UT Martin Beach Volleyball Voted Second In OVC Predictions As Three Skyhawks Claim Preseason Honors
2/19/2026 1:00:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – With the 2026 University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball season fast approaching, the Ohio Valley Conference unveiled its predicted order of finish and preseason individual accolades today.
The Skyhawks were voted second in the poll by the league's head coaches and communication directors, garnering two first-place votes and 37 points overall. Chattanooga (10 first-place votes, 50 points) was tabbed as the preseason favorite while Morehead State (36 points), Lindenwood (28), Tennessee Tech (17) and Eastern Illinois (12) rounded out the rankings.
UT Martin's Kayla Bryant and Reagan McGee were recognized as two of the league's 13 returning All-OVC players while Riley Rushing was spotlighted as one of six players on the OVC Watch List.
A redshirt junior out of Louisville, Ky., Bryant was an AVCA Top Flight and All-OVC first team performer last spring after going 25-7 overall (all at No. 2 or No. 3) and 9-1 against league competition. Her 25 victories (fourth) and .781 winning percentage (10th) in 2025 each rank in the top-10 in Skyhawk single-season history as she also tallied three of her four career OVC Pair of the Week mentions last year. Also notching OVC All-Freshman honors in 2023, she accounts for 39 career victories (just outside the top-10 in school history) and is 13-1 in OVC play over her two seasons.
McGee is a two-time AVCA Top Flight and has twice been named an All-OVC second team recipient. The rising junior additionally claimed OVC Championship All-Tournament team status a year ago after she was crowned with an OVC All-Freshman award in 2024. Last season, she went 25-9 (mostly at No. 4) with a 9-1 mark in conference play – improving her OVC record to 18-1 in her career. The Norfolk, Va. native's 25 triumphs last spring are tied for the fourth-most in the program's single-season history while her 45 victories in just two seasons already rank 10th in UT Martin history.
Hailing from Snowmass Village, Colo., Rushing was one of the top newcomers in the OVC a season ago. She pieced together 16 victories while competing at either the No. 1 or No. 2 slots in the Skyhawk lineup in 2025. The 5-11 senior has represented UT Martin at the AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship tournament in each of the last two seasons, including this past fall where she joined forces with McGee to go undefeated at the AVCA Central Qualifier and Midwest Open before sharing the national stage once again alongside McGee in November.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 24-10 record in 2025, finishing at 7-3 in the OVC standings. UT Martin concluded the season with 20 victories in its last 25 matches alone, including a 10-match winning streak that lasted from April 9 through April 24. The Skyhawks advanced to the final day of the OVC Championship tournament for the fifth time in as many years, falling by a slim 3-2 margin at event host Chattanooga.
Ninth-year UT Martin head coach Jaclynn Wilson returns 10 players and welcomes in nine newcomers in 2026 as the Skyhawks officially open the season on March 13-14 at the Bears Beach Bash in Macon, Ga.
The Skyhawks were voted second in the poll by the league's head coaches and communication directors, garnering two first-place votes and 37 points overall. Chattanooga (10 first-place votes, 50 points) was tabbed as the preseason favorite while Morehead State (36 points), Lindenwood (28), Tennessee Tech (17) and Eastern Illinois (12) rounded out the rankings.
UT Martin's Kayla Bryant and Reagan McGee were recognized as two of the league's 13 returning All-OVC players while Riley Rushing was spotlighted as one of six players on the OVC Watch List.
A redshirt junior out of Louisville, Ky., Bryant was an AVCA Top Flight and All-OVC first team performer last spring after going 25-7 overall (all at No. 2 or No. 3) and 9-1 against league competition. Her 25 victories (fourth) and .781 winning percentage (10th) in 2025 each rank in the top-10 in Skyhawk single-season history as she also tallied three of her four career OVC Pair of the Week mentions last year. Also notching OVC All-Freshman honors in 2023, she accounts for 39 career victories (just outside the top-10 in school history) and is 13-1 in OVC play over her two seasons.
McGee is a two-time AVCA Top Flight and has twice been named an All-OVC second team recipient. The rising junior additionally claimed OVC Championship All-Tournament team status a year ago after she was crowned with an OVC All-Freshman award in 2024. Last season, she went 25-9 (mostly at No. 4) with a 9-1 mark in conference play – improving her OVC record to 18-1 in her career. The Norfolk, Va. native's 25 triumphs last spring are tied for the fourth-most in the program's single-season history while her 45 victories in just two seasons already rank 10th in UT Martin history.
Hailing from Snowmass Village, Colo., Rushing was one of the top newcomers in the OVC a season ago. She pieced together 16 victories while competing at either the No. 1 or No. 2 slots in the Skyhawk lineup in 2025. The 5-11 senior has represented UT Martin at the AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship tournament in each of the last two seasons, including this past fall where she joined forces with McGee to go undefeated at the AVCA Central Qualifier and Midwest Open before sharing the national stage once again alongside McGee in November.
The Skyhawks are coming off a 24-10 record in 2025, finishing at 7-3 in the OVC standings. UT Martin concluded the season with 20 victories in its last 25 matches alone, including a 10-match winning streak that lasted from April 9 through April 24. The Skyhawks advanced to the final day of the OVC Championship tournament for the fifth time in as many years, falling by a slim 3-2 margin at event host Chattanooga.
Ninth-year UT Martin head coach Jaclynn Wilson returns 10 players and welcomes in nine newcomers in 2026 as the Skyhawks officially open the season on March 13-14 at the Bears Beach Bash in Macon, Ga.
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