It’s always emotional to hand over the reins to the program to a star alum. But Katie Schumacher-Cawley proved to be more than capable of the task of leading the charge for the Penn State women’s volleyball team. A member of the program’s first-ever national title-winning team, Katie also became the first female head coach to lead a squad to national glory when the Nittany Lions won the NCAA D1 title in 2024. And she’s determined to keep winning.

With the 2026 commits locked in, all eyes now turn to the 2027 batch of new recruits. Among others, Creighton has already picked up its first 2027 commit in 6-foot-4 OH Allie Hudgins. For Penn State fans, though, they’re still probably not over Katie roping in the national #1 Marin Collins for the 2025 batch. But hold your horses. More news could be inbound soon.

The Penn State women’s volleyball head coach took to X on June 15 to share a cryptic message. Using one red alert emoji, followed by 8 golden stars (a nod to Penn State’s 8 national titles) and the caption “#WeAre“, Schumacher-Cawley may have hinted at great things en route for the Nittany Lions’ extremely successful volleyball program.

Lincoln Arneal, true to being a Huskers fan, one of Penn State’s biggest rivals, also never seems to leave the Lions out of his sight for a moment. Just minutes after Katie’s post, the Huskers Illustrated reporter shared the OG X post with the caption, “Penn State is on commit watch.” Nebraska crashed out of the 2024 NCAAs in an unexpected manner despite being one of the favorites to win the trophy. Naturally, with Penn State seemingly getting the ball rolling with 2027 on its mind, Arneal, like many Husker loyalists, is feeling squeamish in his stomach.

But could this be a reactionary thing for Penn State? After all, it does look like the Nitanny Lions’ foes have already put their plans in motion. Along with Creighton’s 2027 commit (Hudgins is ranked #19 nationally), Michigan has also announced two new names as its class of 2027. Libero Cora Bicknese and setter Ellery DeBoer will be donning the Spartans’ jersey two years from now, and it’s understandable that Katie is also now looking to beef up her own squad.

A two-time All-American athlete, Schumacher-Cawley became the head coach in 2022, after spending four years as the assistant to the legendary former coach Russ Rose. Immediately, she proved her worth and was quick to reinstate Penn State as one of the country’s top volleyball programs. It was under her leadership that the Lions won their first Big Ten title since 2017 and the first NCAA title since 2014. In the 2024 campaign, Penn State posted a 35-2 overall record (20-0 at home). Pretty impressive, huh? Well, brace yourselves. Cause it could only get better.

Penn State is arming itself to the teeth for the coming years

During the last months of 2024, Penn State signed five incredible talents for the class of 2025. On National Signing Day last year, along with OH Collins, Katie also landed NBA legend Patrick Ewing’s daughter, Alexis, Ava Jurevicius (sister of Caroline Jurevicius, the Penn State redshirt OH), middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols, and libero Lexi Gin. With that, Schumacher-Cawley went back-to-back in signing the country’s top recruits (Izzy Starck for the class of 2024), making it clear that her determination to make her alma mater great again wasn’t a feeble one.

As of now, four names have also been announced as Penn State’s 2026 recruits. Haley Burgdorf (OH), Finley Krystkowiak (OH), Kendall Northern (MB), and Danielle Whitmire (RS) will soon be available to entertain the home crowd at Rec Hall. Only a couple of days ago, three of these four new 2026 commits participated in the 8 Star Camp II, at Penn State’s home stadium, showcasing their talent to the fans’ delight.

In many ways, the 2025 season will be one to remember for the volleyball fans. Among the most interesting things to see would definitely be how Dani Busboom Kelly handles things as the new Huskers head coach after taking over from the iconic John Cook. Like Katie, Kelly has also started to get things going on the new recruit front. But can Dani make it big with Nebraska in her first year at the top? Or will Penn State continue its winning run for a second year with the five new additions to the 2025 roster? Tell us your thoughts in a comment!