Editor’s note: This story is published in the Austin Sports Journal’s 2025 Austin Volleyball Preview™, only available to subscribers. It is part of the 20-page college preview inside the magazine that previews all major Division I and Division II colleges in the state.
By Harris Pemberton
Austin Sports Journal contributing writer
The reigning Sun Belt Conference tournament champions are reloaded with a mission at a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Bobcats return four starters from last year’s squad, including two first-team all-conference selections – outside hitter Samantha Wunsch and middle blocker Jade Defraeye.
“We’re excited to put a team out there that’s going to compete for every point next fall,” head coach Sean Huiet said.
If Texas State can do so, it’ll likely return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since Huiet took over in 2020.
Despite losing in the first round each of the past two seasons, Huiet is confident the Bobcats have the competitiveness to get over the hump in 2025.
“We have some challenging teams on our schedule, and we don’t want to be afraid of that. We want to go after it, and if we’re going to lose, we want to fight,” Huiet said. “(The team) has the right mentality and the right goals. We gotta keep chipping away day by day to make it happen.”
The Bobcats confidence comes from a talented group of returnees and promising newcomers.
It starts with Wunsch, a redshirt junior that led the team in kills and attacking percentage. The Vandegrift product was one of the Bobcats’ premiere offensive weapons as a sophomore and has a high ceiling in 2025.
Senior Jade Defraeye is another player to watch in 2025. The 6-3 middle blocker was named to the Sun Belt all-conference first team in 2024. She’ll be at the forefront of Texas State’s aggressive net defensive.
Senior middle blocker Bailey Hanner tallied 214 kills and 99 blocks for the Bobcats last fall. She compliments Defraeye in the middle, and gives Texas State arguably the best net defense in the conference.
Junior setter Dylan Gilkey, a Cedar Park product, returns to the Austin area as a transfer from Pacific. She will take over the Bobcats’ offense this fall and has natural chemistry with Wunsch that will make the duo tough to stop.
Texas State didn’t stop with Gilkey in the transfer portal. The Bobcats will also welcome Lola Davila, a sophomore libero that played at Texas Tech last year. Davilla adds more depth to the libero position.
Cal State-Fullerton transfer Ameena Campbell brings more depth to an already crowded outside hitter room for the Bobcats.
Texas State opens its season on Aug. 29 against Stephen F. Austin at the UTSA Tournament in San Antonio.
Projected Lineup
OH – Samantha Wunsch (#8), 6-2, r-jr., Austin, Texas
OH – Ameena Campbell (#14), 5-11, jr., Lawndale, Calif.
OH – Caelyn Emmerling (#16), 6-2, soph., Spring, Texas
MB – Jade Defraeye (#5), 6-3, sr., Dunkirk, France
MB – Bailey Hanner (#20), 6-2, sr., Sugar Land, Texas
S – Dylan Gilkey (#7), 5-9, jr., Cedar Park, Texas
L – Maggie Walsh (#2), 5-10, sr., San Marcos, Texas
Breakout candidate
Dylan Gilkey, jr., OH
The former Cedar Park star returns to Texas after playing the last two years at University of the Pacific. Gilkey played a backup role for the Tigers and was second on the team with 178 assists. She’ll likely take the starting role for the Bobcats, who are in desperate need of a setter to replace the graduated Ryann Torress, who led the Bobcats with 1,065 assists.
Our take
The Bobcats return a plethora of talent, and they did well in the transfer portal to patch the hole at setter left by the graduation of Ryann Torres. Texas State has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament and a third straight is not out of the question. The question is, will the Bobcats’ depth take them past the first round?
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