(UW ATHLETICS) – The 2026 Badgers welcome 11 newcomers, including nine first year athletes. The highly touted class of 2026 includes Decelise Champion, Audrey Flanagan Isabelle Hoppe, Lynney Tarnow, and Halle Thompson – all ranked in the top five of prepdig.come and prepvolleyball.com – with the exception of Decelise Champion due to having played outside of the United States. The Badgers class of 2026 was the No. 1 overall ranked class of 2026.
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield also brought in All-American Jaela Auguste, All-Big West Eva Travis (pronounced Ava), and an experienced libero/defensive specialist in Anna Bardaro from Italy.
Key returners include All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer, All-Region Grace Egan and Kristen Simon, and Natalie Wardlow.
To view the roster, visit HERE.
To view this season’s schedule, visit HERE.
The 2026 Non-Conference Schedule
Sheffield has scheduled his toughest non-conference schedule to date. This season’s non-con includes six (Kentucky, Louisville, Stanford, Pitt, Texas A&M and Texas) opponents who finished in the Top10 of the 2025 AVCA Final poll. All six will be played in the Badgers first eight matches of the season.
Big Ten Tournament
2026 marks the inaugural year for the Big Ten Volleyball Tournament held at the Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Ind. In this year’s conference schedule, all teams will play each other just once this season due to the addition of the Tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament will be held from Friday, November 20 – Wednesday, November 25.
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