Gamecocks Finalize Additions to 2025 Roster
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball announced the addition of seven student-athletes for the 2025 season. The Gamecocks signed five high school standouts for the fall, and also bring in two transfers that will bolster the roster starting this spring.
“We are very excited to announce the signing of our 2025 freshmen class,” head coach Tom Mendoza said. “Individually they are all great young people and elite athletes with bright futures ahead of them. Collectively they are driven to impact the program both in the short and long term and take the program to even higher levels. I don’t envision any of them taking long to get up to speed at this level, and I think they will fit great with the returning roster and the strong culture that we take pride in.”
- Lina Merz
- 6-2 pin hitter from Dresden, Germany.
- Played at the club level for VC Olympia Dresden since 2020-21.
- Helped her team win the national U20 championship and Vice-Champion at the U18 level in 2022. Her team finished third at this year’s German U20 National Championship.
- Intends to major in International Business.
- Daughter of Gerit and Steffen.
- Has one brother, Jonas.
- Her grandfather was a member of the German National Team in rowing, winning Olympic gold medals at the 1968 and 1972 games.
“We have really enjoyed getting to know Lina and I think she will fit in very well with the team and transition well to college volleyball here in the states,” Mendoza said. “She can kill the ball both in system and out of system as well as the back row and brings a maturity and work ethic that will help her find success both individually and for the team.”
- Sydney Davis
- 6-0 middle from Orlando, Fla.
- Played at the club level for Gamepoint Volleyball, helping the team to a top finish of 2nd place at the 2021 AAU Nationals.
- Named to the 2023 Junior Volleyball Association’s World Challenge All-Tournament Team, a 2024 Triple Crown tournament Show Stopper and 2024 USA Volleyball Nationals Supernova.
- Attending Timber Creek high school in Orlando, coming off a senior season where she hit .474 with 211 kills.
- Set her high school record for blocks in a season in 2021.
- Florida Athletic Coaches Association 2024 all-state honoree.
- Intends to major in Public Health.
- Daughter of Daryl and Cathy.
- Has one brother, Daryl.
- Her father Daryl is in the UCF athletics hall of fame for basketball, as is her cousin Jermaine Taylor, who also played in the NBA.
“Sydney is another middle recruit that our staff all liked as soon as we first saw her play, Mendoza said. “We ask our middles to be impactful and I don’t think that will be any issue for Sydney. She can affect the game both offensively and through her block and she is the type of teammate that players want to be on the court with.”
- Anne Bradley Bing
- 5-8 defensive specialist from Gastonia, N.C.
- Played at the club level for Stars Volleyball Club, which were two-time Mideast Qualifier champions and two-time Southern Exposure tournament champions.
- Stars made the USA Volleyball National tournament three years in a row and had multiple top finishes in the gold bracket at AAU Nationals.
- Helped Gaston Day School win the North Carolina 2A state championship last month, the second state title of her career.
- Leaves her high school as one of the most well-rounded players in its volleyball program’s history, holding school records for career digs, single-season kills and single-season assists.
- A four-time all-state honoree.
- Intends to major in Public Health.
- Daughter of Derek and Rebekah.
- Has two sisters, Sidney and Emily Charles.
“Although it’s great to know we have such a successful attacking option joining the team, AB will likely focus more on the back row strengths of her game at South Carolina,” Mendoza said. “The fact that she was so successful as an outside hitter for her high school team says a lot about her athleticism and ability to read the court, she is also a phenomenal teammate while being extremely competitive.”
- Payton Whalen
- 6-2 pin hitter from Peoria, Ariz.
- Played at the club level for Revolution Volleyball Academy.
- Led her Centennial High School team in kills as a senior, ranking in the top-25 for the state of Arizona. The team reached the 5A state tournament quarterfinals this fall.
- Daughter of Kevin and Jen.
“Payton switched positions to be an outside hitter a few years ago,” Mendoza said, “so she was one of those players that you had to just keep watching develop and every time we got to see her play she was better and more confident, so the coaches went from saying ‘I think she can be really good’ to ‘she is really good.’ She’s an attacker who can get kills front row and back, in-system and on broken plays, and she’s incredibly driven to keep getting better.”
- Kaia Pixler
- 6-0 setter from Phoenix, Ariz.
- Played at the club level for Arizona Storm Elite VBC, winning four USA Volleyball nationals titles in a five-year span (13s, 14s, 16s and 17s).
- Is a four-year varsity letterwinner at Sunnyslope High School, currently ranked in the top 20 in the state of Arizona for assists.
- First team all-region in 2023.
- Daughter of Chris and Michael.
- Has one brother, Kal.
- Her mother Chris played volleyball at Texas Tech and her father Michael played volleyball at Arizona State and Long Beach State.
“Kaia brings leadership, athleticism, and skill to the setter position,” Mendoza said. “She has great experience playing at the highest levels of club volleyball, winning both 16 Open and 17 Open with her team. That will be invaluable as the SEC only continues to get stronger. We’ve been fortunate to have some very good setters and I think Kaia is going to build on that, we are excited to get her in the gym and around the team.”
The Gamecocks also added a pair of experienced collegiate student-athletes during the winter transfer portal period. Joining the team for the spring semester will be Tennessee transfer Emily Beeker and Butler transfer Laila Ebo. Beeker has one season of eligibility, Ebo has two seasons.
“The transfer portal process is very hectic so first I want to thank our staff, especially our recruiting coordinator Brittany Farrell, our compliance and academic departments and everyone else who chipped in over what is supposed to be their winter break. Our goal is to add quality people and teammates who can also play at the very highest level in the SEC and I feel we achieved that to put our team in a good position heading into the Spring season.
- Emily Beeker
- 6-5 middle blocker from Hendersonville, N.C.
- Spent four seasons at Tennessee, playing in 47 matches.
- Played in 43 sets during the 2024 campaign, totaling 60 kills with a .396 hitting percentage.
- Daughter of Angela and Thomas Beeker.
- Her brother, Ben, played basketball at Carson-Newman and her father played basketball at Mars Hill.
“Emily is a player we are very familiar with having been at Tennessee for the past four years and we are excited that she we will now compete with us,” Mendoza said. “She has already shown that she can be successful in the SEC so now we will work to see how high she can achieve. She brings great competitiveness and experience and can impact the game with her attacking and blocking, and we can’t wait to begin working with her this Spring.”
- Laiya Ebo
- 6-1 pin hitter from Washington, D.C.
- Played for two seasons at Butler, highlighted by a 2024 season with 154 kills over 85 sets played.
- Majored in political science at Butler, recently earning a place on the College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District team.
- Daughter of Milford and Lois Ebo.
- Has two siblings, Mark and Lauren.
- Her brother Mark played football at Holy Cross from 2016-19 and her sister Lauren played college basketball at Penn State, Texas and Notre Dame between 2018 and 2023.
“Laiya comes from an athletics family so she knows the level of work it takes to be successful, and it stood out right away in our talks how driven she is to become her very best,” Mendoza said. “She comes in with two years of starting experience at Butler so there is a good level of success that she can build on. Like Emily, I think Laiya will fit in very well to the returning team and our freshmen class and will be a great addition to our team.”
The Gamecocks finished the 2024 season with a 16-12 overall record and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Carolina heads into spring training later this month, for continued updates on the team, follow Gamecockvolley on Twitter and GamecockVB on Instagram.
