STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Volleyball’s Emma Burke earned 2025 Preseason All-WAC honors as the Western Athletic Conference announced its preseason recognitions on Friday.
Burke, a senior middle blocker, was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team for the second consecutive season ahead of the 2025 campaign. Amid a roster of many new faces, Burke will be a familiar one for both Texan nation and opponents. Last season, she was one of the premier players in the conference after anchoring Tarleton State’s defense and attack throughout the 2024 campaign.
The Godley, Texas, native, played in 29 matches and 113 sets last season, recording 206 kills, 118 blocks, 72 digs, 18 service aces, and three assists. Burke finished fifth in the WAC in total blocks (118) and sixth in blocks per set (1.04). She led Tarleton State with a .280 hitting percentage, ranking among the league’s top five. She tallied eight matches with double-digit kills and tied her career high of nine blocks against Seattle U on Oct. 3. Burke also posted a season-best .583 hitting percentage on eight kills against Alcorn State on Sept. 20.
Since arriving in Stephenville, Burke has established herself as one of the WAC’s most dominant middle blockers. Last season, she led the conference in hitting percentage (.402) and ranked third in total blocks (123), earning All-WAC Second Team honors. Her Tarleton State career includes numerous milestones, including eight matches with 10-plus kills in both her junior and sophomore seasons, as well as career highs of 15 kills, 18 points, and six service aces.
On Dec. 17, 2024, Tarleton State tabbed Jazymne Johnson as the next head volleyball coach. She will serve her first season as a collegiate head coach during the Texans 2025 campaign. The new era of Texan volleyball will begin Aug. 29 at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. The squad will play New Orleans, Louisiana and Texas Southern across three days in their first invitational of the season.
Below is a full list of WAC preseason award winners:
2025 WAC Preseason Player of the Year: Kennedi Knudsen, Utah Tech
2025 WAC Preseason Setter of the Year: Evalyn Chism, Utah Valley
2025 WAC Preseason Libero of the Year: Samantha Glenn, UT Arlington
2025 Preseason All-WAC Team:
- Eliana Posada, RS, California Baptist
- Emma Burke, MB, Tarleton State
- Samantha Glenn, L, UT Arlington
- Sophie Ocampo, OH, UT Arlington
- Kennedi Knudsen, OH, Utah Tech
- Sami Blackett, OH, Utah Valley
- Evalyn Chism, S, Utah Valley
- Avery Page, OH, Utah Valley
- Bella Wooden, MB, Utah Valley
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