The Big 12 announced its 2021 volleyball preseason awards, including the All-Big 12 Team, Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Texas’ Logan Eggleston was the unanimous selection as Preseason Player of the Year after earning the Conference honor at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. Caroline Bien is the second consecutive Kansas student-athlete to be named Preseason Freshman of the Year, following Caroline Crawford last season.
Eggleston helped lead the Longhorns to an NCAA Championship runner-up finish, as well as their 13
th overall and fourth-consecutive Big 12 title last season. She was an AVCA All-America First Team selection in addition to Big 12 Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team pick. The outside hitter from Brentwood, Tennessee, claimed five Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors in 2020-21 and ended the regular season as the National Player of the Week.
Bien was named as the PrepVolleyball.com No. 14 recruit in the country coming out of Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas. She was a 2020 AVCA Under Armour All-America First Team selection and played on the 2019 and 2020 state championship teams. The outside hitter/libero tallied over 1,300 career digs and 1,000 career kills in her prep career while finishing third in program history in kills.
Fifteen student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Except for Baylor newcomer Avery Skinner, all the others were members of the 2020-21 All-Big 12 First or Second Team. Eggleston and Skinner were unanimous selections along with Yossiana Pressley (Baylor), Aliyah Carter (Kansas State), Brionne Butler (Texas), Skylar Fields (Texas), Asjia O’Neal (Texas) and Briana Lynch (West Virginia).
The preseason team and awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches who are not permitted to vote for their own players. The Big 12 Preseason Poll will be announced on Wednesday, June 23.
2021 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year: Logan Eggleston, Texas, OH, Sr.
#
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Caroline Bien, Kansas, OH
2021 All-Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Team
| Name, School |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Yossiana Pressley, Baylor#^ |
OH |
6-0 |
Gr. |
Cypress, Texas |
| Avery Skinner, Baylor# |
OH |
6-1 |
Gr. |
Katy, Texas |
| Candelaria Herrera, Iowa State* |
MB |
6-1 |
Sr. |
San Juan, Argentina |
| Eleanor Holthaus, Iowa State^ |
RS/OH |
6-1 |
Sr. |
Richmond, Minnesota |
| Caroline Crawford, Kansas^ |
MB |
6-3 |
So. |
Lansing, Kan. |
| Jenny Mosser, Kansas^ |
OH |
5-11 |
Gr. |
Lakeville, Minn. |
| Aliyah Carter, Kansas State#^ |
OH |
5-9 |
So. |
Dubuque, Iowa |
| Julia Adams, TCU* |
OH |
6-3 |
Jr. |
Plano, Texas |
| Brionne Butler, Texas#^ |
MB |
6-4 |
Jr. |
Kendleton, Texas |
| Logan Eggleston, Texas#^ |
OH |
6-2 |
Sr. |
Brentwood, Tennessee |
| Skylar Fields, Texas#^ |
OH |
6-2 |
So. |
Missouri City, Texas |
| Jhenna Gabriel, Texas^ |
S |
5-8 |
Jr. |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Asjia O’Neal, Texas#^ |
MB |
6-3 |
Jr. |
Southlake, Texas |
| Samantha Sanders, Texas Tech* |
OH |
6-2 |
Sr. |
Waco, Texas |
| Briana Lynch, West Virginia#^ |
MB |
6-2 |
Sr. |
Johns Creek, Georgia |
A tie created an extra position on the team.
# - unanimous selection
^ - 2020-21 All-Big 12 First Team
*- 2020-21 All-Big 12 Second Team