After losing three major players to the transfer portal, the University of Wisconsin’s volleyball team signed two new transfers, Carter Booth and Temi Thomas-Ailara, in December and January.
As the victors of the 2021 National Championship, Wisconsin’s volleyball team had all the attention heading into the 2022 edition of the tournament. After three straight wins in the opening rounds, the defending champs’ season came to a heartbreaking end in the regional finals. Not only was that the end of Wisconsin’s title defense, but it was also the final time multiple Badgers would don the historic red and white.
December was a difficult month for Wisconsin volleyball. Despite capping off the previous month with their fourth straight Big Ten regular season title, the Badgers were locked in on winning back-to-back National Championships. However, the fans at the UW Field House were shocked when Pitt upset their beloved Badgers in five sets.
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Fans and players on both sides of the court shed tears, but what filled the arena were the tears of those who knew their time in Madison was finished. As December came to a close, three Badgers sought a change of scenery and entered the transfer portal.
Dec. 12, fan-favorite Liz Gregorski announced she’d be entering the portal and that her time on the isthmus was over. Later that week, hard-hitting presence Jade Demps and defensive specialist Anna MacDonald followed suit. By the first day of February, all three had found their new homes away from Madison.
Wisconsin volleyball has been one of the top programs in the nation for several years now. It’s no secret that it tops the lists of preferred destinations for transfer portal entrants. After losing several players to this year’s portal and a few who graduated, coach Kelly Sheffield knew he needed to make a splash to improve next season’s team. He certainly did. The Badgers signed two massive additions to the new roster.
First, the Badgers gifted their fans with an exciting gift on Christmas day by announcing the signing of the highly touted rising sophomore Carter Booth from Minnesota. Coach Sheffield didn’t stop there. On the first day of February, Big Ten’s 2022 kill leader, Temi Thomas-Ailara joined the team from Northwestern.
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Both of these new signings were All-Big Ten First Team selections this season and put up tremendous numbers. Carter Booth displayed one of the most dominant freshman seasons in Minnesota history. Her superb 1.48 blocks per set ranked her 10th in the nation, sixth all-time for Minnesota and top of the list for freshmen in program history. Her season certainly caught the eyes of the Badgers, especially after they tried to sign her as a freshman.
As for Temi Thomas-Ailara, her time in Evanston was monumental. Thomas-Ailara exhibited exceptional numbers in her four years as a Wildcat. She finished fifth in program history with 1,546 career kills. She also led the Big Ten in kills this past season and has led Northwestern in kills in all four seasons she’s played. Those stats were good enough to earn her an All-American selection, and she became just the fourth Wildcats Volleyball player to do it and the first since 2012.
Despite the few departures within the program, Wisconsin was able to sign two of the best players in the portal as they look to maintain their reputation as one of the most feared teams in the nation.
