IRVING, Texas (Aug. 7, 2024) – Kansas was announced as the favorite in the 2024 Big 12 volleyball preseason poll, while TCU’s Melanie Parra was selected as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year and KU’s Zoey Burgess was honored as the Conference’s Preseason Freshman of the Year.
The poll and awards were determined by Big 12 head coaches who could not vote for their team.
It marks the first time the Jayhawks have been designated in the top spot and Burgess is the third KU player in the last five seasons to be named Preseason Freshman of the Year. Burgess hails from Alpine, Utah where the middle blocker was a four-time state champion and the 6A MVP.
Parra is the first Horned Frog to secure Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year honors. In 2023, the native of Sinaloa, Mexico was named an AVCA Third Team All-American and was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection. The outside hitter became the first player in TCU history to have two 34-kill matches and her 4.38 kills per set and 5.17 points per set are the highest among returning league players.
This year’s preseason team was expanded to 18 members and includes student-athletes from 11 schools. Kansas leads with three selections.
The 2024 season marks the debut of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah into the league while Colorado rejoins the Conference. Teams will play 18 league matches over 10 weeks while playing 10 teams once and four teams twice.
The Big 12 finished the 2023 season with five ranked teams, the most for the league since 2009 and tied for the most in Big 12 history. The Conference had seven teams selected to the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, the second time in the last three years the Big 12 has placed seven teams into the tournament.
The season begins Aug. 30 with non-conference play while league play commences Wednesday, Sept. 25. The full schedule can be found at Big12Sports.com.
2024 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Poll
- Kansas (6), 173 points
- BYU (4), 168 points
- Arizona State (3), 158 points
- TCU (1), 146 points
- Baylor, 144 points
- Iowa State, 142 points
- K-State (1), 141 points
- Houston, 105 points
- Utah, 97 points
- Colorado, 75 points
- UCF, 65 points
- Arizona, 54 points
- Cincinnati, 43 points
- West Virginia, 33 points
- Texas Tech, 31 points
First-place votes in parenthesis.
2024 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year
Melanie Parra, TCU, OH, Sr.
2024 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Freshman of the Year
Zoey Burgess, Kansas, MB
2024 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Team
Jaelyn Hodge, Arizona, OH, Fifth Year
Claire Jeter, Arizona State, MB, Gr.
Argentina Ung, Arizona State, S, Gr.
Lauren Briseño, Baylor, L/DS, Sr. ^
Elise McGhee, Baylor, OH, Sr. #
Mia Lee, BYU, MB/OPP, So. !
Kate Prior, BYU, OPP/MB, Jr.
Taylor Simpson, Colorado, S, Sr.
Kate Georgiades, Houston, L, Gr.* #
Nayeli Gonzalez, Iowa State, OH, So.* # !
London Davis, Kansas, OPP, Jr. ^
Ayah Elnady, Kansas, OH, Jr. #
Camryn Turner, Kansas, S, Jr.* #
Aliyah Carter, K-State, OH, Gr. #
Izzi Szulczewski, K-State, S, Sr.
Jalyn Gibson, TCU, OH, Jr. ^
Melanie Parra, TCU, OH, Sr.* #
Lauren Jardine, Utah, OH, Sr.
Players are listed alphabetically by school.
* indicates unanimous selection.
# – 2023 All-Big 12 First Team
^ – 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team
! – 2023 All-Big 12 Rookie Team
Press Release courtesy of West Virginia University Athletics Communications.
