to life. Also, IDK, if this individual player ever played elsewhere. She was a Minnesota High School recruit and THIS WAS NOT UNDER HUGH.

I do know that when a team acknowledges a player that transferred such as Wenaas, they are acknowledging a TEAM PLAYER who they respected and vice versa. Again, that I do know and most of you would or should agree with that decision.

Down the road, there is no more Hugh McCutcheon's. We shall see what the reason will be for future recruits that want to enter the portal. I for one am hoping Keegan can duplicate what he did at Washington. All his recruits remained at Washington, while he was their HC.
 
Last edited:

uwbadgers.com

Carter Booth Joins Badger Volleyball | Wisconsin Badgers

MADISON, Wis. – Head coach Kelly Sheffield announced that Carter Booth, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker, will join the 2022 Big Ten Champion Wisconsin volleyball team
uwbadgers.com uwbadgers.com

MADISON, Wis. – Head coach Kelly Sheffield announced that Carter Booth, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker, will join the 2022 Big Ten Champion Wisconsin volleyball team this spring. Booth joins the Badgers after spending a season at Minnesota, where she earned first-team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Freshman Team, American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-North Region, and AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year honors in 2022.

"We got to know Carter and her family when she was going through the recruiting process when she was younger and when she came and visited our camp," said Badger head coach Kelly Sheffield. "She had a great freshman season and continued to get stronger and better when a lot of players start wearing down at her age. When we saw that she was in the portal we immediately reached out to her and had great conversations and realized that it would be a great fit. Carter is a great competitor who is willing to work hard to reach her big dreams and goals. She is a physical presence at the net with her block and her attacking and can score off of one or two feet. She has a great future in front of her and we are glad that we will be a part of it."

As a freshman, Booth had a stand-out season leading the team with 1.48 blocks per set (142 total), which ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 10th in NCAA. The Denver, Colorado native started 26-of-31 matches, and set the Minnesota freshman single match record with 11 blocks in her first collegiate match against Baylor in August. She also tallied three double digit blocks matches, while also recording five blocks or more in 14 matches.

As a prep, Booth was a two-time Under Armour All-American selection, the No. 1 2022 recruit in Colorado, and ranked No. 14 by PrepVolleyball.com. The 2021 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year, amassed 681 kills, 346 blocks, 61 aces and 138 digs at Cherry Creek High School, while helping her team to a 26-2 record and a Class 5A State Championship as a senior. In 2019, Booth also competed for the Girls U18 National Team at the FIVB World Championships
Click to expand...
 

jham13 said:
Jenna's transfer made sense because she doesn't want to play OPP so I think both fans and teammates are happy for her since she found a good place to land and Texas is not in the B1G. Not only did Carter transfer within the B1G but she went to our #1 rival. I think the only thing worse is if she'd have gone to Nebraska. I can cheer for Jenna and follow her progress at Texas and hope she does well. I cannot bring myself to do the same for Carter. This actually hurts worse than when Barnes transferred there.
Click to expand...
With Barnes and Booth transferring from Minnesota to Wisconsin, does that make Wisconsin the B Team?
 

4EverAGopher said:
IDK the facts, but some families make decisions for their children.

Again, IDK, but there was a Prima Donna several seasons ago in this program. I remembr this OH abruptly leaving after a few conversations with the HC. Believe they were trying to run the offense through the middle more or definitely bring the middle more to life. Also, IDK, if this individual player ever played elsewhere. She was a Minnesota High School recruit and THIS WAS NOT UNDER HUGH.

I do know that when a team acknowledges a player that transferred such as Wenaas, they are acknowledging a TEAM PLAYER who they respected and vice versa. Again, that I do know and most of you would or should agree with that decision.

Down the road, there is no more Hugh McCutcheon's. We shall see what the reason will be for future recruits that want to enter the portal. I for one am hoping Keegan can duplicate what he did at Washington. All his recruits remained at Washington, while he was their HC.
Click to expand...
Are you thinking of Tabitha Love? I'm not sure about the prima donna tag; but she transferred to UCLA and won a NCAA championship
 


One of my concerns is that our new coach is moving too slowly in the portal. I don’t know this as a fact, and hope I’m wrong. However, it seems to me that other top ten teams are swiping up quality players rather quickly. Why is there nothing happening with the Gophers? I sure hope he is getting good advice.
 


Bigk said:
There must have been team chemistry issues behind the scenes. Her mom said that they wanted Carter to become an “all-around” player, and she agreed when I said Minnesota was the best fit for her. They obviously don’t know that not only will she have limited playing time at Wisconsin, they don’t develop players like Carter for the next level. I’ll bet she will develop just a few skills for specific situations on the court, just like Smrek. She made a very poor choice in my opinion: i would really like to know why
Click to expand...
Well this is interesting quote "all-around"...Pedro did a fantastic job with Carter from the beginning of the season to the end of it. As an outstanding athlete, you can also give her credit for her development. Her mom and the rest of the family got their wish. But it, apparently, wasn't really want this family was looking for.

I totally agree with another poster, the coaching will NOT BE THE SAME at Wisconsin, nor her playing time.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Did not know that. Seems like a no-brainer! Also Davis formally was on Ohio State but no idea how close they were in her one year there.

I still don't understand to be quite honest why she left there. She seemed better than the middles they had, and I assume would've continued to start.

Wild guess something with the culture of the team and/or campus just did not sit well with her. None of my business, just makes me naturally curious.
Click to expand...
Muir, Podraza and the others their 4 years and OSU has 5 incoming freshmen and there are not enough scholarships to keep the seniors.
 

I think we are taking the transfers of Jenna and Carter too personally. It is the sign of the times. I don't think it indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the program. Note that Jenna transferred to the National Champions and Carter to the Conference Champions. Players want the best chance to win championships. In Jennas case, I am sure being home is a factor. We don't know how much NIL is a factor and whether the portal is encouraging tampering. Other players, understandably, will transfer because they are stuck behind better players and they want to get more playing time. I think the transfer portal has made it easier for the elite teams to stay on top and made it more difficult for the great teams to move up.
I hope that we can score in the transfer portal so that quality of the incoming transfers is greater than the outgoing transfers. It is the way volleyball recruiting is going now.
 

4EverAGopher said:
Well this is interesting quote "all-around"...Pedro did a fantastic job with Carter from the beginning of the season to the end of it. As an outstanding athlete, you can also give her credit for her development. Her mom and the rest of the family got their wish. But it, apparently, wasn't really want this family was looking for.

I totally agree with another poster, the coaching will NOT BE THE SAME at Wisconsin, nor her playing time.
Click to expand...
Not sure the status of the badgers senior MB’s but they currently have 4 MBs before they got Booth. If those seniors are coming back then someone will surely be heading to the portal. Imagine Smrek and Booth together 6-9 & 6-7. What a block for the badgers 🥺
 

walleye said:
I think we are taking the transfers of Jenna and Carter too personally. It is the sign of the times. I don't think it indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the program. Note that Jenna transferred to the National Champions and Carter to the Conference Champions. Players want the best chance to win championships. In Jennas case, I am sure being home is a factor. We don't know how much NIL is a factor and whether the portal is encouraging tampering. Other players, understandably, will transfer because they are stuck behind better players and they want to get more playing time. I think the transfer portal has made it easier for the elite teams to stay on top and made it more difficult for the great teams to move up.
I hope that we can score in the transfer portal so that quality of the incoming transfers is greater than the outgoing transfers. It is the way volleyball recruiting is going now.
Click to expand...
I'm with you ... if they transfer out of the Big Ten. Not in direct conflict with their previous schools.

Wenaas fulfilled that. We have yet to see with Booth.


Would very much like to see a new Big Ten rule forcing athletes to sit-out from the next season if they transfer within conference. The NCAA is powerless to stop a private organization like the Big Ten from enacting such a rule, as is correct.
 
Last edited:

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom