Friday Five: A signing week extravaganza

The Friday Five has one fairly simple rule: five things. Signing week though? It did not care about the arbitrary rules of this newsletter.

Nebraska women’s basketball signees, courtesy of Nebraska Athletics.

The Friday Five has one fairly simple rule: five things. Signing week though? It did not care about the arbitrary rules of this newsletter.

Nebraska announced new additions across volleyball, basketball, softball, gymnastics, rifle, bowling and soccer this week, and once I started sorting through all of them, picking five felt unnecessarily cruel. How do you pick, you know?

So, yes, this technically became a Friday Eight. We’ll survive. In fact, we’ll thrive.

There are local standouts staying home, international athletes coming to Lincoln, highly ranked prospects and a few names you may want to file away now before they arrive on campus.

Let’s get into it.

1. Volleyball adds four for 2027

We’ll start with volleyball, because Nebraska put together another class with plenty of familiar recruiting credentials attached to it. Dani Busboom Kelly signed four players who plan to enroll in January: setter Malorie Boesiger, defensive specialists/liberos Mallory Johnson and Pulelehua Laikona and outside hitter Shaye Witherspoon.

Boesiger is the local name, coming from Norris High School in Firth. She holds eight school records, was named the MaxPreps Nebraska Player of the Year and is ranked No. 29 nationally by PrepDig.

“Malorie has played a lot of high-level volleyball in her prep career and it has allowed her to boast a volleyball IQ beyond her years,” Busboom Kelly said in a statement. “Not only is Malorie a great setter, she is a great person who understands what it takes to be a Husker. Malorie is the perfect fit who will add depth and stability to the setter position.”

Nebraska also added two defensive players with national-team experience. Johnson, from Michigan, was part of the U.S. U21 National Team in 2026, while Laikona played on the U.S. U19 team that won gold at the NORCECA championship.

Then there is Witherspoon, the highest-ranked player of the group at No. 11 nationally by PrepDig. The 6-foot-3 outside hitter from Missouri was the 2025 Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year and returned from injury to help Lafayette win a state championship.

2. Women’s basketball stays close to home

Amy Williams added three players from Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri, giving the Huskers a Midwest feel in their 2027 class.

Papillion La Vista South forward Addison Medeck is the top-ranked prospect in Nebraska and currently sits at No. 46 nationally in the 247Sports Composite. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 16.5 points and 12.2 rebounds as a junior while shooting 59% from the field.

She also has a familiar AAU connection: Medeck played for ETG Midwest Elite, the same program that produced Britt Prince.

Brinley Altenburg arrives from Sioux Falls as the No. 1 player in South Dakota. She averaged 19.3 points as a junior and has already scored more than 1,300 high school points.

MaryAnn Kenyon rounds out the group after averaging 22.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists at Marquette High School in Missouri. She shot 65.8% from the field and, somehow, 50.9% from three.

Williams called Kenyon’s versatility a natural fit.

“We cannot wait to have MaryAnn in a Husker uniform,” Williams said. “Her length, versatility and high basketball IQ make her the perfect fit in our system and culture. Offensively she has great vision, understands spacing, and has a knack for making everyone else around her better. Her length can be very disruptive on the defensive side, and she is willing to use that size to go grab rebounds.”

3. Softball brings in speed, power and two Nebraskans

Rhonda Revelle added four players for 2028, including two in-state prospects. Lincoln East outfielder Lucy Barrett and Gretna infielder Maddie Kurrus will stay home, while outfielders Nadia Jeffries of Oklahoma and Alexis Willis of Ontario round out the class.

Also, a fun fact: all four hit left-handed.

“Nebraska softball is welcoming four players who all embody the character, work ethic, and athleticism that we seek as we add to our winning mindset,” Revelle said. “Maddie, Alexis, Nadia and Lucy are all culture builders. All are left-handed hitters who will add speed, power, and versatility to our line-up. Defensively, Maddie will join our group of infielders while the others will be at home in the outfield.”

Barrett hit better than .400 in each of her final three high school seasons and is the No. 1-ranked outfielder in Nebraska. Kurrus helped Gretna win a state championship in 2026.

Jeffries brings speed after hitting at least .458 in each of her final three high school seasons, while Willis comes with perhaps the best scouting report of the week from Revelle:

“ENERGY!!!!”

4. Women’s gymnastics adds three highly rated prospects

Nicole Jones’ next class includes Addisyn Kelley, Payton McClain and Flora Sherman, all set to arrive for the 2027-28 season.

McClain is the headliner on paper. The Ohio native is a five-star prospect and the No. 11 recruit nationally, with a 2026 national vault championship and two perfect 10.0 scores already on her résumé. Kelley finished third in the all-around at the 2026 Development Program National Championships and swept vault, bars, beam and the all-around at the Michigan state meet. Sherman, a four-star recruit from Arizona, won her state all-around title and finished second on floor at nationals.

“Addisyn, Flora and Payton are difference makers who will instantly help elevate Nebraska Gymnastics,” Jones said. “They bring dynamic gymnastics, competitive drive and contagious energy that Husker Nation will love. Their belief in our vision and trust in our staff will help us build on the foundation we’ve established and carry the momentum of this new era forward. This is a big moment for our program, and we can’t wait to see the impact they make as Huskers.”

5. Men’s gymnastics goes international

Nebraska men’s gymnastics only signed one athlete this week but Chuck Chmelka went a long way to find him.

Stylianos Vasiliades will come to Lincoln from Nicosia, Cyprus, where he has built an impressive résumé on still rings. Vasiliades finished second on rings at the 2024 World U18 Gymnasiade and later won the Pancyprian national all-around title along with titles on rings, parallel bars and high bar.

“We are so excited and honored to have an outstanding Still Rings athlete from the country of Cyprus attend and compete for our university,” Chmelka said. “Our highest priority during the recruitment process has been on the apparatus of still rings, and we signed a good one! He will bring not only a great ring score to our team but an international flavor to our team.”

6. Rifle adds three accomplished juniors

Richard Clark signed Lilli Blackman, Kinzey Williams and Naya Talarico for 2027-28, and all three arrive in Lincoln with significant Junior Olympic and national-level experience.

Blackman won the U18 air rifle title at the 2026 Junior Olympics. Williams took silver in the same event in 2025 and has piled up state and Junior Olympic qualifier wins in Pennsylvania. Talarico, meanwhile, has competed with the nationally ranked Gallatin Valley Sharpshooters and finished second in U18 smallbore at the USA Shooting Nationals.

“This recruiting class, I think, is going to be something really special,” Clark said. “All three of our signees have an incredible work ethic and a drive to compete amongst the best of the best and have shown incredible success in the junior ranks. We are excited to see them step into the Scarlet and Cream and continue their amazing work!”

7. Bowling gets its first 2027 addition

Nebraska bowling started its class with Candace Van Tine, a two-handed bowler from Spokane, Washington. Van Tine is already a 2027 Team USA Futures Team member and finished second in the U16 girls division at Junior Gold this year after taking third in U15 in 2025. She is also a four-time undefeated Washington State Pepsi champion and has collected 16 Storm Youth Championships medals.

And after the much longer “Why Nebraska?” answers scattered throughout signing week, Van Tine gave us perhaps the most efficient one.

“I loved the people, the coaches and the campus,” she said.

Fair enough.

8. Soccer signs a very large class

We’ll finish this week’s expanded Friday Five with the largest signing group of the week.

John Walker and Nebraska soccer signed eight players for 2027: Remy Brawner, Cooper Dally, Maddie Debro, Peyton Gillis, Mia Martin, Kat Stalin, Ansley Throener and Savanna Varbanov. The class covers nearly every area of the field and includes two Nebraskans.

Dally helped Marian win the 2026 Class A state championship and earned first-team Super-State honors. Throener had an absurd junior season at Lincoln Southwest, scoring a Nebraska all-class record 59 goals on her way to becoming the 2026 Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year.

There is plenty of talent coming from outside the state, too. Gillis is rated the No. 7 goalkeeper nationally by TopDrawerSoccer, while Stalin already has international experience after representing Indonesia at age 15.

Walker sees the variety as the strength of the group.

“It is a talented group covering most positions on the field,” Head Coach John Walker said. “There is a nice combination of athleticism, soccer playing ability, and strong competitive play. We have an excellent returning core of players and feel that with the addition of the recruiting class, we should have a strong team for 2027.”

And there you have it: the Friday Five that made it all the way to eight.

Signing week is always a strange exercise because many of these athletes are still months — or in some cases more than a year — from actually competing for Nebraska. There is plenty that can change between now and then, but it’s still a bit fun to dive into the signees as they stand now.