Maryland Volleyball Takes On Big Ten Media Day In Chicago
Hear from head coach Adam Hughes and student-athletes Sydney Bryant and Annika Sokol ahead of the 2026 season.
8/3/2026
CHICAGO — The Windy City hosted the 2026 Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on Monday as student-athletes and coaches from across college volleyball’s premier conference expressed their excitement for the upcoming season. Seniors Annika Sokol and Sydney Bryant joined head coach Adam Hughes ahead of his ninth season at the helm of Maryland volleyball.
“I’m excited to be here with two of our senior leaders,” Hughes said to open the day. “We’re coming off a very tough year last year, but I’m thankful that we have a new energy about us and a new vibe. We have the right goals and the right underdog mentality based on where we’ve been put in the pecking order of the conference.”
Hughes and his Terps aren’t worried about any outside noise or preseason chatter. The 2026 Maryland Terrapins are hungry to right the ship and bring the program back to where they all know it can be.
“I think what’s great about the vibe of our group is that it’s something we all share and are all excited about,” Sokol said. “When the whole team is on board, it makes it easier to push the narrative and believe in ourselves. We’re hungry for more this season, and it can be possible because it’s something we all believe in. We all want it, and that’s important in any program.”
With new additions to the coaching staff and a roster full of young talent, the Terps aren’t worried about previous seasons. Hughes reloaded his staff with the additions of assistant coaches Fran Bolletino and Michael Ma before bringing in six new freshmen to help elevate Maryland volleyball.
“We’re not trying to replicate the past,” Hughes said. “We’re trying to create a new future. We have a lot of depth now. We have a group of seniors that have been through it and want to leave this place better than they found it. When I hear the freshmen talk about how optimistic they are for this season, it makes me really optimistic for the year.”Adam Hughes
The energy and sanguinity for the 2026 season was a common talking point for the Terps at Big Ten Media Day, reverberating an excitement that’s existed within the Maryland locker room since the beginning of practice.
“This preseason, we’ve been operating with a ‘hungry dogs run faster’ mentality,” Bryant said. “We know how last season went, but we’re ready to move on. We’re ready to go do some things that people don’t necessarily expect.”
As team-oriented as a roster can be, both Sokol and Bryant spoke at length about the time the team has spent together creating goals for the upcoming season. They aren’t aspirations that’ll be shared on a public platform, but the kind that come to fruition when Big Ten play begins and the Terps are in the mix of the best conference in college volleyball.
“Our practices have been extremely competitive,” Bryant said. “Everyone’s going all out, and it’s exciting to see. Everybody’s going to be important this year. Everyone’s going to have their day.”
Big Ten Media Day was abuzz with chatter about the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament, which Indianapolis is set to host at the end of the regular season. When given the opportunity to speak about the growth of the sport and its platform, Hughes shared the expectation his Terps have for the beginning of postseason play.
“I’m really excited about the inaugural Big Ten Tournament this year,” Hughes said. “We expect to be in the Big Ten Tournament, and we want to be there for an extended period.”
With the beginning of the season fast approaching, the Terps were able to take in the Windy City sun, express the youthful exuberance of this season’s roster, and let Big Ten Network — and the rest of the conference — know that Maryland’s hungry for more in 2026.
