Texas volleyball received a surprise addition to its roster with Thursday’s start of preseason camp when Longhorns track and field athlete Mackenzie Collins announced she will join the squad.
A rising second-year athlete, Collins originally committed to play volleyball for Texas A&M coming out of Shadow Creek High School south of Houston. But she ended up competing in track at Texas and was an early enrollee in the spring of 2025. She competed primarily in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 400-meter hurdles this past spring, finishing seventh in the 400 hurdles at the SEC outdoor championships.
Now, Collins will race back into volleyball after two years away from the sport. The 6-footer was ranked as the No. 18 middle blocker prospect in the Class of 2025 by PrepDig and the 92nd overall prospect in the country that year. She lacks height for a middle at the power conference level, but boasts elite athleticism and a quick burst off the court.
Collins shared a social media video earlier Thursday that showed her wearing the No. 7 jersey for Texas volleyball. Longhorns outside hitter Cari Spears’ Instagram post then shared a picture of herself, middle blocker Taylor Harvey and setter Genevieve Harris alongside Collins in their UT uniforms.
Texas volleyball’s official social media accounts confirmed the news late Thursday afternoon with a post labelling Collins “the latest dual-sport athlete on the Forty.” School officials confirmed Thursday that she will compete for both the volleyball and track teams in the 2026-27 school year.
Collins popped up Thursday on the Texas volleyball roster, which now includes 15 players. The current roster still doesn’t include Camille Presley, an Austin High product and a pledge for the 2027 class who’s expected to reclassify to the 2026 class and join this year’s Texas squad. Volleyball teams are allowed 18 players on rosters, per rules adapted last year as a result of the House vs NCAA settlement.
Collins’ arrival bolsters a position of need for the Longhorns, who look loaded at the pins and on the back row but seem thin at the middle blocker position. Ayden Ames, a two-year starter, transferred to Creighton and Texas coach Jerritt Elliott didn’t sign a middle in the portal. That left sophomore Taylor Harvey and redshirt junior Nya Bunton as the only players listed as middles on the roster entering the summer, although 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman Addy Guido has cross-trained at both outside hitter and middle blocker.
If Presley joins the program, she and Collins will provide depth for both practices and matches.
Texas, which went 26-4 last season and reached an NCAA Tournament regional final, began summer practice Thursday and opens the season Aug. 22 against Arizona State at the AVCA First Serve event in Milwaukee, Wisc.