photo by: Kate Benninghoff/Kansas Athletics

Kansas setter Cristin Cline is introduced at the alumni match at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.

Cristin Cline describes her transfer process — following head coach Matt Ulmer from Oregon to Kansas — as “a whirlwind of emotions.”

But the decision to make the move really wasn’t all that difficult.

“I was sold immediately, honestly,” Cline recalled. “I loved my coaches there, and he was like, ‘I’m so sorry we’re leaving, but what does that look like for you?’ And I’m like, ‘Um, where are we going?'”

As the 5-foot-11 setter put it in a preseason media availability on Monday, moving itself is arduous, but there wasn’t much tying her to Oregon other than volleyball. Her family is in North Carolina, for example; she’s actually substantially closer to them now.

And besides being well situated in terms of geographic proximity, she’s positioned to have a big season in her first year with the Jayhawks, as one of KU’s three preseason all-conference picks. As Ulmer says, referring to Cline, “I generally like for our best athlete to be our setter.”

“Cris is tough,” Ulmer added. “She puts up a nice block. She has good size for a setter. But she’s a gamer, she competes really hard, and she’s not afraid of the moments.”

Added pin hitter Grace Nelson, a true sophomore: “I think Cris has a really good drive and she’ll look you in the eyes every ball. You know what you’re going to get from her, and she pushes us every day to be better, be more aggressive with each other.”

Cline started for Ulmer’s Ducks last year as a redshirt freshman and was statistically one of the top first-year setters in the country, as she posted 10.26 assists per set. Her resume included four consecutive double-doubles to conclude the season, a period that also encompassed Oregon’s run to the Sweet 16. She was named to the all-freshman team in the well-regarded Big Ten Conference.

When she arrived to Lawrence as one of the first players brought in by Ulmer and his new staff (along with Oregon State transfer libero Ryan White, who was previously going to join them at Oregon), she played a key role in helping her new teammates understand the coaches’ expectations.

“Cristin’s been awesome,” Nelson said. “I think it was a pretty smooth transition. It was really hard for us, obviously, having this brand-new coaching staff, so having her here with us made it a lot easier for us. Like we’d look over to her at practice and be like, ‘What’s going on?’ And she’s always been there to calm us down, but also what they did at Oregon, it’s what we’re doing here, so she knows what it’s like and it’s been super easy to lean on her.”

Months later, with the team far more unified — even after the additions of several new international freshmen over the summer — Cline said, “I don’t have to help them as much anymore.” In fact, players like Nelson can help communicate the expectations themselves.

Cline made an impression on her teammates early, but she also found a bit of a national audience in April when KU played a spring exhibition on the road at powerhouse Nebraska. (In the first three sets, all won by the Cornhuskers, she tallied 27 assists, 10 digs and four kills.)

“I think she played really well against Nebraska in the spring match, and it sure feels like everybody in the volleyball world watched that match,” Ulmer said. “That was probably because it was the only game on in town at the time, in April. But I think she was impressive.”

Nebraska’s recently retired four-time national champion coach was on color commentary for the match: “John Cook liked her, so then everybody else likes her too,” Ulmer added. “John thinks she’s good — must be good.”

Of note, KU does have plenty of competition within its setter group as it looks to replace longtime fixture Camryn Turner. Senior Katie Dalton and sophomore Ellie Moore are holdovers from the previous era whom Ulmer referred to as “right there.” Ulmer said Dalton’s injury history has prevented the public from seeing how good she can be. He described Moore as a “vet” with good decision-making and feel for the game.

“I think they bring a lot of good things from Coach (Ray Bechard) and the past,” Cline said, “and I think I bring (familiarity with) the new coaches and everything, so I’ve just been helping them with practices and what he looks like, what he wants, what he likes in all these situations, out of system, in system, stuff like that. And I think they’ve kind of brought what the girls and the hitters want because these aren’t my hitters — I didn’t play with them before.”

Of course, there are a few new hitters that all three have to get used to — although it doesn’t sound like it’ll take much for Cline to get accustomed to setting for 6-foot-7 pin hitter Jovana Zelenovic, the only freshman picked to the preseason all-league team. The window is huge, as Cline puts it.

“So let’s just say that’s an easy set,” Cline said. “That’s one I literally don’t have to work on. I can literally close my eyes, and I’m like, ‘Here you go.’ She’s like, ‘Boom!'”

Cline and Zelenovic are two of the three Jayhawks to receive preseason honors, along with middle blocker Reese Ptacek; all are underclassmen, and Ptacek was the Big 12 freshman of the year last season, making her one of KU’s most prominent returning players.

All will figure prominently into the Jayhawks’ upcoming season, which begins on Aug. 23 against Vanderbilt in Lincoln, Neb.

photo by: Kate Benninghoff/Kansas Athletics

Kansas setter Cristin Cline serves during the alumni match at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Kate Benninghoff/Kansas Athletics

Kansas setter Cristin Cline prepares to serve during the alumni match at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.