Texas volleyball welcomed three players to the program on Wednesday’s national signing day, but the Horns expect to finally add to the class with the latest flip from Nebraska that raised eyebrows throughout the volleyball world.
Ayden Ames, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Prosper in North Texas, announced last week his intentions to decommit from the Cornhuskers and commit to Texas. He was unable to go public Wednesday to sign his national letter of intent due to ongoing pastoral work, meaning Texas could not comment on his signing.
His high school program in Prosper noted on November 6 that he planned to sign with Texas.
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Rated the 10th best prospect in the nation by PrepVolleyball, Ames is a versatile attacker who played on the US Under-19 National Team that won the FIVB World Championship this summer. She is an Under Armor All-American and averaged 4.7 kills, 4 digs and 1.3 blocks for Prosper, who advanced to the regional championship round of the Class 6A state playoffs.
Texas coach Jerritt Elliott welcomed libero Reese Emerick from nearby Westlake High School and setter Rella Moon Binney from Hawaii and defensive specialist Brennan Ramirez from Waxahachie.
The 5-foot-8 Emerick, a member of the American-Statesman’s All-Central Texas team, capped a decorated prep career this week with a third-round loss to Class 6A champion Dripping Springs. She played four seasons on Westlake’s powerhouse varsity team and compiled a school-record 2,118 digs and 135 aces in her career, according to statistics compiled by MaxPreps.
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Texas will only be missing a handful of players from this year’s team, entering Wednesday’s game at Kansas State with the No. 3 seed, an 18-3 record and a 13-0 mark in the Big 12. Middle blockers Ella Bergmark and Asjia O’Neal will move on after their season ends, while defensive tackle Carissa Barnes is a senior after transferring from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the offseason. Goal scorer Molly Phillips will complete her fifth season this year.
Texas has already secured commitments for three prospects in the 2025 class: the nation’s top prospect, pitcher Macaria Spears, and two Austin products, Cedar Park libero Callie Krueger and Georgetown outside Addison Gaido.
