“I had no idea until this past week how many people have been touched and moved by Nebraska Volleyball. I want to thank everyone who reached out. It means a lot to me,” John Cook wrote just three weeks after stepping down as Nebraska’s head coach. The overwhelming love from the fans surprised him. Yet, it’s what he wrote next that built on the anticipation.

The head coach of Nebraska for 25 years ensured the Huskers would have someone to lead them in his absence. “Let’s get ready for DBK and this 2025 team to unleash hell,” Cook wrote about his former pupil-turned-successor Dani Busboom Kelly. Now, a few months later, the Big Ten Conference preseason roundup just proved that the fans are indeed ready for the DBK era.

With the Big Ten Volleyball Media Days just around the corner (July 28-29), the conference just released its preseason honors and preseason poll on Thursday. Of the 18 colleges in the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska Volleyball came out on top. This happened despite losing two matches on the way to last year’s Big Ten title, having to share that title with Penn State, and Cook’s departure.

Talking about Penn State, the 2024 NCAA champs made it to second place on the poll, followed by Nebraska’s rivals, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Minnesota and UCLA rounded out the top five preseason Big Ten colleges. The fact that the preseason poll result didn’t change for Nebraska from last year showed the hype surrounding Dani Busboom Kelly.

While Coach Kelly has already impressed in her two spring games with Nebraska, the fans want to see the Huskers in action during the regular season. Sports Illustrated even mapped out which colleges on the list Nebraska Volleyball will host (2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17) and who’ll host the Huskers (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, and 18). However, this isn’t the only list Nebraska is dominating.

Nebraska volleyball stars on AVCA list

A couple of days ago, the AVCA released its preseason list. However, this one wasn’t about the teams but the individuals running for one of the NCAA’s most prestigious individual awards. “The AVCA is pleased to reveal its preseason watchlist for the 2025 Division 1 Player of the Year Award,” said the spokesperson while revealing the first set of 10 players in the running.

Over the course of the next two days, the AVCA has released 20 more names in sets of 10. Nebraska Volleyball had already established the lead before the final list came out, with middle blocker Andi Jackson, outside hitter Harper Murray, and setter Bergen Reilly appearing on the second list. Once again, even the champions had two players on the second list.

Similarly, multiple top colleges had two players on the POTY watch list, but none had three. Yet, the AVCA’s POTY wasn’t the end of it. Yes, there’s one more list. Following in the AVCA’s footsteps, the Big Ten also released its preseason All-Big Ten team, and this time, four Huskers made it to that list. Middle blocker Rebekah Allick joined Murray, Jackson, and Reilly on this one.

At the end of the day, all the talk about Huskers volleyball making these lists just shows what the fans are expecting from the Huskers. While John Cook is no longer at the helm, everyone hopes the Huskers will continue the legendary coach’s legacy of excellence.