Blue Valley Southwest’s Taylor Stanley signs volleyball letter of intent with KU
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- Blue Valley Southwest senior Taylor Stanley signs national letter of intent with KU.
- Stanley brings national U19 experience, regional awards and elite club pedigree to KU.
- KU adds five signees across hitter and middle positions to boost roster depth.
Taylor Stanley, a 6-foot-3 senior volleyball pin hitter from Blue Valley Southwest High School, has signed a national letter of intent with Kansas, KU announced Wednesday.
Stanley, who is ranked No. 11 nationally in the high school recruiting class of 2026 by prepdig.com, was a member of the 2025 USA Volleyball Under 19 national team. Competing against older players, the U.S. team went 7-2 and placed ninth at the FIVB Women’s Under 21 world championship held in August in Indonesia. She was one of 12 players on the U.S. roster.
Stanley, who played club volleyball for KC Power, has been named 2025 AVCA High School region player of the year. She was one of four finalists for the Evelyn Gates Award which on Wednesday night was presented to St. Thomas Aquinas senior Grace Martin, who has signed a letter of intent with Arizona State. Martin, a 5-11 outside hitter, is ranked No. 66 in the class of 2026 by prepdig.com.
The Evelyn Gates award, presented by Children’s Mercy, goes to the top volleyball player in the Kansas City area as voted upon by area high school coaches. It was presented to Martin in a ceremony at the National World War I Museum and Memorial Auditorium.
Award finalists with Martin and Stanley were: Ella Florez, a senior from Mill Valley High School who has signed to play college volleyball at Iowa State, and Peyton Kubik, a junior from Blue Valley West who has verbally committed to Pitt. All four finalists attended Wednesday’s ceremony.
Stanley has been named a participant in the Under Armour Next All-America game to be held Jan. 1, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. She twice has earned first team all-Eastern Kansas League honors and is a two-time member of the Class 5A state all-tourney team.
Stanley was also named the MVP of the 2024 girls junior national championship in the 16 and Under American Division.
St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Blue Valley Southwest for the Class 5A state title this season.
“The next steps for me ... I’m graduating early this semester so I’ll be moving to the University of Kansas in January. I’m very, very excited,” Stanley said at Wednesday’s awards ceremony. “I’ve loved getting to know the new coaching staff there. They all are such great people.”
Stanley noted that, “When I started out in club volleyball I was always kind of a backup. I was the girl that always was just ready to be on the court, cheering on my teammates. That was kind of my role. I saw volleyball through a little bit of a different lens. I think it just gave me a deeper appreciation for the game and really just sparked my work ethic in a different way. I think that what I always was trying to do was do the right thing when nobody was watching which I think is kind of integrity and it really helped my passion for the game . My love for this game just grows deeper,” she added.
Of heading to Arizona State, Evelyn Gates Award winner Martin said Wednesday: “It’s definitely going to be a big change, but I’m super excited. I can’t wait for all the opportunities it may hold.”
KU on Wednesday announced the signing of five high school volleyball players: pin hitters Stanley, Avery Poulton, Tessa Dodd and Ryan Sadler and middle blocker Jaeli Rutledge.
Poulton, the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Utah according to prepdig.com, is from Woods Cross High School in Bountiful, Utah. Dodd is from Laramie High in Laramie, Wyoming; Sadler from Marietta High in Atlanta and Rutledge from Webb City High in Missouri.
“We’re bringing in a lot physically at each hitter position along the net,” said first-year KU coach Matt Ulmer. “This group is hungry to grow, and I’m confident they will make a great impact on our program.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 9:53 AM.
