Last fall, the Amarillo College volleyball program was two sets away from winning a tiebreaker to break through to the postseason.

It was unequivocally the most successful campaign in team history.

This season, seven Badger sophomores – including two all-conference returners – will mesh with eight promising rookies for an opportunity to become the first group to reach the Region 5 playoffs since AC’s athletics reboot in 2022.

Hitting percentage record holder Delany Galligan, returning all-conference middle blocker Emery Bryan, and the most productive freshman setter in program history, London Baker, headline a group that checks all the boxes on paper.

“Our returning group has tremendous leadership and understands what it takes to be successful in our conference,” AC head coach Scott Sandel said. “They showed last year they can compete with any program in the country, and with continued hard work and focus, we should be in a position to contend for the postseason.”

The big question that the program faces every year is: how will they contend with the high-level foreign crop of athletes that make up over 75% of rosters across the Western Junior College Athletic Conference?

This year’s Badgers squad will present plenty of answers to that question in a variety of ways.

AC’s middle blocker room is undoubtedly the deepest it’s ever been. Bryan leads the pack out of the gates, while a pair of freshmen in former Tascosa star Berkley Harper and 6-foot-2 Utah native Tori Hunter have displayed promising potential in preseason action.

Harper went toe-to-toe against West Texas A&M University’s formidable middles during AC’s preseason finale on Tuesday as she displayed her high acumen and elite athleticism.

On pins, Galligan will not have to shoulder near the load she took on last fall.  Fellow sophomores Chayse Wilson, Sam Cardona, and Yuna NG had some standout moments as freshmen, then followed with productive spring campaigns.

According to Sandel, Wilson had one of the top springs of the entire returning group.

At last year’s AC tournament, Cardona hit full stride against a respectable Butler Community College squad by tying the school record for blocks in a game (5).

NG is one of the team’s most versatile athletes and the hardest worker behind the scenes. She’ll be in the mix at opposite hitter and can set for the Badgers if called upon.

Peyton Stade joins the pin hitters as the second lefty in program history to suit up in a Badger uniform. After playing at a 6A level in high school, the seasoned foreigners AC faces week in and week out should seem business as usual for the Wylie High School product.

Maevyn Wunsch and Kinzee Crow are other names to know from the outside hitter group. Both have plenty of upside after competing in smaller classifications at their respective high schools.

Wunsch was one of the most formidable players at the 3A level with her state championship unit at Goliad High School. Crow finished her high school career at Texico as one of the most decorated dual-sport athletes at the 2A or 1A level.

At setter, Baker is set to return at the NMMI Classic. She’ll lead a unit that features Anna Escamilla and newly minted setter Tyler Pool, who will likely spend time at her original libero spot and setter if need be. Pool did play some setter in high school, according to Sandel.

During the WT scrimmage on Tuesday, Pool did not look out of place against one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the country.

Baylee Shriver and Lyn Chavarria round out the libero room with Pool in what figures to be a competition throughout the season.

Shriver was one of the top performers against WT, recording three aces and making a few highlight-worthy digs.

Rookie class gives plenty of reasons for optimism

AC fourth-year head coach Scott Sandel envisions the 2026 recruiting class elevating the program even further in the coming years – if all goes according to plan.

A trio of local recruits, the second athletes in program history from Utah and New Mexico, and three Texas natives shape the group.

Tascosa High School alums Berkley Harper and Anna Escamilla, along with Randall High School product Lyn Chavarria, make up the local crop of incoming talent.

Harper was one of her school’s top performers since her sophomore season, after earning the 3-5A Newcomer of the Year in 2023. Harper earned first-team all-district honors at the middle blocker spot during her final two seasons with THS.

Chavarria will immediately compete for the libero spot after earning all-district honors with the Lady Raiders in Class 4A last fall. Fellow incoming libero Baylee Shriver, a Jim Ned High School grad, and returner backrow standout Tyler Pool are set to compete for a starting spot in the back row.

Shriver claimed second-team all-district honors in Class 3A as a junior before being selected to the 6-3A first-team as a senior.

Escamilla will join London Baker in the setter room with an opportunity to learn behind the program’s all-time assist leader.

Two qualities the Badgers have lacked since the reboot of athletics at AC are a left-handed hitter and athletes over 6 feet tall. This year’s class features both in lefty Peyton Stade and 6-foot-1 middle blocker Tori Hunter.

Stade played her high school volleyball at the highest classification in Texas – 6A — at Wylie High School, 45 minutes northeast of Dallas. The 6-foot outside hitter was a two-time all-district honoree in 9-6A and was an instrumental piece of her team’s 16-0 district title run last fall.

Hunter was a first-team all-region honoree in 2025 for Northridge High School in Layton, Utah. The Salt Lake State native played in Utah’s second-largest classification (5A).

Hunter helped lead Northridge to the second round of the state playoffs as a senior. She’ll join Anau Tua’one (2024) as Utah natives to suit up in a Badger uniform.

Mayven Wunsch joins AC after winning a 3A state championship at Goliad High School last November. The outside hitter was a first-team all-district selection on a Lady Tigers squad that tallied a 44-3 record en route to sweeping Bushland High School in the state title match.

The group’s dual-sport standout, Kinzee Crow, is set to become the second athlete from New Mexico to join the Badgers. Crow was a three-time all-state middle blocker at Texico High School and won a state title with the volleyball team in 2024.

On the basketball court, Crow nearly averaged a double-double (10.7 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game) during her senior campaign. She was named the 2A District 4 Offensive MVP last spring.