Who's incoming, who's departing the Wisconsin volleyball program
Keep track of who's heading in and who's heading out of Madison during this winter offseason.
The University of Wisconsin volleyball team’s roster had already drastically changed less than 48 hours after its Final Four loss.
Wisconsin’s sprint that captured an NCAA Tournament’s national semifinals berth came to a halt during Thursday’s five-set loss to Kentucky. The Badgers were set to lose senior All-Americans Carter Booth and Mimi Colyer, along with fifth-year players Alicia Andrew and Jada Cerniglia. But another handful of Wisconsin players from the 2025 squad appear set to find new collegiate homes based on recent social media posts.
But as the transfer portal taketh away, it can also giveth. Coach Kelly Sheffield and his staff also welcomed four 2026 recruits to the program in November.
Badger Observer has compiled our tracker of who’s coming to Madison, either as freshmen from the 2026 class or transfers, or looking to depart via the transfer portal. This will be updated frequently.
The freshmen who are coming to Wisconsin volleyball
Wisconsin announced four 2026 signees in November, and according to Sheffield, three will be early enrollees in January. Three — outside hitters Halle Thompson and Audrey Flanagan, and middle blocker Lynney Tarnow — rank among the top seven players in the nation for this recruiting cycle, according to PrepDig.
Then on Dec. 23, former Pittsburgh commit Isabelle Hoppe announced her commitment to Wisconsin.
Setter Isabelle Hoppe
Hoppe was previously announced in November as part of Pitt’s 2026 class in November. She’s the No. 2 setter and No. 21 overall player in the nation for the 2026 class, according to PrepDig. Pitt announced Dec. 23 that 2024 All-American Izzy Starck was joining the program.
Hoppe fills a need for Wisconsin at setter behind All-American Charlie Fuerbringer with freshman Addy Horner leaving the program.
Outside hitter Audrey Flanagan
Flanagan is an AVCA first-team All-American from Redondo Beach, California, native. She was the No. 3 outside hitter in the 2026 class, according to PrepDig.
“Tall, six-rotation player,” Sheffield said in November. “Can get into angles that very few people can get to with her age. Serves, passes well. I think she could be in an elite blocker as well.
“Her contact point is just different than most people. Her ability to hit high and to get into angles, just a very, very smooth athlete.”
Middle blocker/right side Kymora Scott (early enrollee)
Sheffield first watched Scott, listed at 6 foot 2 according to Wisconsin’s signing day release in November, inside the Indianapolis Convention Center. Director of player personnel and analytics Gary White texted Sheffield that he needed to come over to watch the Illinois native.
“About two minutes in, we both sat down, and we stayed for a while,” Sheffield said. “(Scott’s) athleticism, her ability to hit off of one foot, really jumped out. You could see while there’s an effortless ability to attack off one foot, she reminded me of a former player I had at Dayton in Megan Campbell with her ability to hit off of one foot. Or Devyn Robinson’s ability to hit off of one foot at the similar age, kind of reminded me of that.
“She’s being coached well and is just a great kid. I think she was off the radar nationally, which is totally fine, that we don’t lean too much on the rankings when we’re recruiting people. But typically when we’re offering somebody scholarships, usually it’s not some somebody that most people don’t know about, and that was kind of the case here.”
Middle blocker Lynney Tarnow (early enrollee)
Tarnow, also an AVCA first-team All-American in high school, is PrepDig’s No. 1 middle blocker in the 2026 class.
“Very physical attacker, played for an elite club, played for national championships, and has been in the USA pipeline for a while,” Sheffield said. “(She) has got the ability to hit off one or two feet. Can be a very physical blocker.
“Similar to kind of a Haleigh Nelson that … has a lot more experience coming in than what Haleigh had at the same age. But there’s certainly some some similarities. I would say Lynney’s a better athlete at this age, and we all know what type of impact Haleigh had in her career.”
Outside hitter Halle Thompson (early enrollee)
The 6-foot Thompson is the No. 2 outside player and No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class, according to PrepDig. She was also a 2025 AVCA first-team high school All-American.
“It’s not a lot of times that we’re getting kids from Texas coming out of high school,” Sheffield said. “Halle, certainly one of the most dynamic attackers in the country, coming out of Houston, and she’s won a couple state championships and played on one of the top club teams in the country. Has started for the USA — I think the U19 team, maybe it was U17 team, I’m not sure exactly which one — but she was one of the starting outsides.1
“And can pass, is fearless, great serve. I don’t say that too many times about a high school kid, but she’s got a really, really nice serve. Defense, just a flyer. She will tattoo balls from the back row. Elite back-row attacker for her age.”
Which Wisconsin volleyball players are expected to depart the program
A Wisconsin spokesperson confirmed Dec. 22 that five — Maile Chan, Addy Horner, Tosia Serafinowska, Trinity Shadd-Ceres and Aniya Warren — have now entered the transfer portal.
Badger Observer has followed up with Wisconsin regarding the reports of Una Vajagic entering the portal.
Libero/defensive specialist Maile Chan
Chan, a sophomore, played in 25 matches and 38 sets over the last two seasons at Wisconsin. She has 20 career digs, four assists and one service ace.
Setter/right side Addy Horner (committed to TCU)
Horner shared an Instagram post from College VB Transfers on Dec. 19 that she had entered the transfer portal.
Horner needed to step up with the injury to All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer, starting nine contests from Oct. 10 through Nov. 5. She dished out a career-high 46 assists in an Oct. 19 home loss to Southern Cal and registered four service aces against Minnesota on Nov. 5.
Horner announced Dec. 23 that she landed at Texas Christian.
Middle blocker Tosia Serafinowska
Serfinowska, a Kiekrz, Poland, native, had six kills in five matches and one block this season.
Her Instagram post didn’t directly say she was entering the transfer portal, though she said “Unforgettable experience. So much gratitude. Thank you, Badger Nation.” Many of her teammates’ comments certainly conveyed the sentiment of her leaving the program.
Outside hitter Trinity Shadd-Ceres
Shadd-Ceres emerged as a key reserve later in the 2025 season, in particular playing during key sets in the NCAA Tournament. She played in 13 matches and total 28 sets the last two years.
Outside hitter Una Vajagic
Vajagic finished the 2025 season with 2.79 kills per set and a .271 hitting percentage, but she was also a strong defender with 2.50 digs per set.
The 6-foot Vajagic, from Serbia, shined during the final stretch with seven double-doubles in the final 10 matches. She recorded 10 kills and 12 digs during the Badgers’ national semifinal loss to Kentucky on Dec. 18.
Vajagic also registered 15 kills and hit a blistering .458 during the Elite Eight win against Texas.
Vajagic’s departure was first reported by BadgerExtra, and Sheffield confirmed the news with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Badger Observer has reached out to a Wisconsin spokesperson for confirmation.
Libero/defensive specialist Aniya Warren
Warren, the No. 1 libero in the 2025 class according to PrepDig, played in only nine matches and 16 total sets this season behind fellow freshman Kristen Simon. Warren finished with 14 digs and four assists.
Which players are set to transfer to Wisconsin volleyball
Outside hitter Eva Travis (formerly played at UC Santa Barbara)
Travis was 2024 All-Big West freshman of the year and a first-team all-conference selection, and she received second-team All-Big West honors in 2025.
Listed at 5-10 by UC Santa Barbara, Travis averaged 3.93 kills per set and hit .240. She recorded 21 kills but only hit .182 in a five-set loss to USC in September.
Middle blocker Jaela Auguste (Florida)
Auguste announced Dec. 20 her commitment to Wisconsin. She earned AVCA third-team All-America and first-team All-SEC honors this season after averaging 2.69 kills and 0.98 blocks per set last season for the Gators.
Auguste was also the SEC’s freshman of the year in 2024 after finishing with 1.88 kills and 1.05 blocks per set to go with a .404 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin announced the signing Dec. 22.
“I'm extremely excited to announce that Jaela will be joining our team,” Sheffield said via a release. “She is one of the most dynamic attackers in the country. Her slide is lethal and she is also great off of two feet. J.J. can also eat up passers from behind the service line. I'm looking forward to having her here this spring.”
Wisconsin’s signing day press release from November denotes Thompson as a member of the “2025 USA Volleyball NTDP Girls National Team U19/U21,” “2025 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Champions & MVP-17 Open,” and “2024 USA Volleyball NTDP Girls National Team U19.”