Kentucky’s Reagan Rutherford, Baylor’s Averi Carlson to transfer to Texas volleyball team

The veteran players bring a wealth of experience to the Longhorns. Rutherford is an All-American outside hitter while Carlson is an all-regional setter.

To the victor go the spoils, especially in the transfer portal.

A little over a week after winning a second consecutive national title, the Texas volleyball team welcomed in a pair of decorated transfers in former Baylor setter Averi Carlson and former Kentucky outside hitter Reagan Rutherford. Both players announced their move to Texas on their respective social media accounts Tuesday.

More: What Texas’ other coaches learned, drew inspiration from the volleyball team’s NCAA title

Rutherford, a 6-foot senior who grew up in Missouri City outside of Houston, has earned two consecutive All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She averaged 3.47 kills per set this past season with a .315 hitting percentage and chipped in 1.53 digs a set and could step into an immediate starting role opposite fellow Al-American Madisen Skinner, a former teammate of Rutherford at Kentucky who transferred to Texas prior to the 2022 season.

Carlson, a 5-11 sophomore from Lucas in North Texas, has started at setter for the past two seasons at Baylor, where she won the Big 12’s newcomer of the year as a freshman in 2022 and picked up all-regional honors from the AVCA this past season. Her role looks a bit more murky than Rutherford considering the presence of Ella Swindle, who became just the third true freshman setter in NCAA history to lead her team to a national title.

Carlson could give Texas coach Jerritt Elliott the option of running a 6-2 rotation, which utilizes two setters. She’s also a stellar defensive player as well as one of the top servers in the Big 12 this past season, when she averaged 10.42 assists per set and served up 37 aces on the season at a .972 serve percentage.

Carson and Rutherford join former Nebraska outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein as portal arrivals for the 2024 season. The 6-2 Lauenstein last played in 2022, when she earned all-regional honors from the AVCA.