Texas Volleyball is getting a major boost for 2027, with seniors Torrey Stafford, Ramsey Gary and Nya Bunton all announcing they will be back for a fifth season with the Longhorns.
That trio has given Texas a different kind of backbone in 2026, and each has carved out a clear role. Stafford has stayed at the center of the offense, Gary has anchored the back row, and Bunton has become one of the SEC’s most efficient finishers.
Stafford’s resume already reads like that of one of the country’s elite outside hitters. She has earned AVCA All-America honors in each of the last three seasons, was placed on the 2026 AVCA Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, and picked up first-team All-America recognition in 2024 and 2025 after a third-team nod in 2023.
She also was named 2025 AVCA Southwest Region Player of the Year and earned All-SEC First Team honors. This season, she has kept rolling, piling up 341 kills in 21 matches while averaging 4.43 kills per set.
She has reached double figures in kills in 19 matches, including 17 straight, and has posted eight double-doubles. Earlier this season against Arkansas, she went past 1,500 career kills.
Stafford also spent last summer with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Gary has become one of the nation’s top liberos since arriving on the Forty Acres ahead of the 2025 season. Through 21 matches in 2026, she has 302 digs, averaging 3.92 per set, and has added 103 assists and eight service aces.
Her biggest statistical marker came in the Oct. 9 win at Arkansas, when she set a Texas rally-scoring era record with 34 digs in a four-set match. That total stands as the most ever by a Longhorn in a four-setter and is tied for the most in any match in program history.
She has had 10 or more digs in 17 matches and put together a three-match run in September with at least 21 digs in each outing. Before Texas, Gary was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Indiana.
She has also worn USA colors, winning gold with the U21 National Team at the 2024 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship and the 2025 U21 Pan American Cup.
Bunton’s rise has been just as notable. In 2026, she leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with a .431 hitting percentage, while putting up 125 kills and 71 blocks in 17 matches.
Her path to this point has included battling injuries early in her college career, then appearing in 23 matches in 2025 before stepping into a bigger role and breaking through this season. She also represented the United States on the U19 National Team and won gold at the 2022 U19 Pan American Cup.
Texas closes the regular season with two home matches, starting with Senior Night against Ole Miss on Friday, Nov. 13.
First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Gregory Gymnasium.
The Longhorns then host LSU on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. CT.
Both matches will stream live on SEC Network+.
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