Red Team guard Ainise Havili (11) pushes a pass up the court during the 18th-annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at Free State High School. Photo by Nick Krug

Settling back into Kansas this time around required a brief adjustment period for Ainise Havili.

The former KU setter, one of just a select few Jayhawks whose jerseys hang in the rafters of Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, had obviously spent plenty of time around the program, even in the years since her All-American career. But coming back as an assistant coach under second-year head coach Matt Ulmer was something different.

“It was weird for the first, like, three days,” Havili said. “I felt like I was in a fever dream and back in college, but it’s been great so far, and Matt’s awesome, so I’m happy to be here.”

Havili spoke to the Journal-World on Thursday night after her first-ever appearance at the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic charity basketball game — “I was really nervous this morning thinking about having to come out here and play basketball,” said the former Haltom High School letterwinner, “but it was so fun” — which provided a fitting reintroduction into the crimson-and-blue world.

Coaching isn’t new for Havili, but she’ll be pursuing it full-time from here on out. After concluding her KU tenure in the fall of 2017 and adding a year of beach volleyball at Arizona, she embarked on a lengthy professional career in Sweden, Turkey, Germany and most recently domestically in Major League Volleyball with the Vegas Thrill and Indy Ignite. But on May 22, in advance of her return to Lawrence, she officially announced her retirement, writing in a post on Instagram, “I have lived an incredible life because of this sport. I’ve seen the world, learned from amazing coaches, and met all of (my) best friends. Looking back, the path wasn’t always straight but the journey was so so worth it and I know 12 year old me would be proud.”

“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “I’m sad and happy to be done. I felt like it was my time, so I’m happy to be here, happy to be done.”

Havili has already done the rounds as an assistant coach at several Division I programs, beginning as a volunteer at Purdue and then in brief stints with Miami, Abilene Christian and most recently, during the 2025 season, Butler.

KU had a pair of assistant spots open up this winter when Matt Werle went to UCLA as its head coach and Arica Nassar became the top assistant at Minnesota. That brought Ulmer into conversations with Havili, who had been one of the top players of his predecessor Ray Bechard’s tenure.

“He was just asking, ‘When are you ready to go full time?’, and I was like, ‘If I’m going to go full time and retire (from) playing, it’s going to be here at KU, so hit me up and I’ll come,'” Havili recalled, “and then he did and it worked out.”

She ended up joining along with Connor Wexter, the new associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, who was previously at James Madison.

Ulmer has praised Havili’s passion for her alma mater.

“If you ask her anything about Kansas, her face lights up,” Ulmer told the Journal-World at the Roundball Classic. “She really loves it, so it’s great to have her around. She’s a great coach, great player, our teammates and our players are really lucky to have her.”

That group of players will look a bit different when it reconvenes later in the summer. At the setter spot specifically, the Jayhawks lost reserve Ellie Moore, who transferred to SMU, but gained Reese Messer, an Olathe native who was first-team All-Big Ten as a freshman at USC last season.

“She’s a rockstar and so is Cristin Cline,” Havili said, “so I’m pumped to get in the gym with them, and I think we’ll have a pretty good year.”

Cline was a part-time starter last season as a redshirt sophomore after following Ulmer from Oregon, splitting time with Katie Dalton (who transferred to Creighton in the winter), and is now expected to battle with Messer this fall.

“I like our setting room as much as anybody’s between Cris and Reese,” Ulmer said. “I think the two of them with Ainise is going to be very enjoyable for all of them. Great learning environment, but great mentorship as well.”