LOVB Pro 2026: The Teams
Here’s everything you need to know about the teams Madi’s LOVB Austin side will be facing in 2026
Published
26 NOV 2025
Est. reading time
4 min
There’s just over a month to go until the 2026 LOVB Pro season gets underway — and the anticipation is building ahead of Madi’s second year of professional volleyball.
The Katy-born star will hope to emulate a sensational maiden campaign with Austin, during which she won the LOVB Finals, was named Finals MVP and racked up over 200 points and kills in the regular season.
But there will be plenty of other teams looking to take Austin’s crown, with sides across the division strengthening their rosters over the past few months.
Here’s what to look out for from the Texans’ challengers in 2026…
LOVB Atlanta
Atlanta may consider themselves unfortunate not to be LOVB Pro’s inaugural title winners.
After all, the team from Georgia topped the regular season standings with 13 victories — three more than Houston in second.
No side put more points on the board than Coach of the Year Paulo Coco’s outfit (1177), thanks in part to Opposite Hitter Danielle Cuttino who amassed 211 of them. She’s now plying her trade in Japan, though, and it remains to be seen how Atlanta performs without her.
LOVB Most Valuable Player Kelsey Cook remains, though, as does star Outside Hitter McKenzie Adams.
Atlanta will certainly be hoping to improve in the biggest games of all after losing the LOVB Classic decider versus Houston last term, then suffering Finals elimination against Austin despite their No.1 seed status.
LOVB Houston
Houston can draw inspiration from their LOVB Classic triumph last term, but will share Atlanta’s frustration at not progressing further in the Finals.
They were on the wrong end of a shock result at the semi-finals stage, when Omaha came out on top in Louisville despite having finished rock-bottom of the standings.
Founding athlete Jordan Thompson was top scorer across the whole division for points (256) and kills (224), so her continued presence in the line-up offers a major boost to Houston’s chances.
Sanja Tomašević’s outfit are also set to benefit from a recent takeover of LOVB Houston by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment — the sister company of the Houston Texans football team.
LOVB Madison
Madison will be hoping to rise from the middle of the pack in 2026, after placing third in 2025 with a perfectly symmetrical regular season record of eight wins and eight defeats.
That inconsistency came to the fore in the LOVB Finals, where they failed to progress past outsiders Omaha in the quarter-finals.
Head coach Matt Fuerbringer remains in situ, which offers him a chance to continue building towards the division’s upper echelons.
He’ll be joined by new assistant coaches Annemarie Hickey and John Grossman, who bring with them a wealth of experience at college, club and international level.
Plenty of Madison’s hopes will rest on the shoulders of founding athlete Lauren Carlini, who was named Setter of the Year following the conclusion of last season.
LOVB Salt Lake
Another mid-table side in search of improvement is Salt Lake, who were Austin’s first scalp en route to their LOVB Finals victory.
Tama Miyashiro’s outfit were narrowly beaten 3-2 by the Texans back in April — the second loss to Madi’s team in knockout competition, following their LOVB Classic elimination at the quarter-final stage against the same opponents.
There’s room for positivity, though, with Japanese Libero of the Year Manami Kojima again involved for 2026, and Setter Jordyn Poulter coming off the back of a campaign that yielded 615 assist points — only bettered by Carlini’s 695.
Meanwhile, new additions Madi Bugg and Canada international Alexa Gray should add quality to a roster that’s already packed full of energy and firepower.
LOVB Nebraska
Nebraska are LOVB Pro’s only rebranded team for 2026, having played as LOVB Austin last season.
They will be hoping that a name change yields an upturn in fortunes, after finishing last year’s regular season in sixth spot with just five wins from 16 attempts.
However, it was a completely different story in the Finals, where they overcame the odds to progress all the way to the title decider — where they lost 3-0 to Austin, of course.
The challenge for head coach Suzie Fritz will be to retain that big game mentality, while building a team that can compete more consistently across the year.
New Middle Blocker Ana Carolina da Silva’s arrival could have a transformative effect. The Brazilian has won two Olympic medals and a pair of World Grand Prix titles, alongside a sizable collection of other honors across a decorated career.
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