By Aidan O’Connor | Sports Writer
No. 21 Baylor volleyball’s postseason run in 2025 abruptly ended with a second-round loss to No. 3 seed Purdue.
Head coach Ryan McGuyre believed that “disappointment’s normally not the end of the journey, but the start of something pretty great.”
While a promising season did not see a deep tournament run, the Bears went into the offseason optimistic behind a trio of rising sophomores: libero Morgan Madison and outside hitters Ksenia Rakhmanchik and Bailey Warren.
With a mix of the old and the new, Baylor looks to make its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance this year by keeping each other accountable.
“We have another motto this year called ‘Love tough,'” Madison said. “Just being able to give accountability because we love each other is what we’re going for, like saying, ‘Hey, you need to do this because I love you.’”
This mentality has been ingrained and built upon the entire offseason as the Bears have made a dedicated effort to be together and bond as a team. They traveled to the Dominican Republic this summer where they built a house for a local family with the ministry Casas Por Cristo.
“It was literal team building, because we were building a house and not many of our girls are contractors or worked with power tools and hammers, nails and pouring cement leveling,” McGuyre said. “We worked hard at learning something we’re not good at and that carries over in the gym.”
This type of foundation set by the Dominican Republic trip and the “love tough” mindset Baylor volleyball wants to carry through this season has seen several changes leading into this year.
The Bears are also building on the court, bringing in six freshmen in a class that was ranked No. 9 in the nation by PrepDig.com. They added sophomore setter Isabela Haggard from Marquette who was Big East co-Freshman of the Year.
“The strength of this year is that it’s a really big blessing, that we’re all very competitive, each position, that we’re all fighting to be on the court,” senior libero Tehani Ulufatu said.
These additions give an immense boost to Baylor’s depth, as well as fill in gaps. The Bears revamped their middle blocker unit where Baylor has added freshmen Lacy Tinnell and Mya Hemmer to make up for the three they lost.
“Our freshman middles are coming in that I’m really excited about,” McGuyre said. “That was probably the X Factor wild card and they’re making great strides.”
Bears brought on a new associate head coach in Jared Goldberg to replace Joshua Walker who left to become head coach of Hawaii. Goldberg comes from being the head coach of The Master’s University where he won the NAIA Coach of the Year in 2024 and 2026, while also leading the Mustangs to their first national championship 2025.
“You need great character,” McGuyre said. “Jared brings incredible character, great experience, and we’ll continue to grow the confidence on this team.”
From Goldberg to the freshman to Haggard, Baylor has strengthened not only the players on the court but the coaches on the sideline. The firepower isn’t just coming from the Bears’ additions though but also from their veterans.
Headlining the returners is the sophomore trio of Rakhmanchick, Madison and Warren.
Rakhmanchik was selected to the the All-Big 12 First Team. Madison set the record for most digs by a Baylor freshman with 396. Warren made the All-Big 12 Rookie Team. This sophomore trio, along with several other returners, bring back much of the production from last year. This returning core contributed to 89% of digs and 145 of 149 aces.
The new and returning pieces are set to help strengthen Baylor as a contender, but their core identity still remains in their relationships as teammates and their ability to “love tough.”
“Obviously, the end goal is always to win a national championship,” junior outside hitter MJ McCurdy said. “But whenever I think about a season, success will look like us being great teammates and I think that we’ve already started off on a great foot.”
The Bears will open up their season against San Diego at 9 p.m. Friday in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
