A new year is all about starting anew, and 2026 brings a clean slate, new beginnings and some fresh faces to Pitt volleyball.
Everyone knows the transfer portal can transform collegiate teams for better or worse. It can be disheartening to see beloved players move on somewhere new after forming connections with fans. But, when used correctly, the transfer portal is quite literally a tool that can be used to build dream teams.
Pitt volleyball has already proven it knows how to use the transfer portal to its advantage, pulling outstanding players into the Panthers’ program, such as middle blocker Bre Kelley from Florida, Sophie Gregoire from Oregon and setter Brooke Mosher from Illinois, to name a few.
Despite a handful of talented players deciding to leave Oakland following Pitt’s fourth-straight loss in the Final Four — namely, sophomore middle blocker Ryla Jones to Penn State — the incoming players in this transfer class have started rumblings about how far the Panthers will go in a 2026 season tournament run.
Starting strong, the Panthers have redshirt junior Jordyn Dailey joining fellow middle blocker Abbey Emch at the front of the net this season. Transferring from Kentucky — a school with an elite volleyball program, as their 2021 championship victory shows — Dailey isn’t new to Pitt’s level of volleyball.
Notching 46 kills and helping the Wildcats to over 100 blocks for the season, the North Carolina native is an amazing addition to this Pitt team that we know can put in the work on the defensive and offensive side of the ball. Filling the shoes of a previous All-American middle blocker is no small task, but Dailey’s record shows she’s more than ready to take on the challenge.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated transfer announcements in college volleyball of the 2025-26 season belongs to junior setter Izzy Starck, who announced her decision to transfer from Penn State on December 23, 2025, just two days following Texas A&M’s victory at the National Championship.
With a first-year campaign nearly rivalling Pitt’s own Olivia Babcock’s, Starck nabbed multiple awards during her first year in Happy Valley, including AVCA National Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, to name a few.
Starck led her team to a National Championship in 2024, earning 1,483 assists in her rookie year. Starck is widely considered one of the very best setters currently playing college volleyball.
All that this newly assembled Pitt squad needs is time. With months of offseason stretching as far as the eye can see, time will be the Panthers’ key to becoming a cohesive team that plays as one.