photo by: Volleyball World

Taylor Stanley of the United States under-19 national team attacks against the Dominican Republic on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Right-side hitter Taylor Stanley was named the Big 12’s freshman of the year, and a pair of Jayhawks received all-league selections as part of the conference’s preseason honors that were announced on Tuesday morning.

Stanley, a 6-foot-3 Overland Park native who attended Blue Valley Southwest High School, was one of the top players in the 2026 recruiting class. She has represented the United States at the youth level, was an Under Armour All-American and is expected to slide in immediately as a starter at opposite hitter.

“You can hear from her teammates, they adore her, and she’ll do anything for them,” head coach Matt Ulmer said on Monday. “She’s one of those (types) of people. She’d give the shirt off her back for them. It’s easy to want to be her teammate.

“And from a volleyball standpoint, really fun to coach. I mean, she has major talent, major gifts. Definitely a need that we have on the team is opposite, so between her and Tessa (Dodd), and she’s doing such a great job of learning and I’m not backing down with her.”

Junior middle blocker Reese Ptacek and sophomore setter Reese Messer received preseason all-conference recognition, with Ptacek a unanimous selection.

Ptacek, once a freshman of the year herself, was first-team all-league and all-region last year as the Jayhawks reached the Sweet 16. The 6-foot-3 middle, originally from Prescott, Wisconsin, posted 2.53 kills and 1.04 blocks per set.

Messer, who attended Saint James Academy, is back in her home state after a distinguished freshman year at USC. Playing in every possible set for the Trojans, she had one of the top statistical seasons among setters in the nation last season as she averaged 10.78 kills and was first-team All-Big Ten.

In a poll of league coaches, the Jayhawks were picked for a third-place finish in the Big 12 behind Arizona State and TCU, after they came in second after the league-champion Sun Devils last year. ASU’s Noemie Glover, who once played for Ulmer at Oregon, was named the preseason player of the year.

KU will have an alumni match on Saturday and an exhibition against Creighton on Aug. 22 before it opens its season on the road at Pittsburgh on Aug. 28.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU sophomore Reese Ptacek looks to the other side of the court before serving to Arizona State on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: USC Athletics

USC’s Reese Messer sets the ball during a match against Northwestern on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.