Gopher volleyball's Taylor Landfair transfers to Nebraska
MINNEAPOLIS — Gopher volleyball's Taylor Landfair, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2022, announced on Monday that she will transfer to Nebraska.
Landfair said she was leaving the University of Minnesota shortly after a middling season that ended with a loss to Creighton in the second round of playoffs. Throughout the year, the outside hitter struggled in serve receive, though her attack percentage improved as the season went on.
Now, she'll continue her career at the second-ranked program in the country, which just came off a loss in the NCAA finals to Texas. Nebraska touts their large fanbase — so large that they filled a football stadium with over 92,000 people to watch a women's volleyball game last August. They statistically are one of the best defensive teams in the country, and are always in contention for a national title.
What role Landfair will take on is slightly unclear — Nebraska had no seniors this season, and returns its entire starting lineup next fall. That means she'll be fighting for a spot on the outside against seniors Lindsay Krause, Ally Batenhorst, and reining Big Ten Freshman of the Year Harper Murray.
"I am so excited for my next journey of being a Husker," Landfair wrote on her Instagram stories. "It's a highly competitive program and I'm up for the challenge."
Nebraska head coach John Cook has previously said he dislikes when programs build their roster by collecting top transfers out of the portal, and he especially dislikes it when players transfer within the same conference. But still, he picked up Landfair, and will have several options for his starting lineup next year.
Landfair came to Minnesota as the top recruit in the country out of high school. What drew her to the program was Hugh McCutcheon, the former head coach who stepped down at the end of the 2022 season to take on an administrative role at the university.
Under his guidance she had a standout freshman season, though she was sidelined with an injury for her sophomore year. But she returned, dominant, in the fall of 2022, leading the Big Ten with 4.99 points and 4.43 kills per set.
When Keegan Cook stepped into the head coaching role late last year, Landfair said she had "high hopes" for the 2023 season. But after the season ended, she decided the direction of the program no longer aligns with her goals for her future, she wrote on Instagram.
"The answer for my decision to leave Minnesota is simple; it is no longer the right fit for me," she said.
Landfair has two more years of eligibility, due to her redshirt season and the extra COVID-19 year. She didn't say whether she would be transferring for the spring, or if she would wait until the summer to make the move to Lincoln. Either way, she'll still be playing in the Big Ten, and will face the Gophers — this time as an opponent — next fall.
Her departure leaves a gap in the Gopher starting lineup; Julia Hanson played in the outside hitter position at times this year, and could have a breakout season next fall, if given the opportunity. Still, there's time for Cook to land some players from the transfer portal.