Houston athletics: What’s new, what to expect – The Cougar

For some UH teams, opening day is just weeks away. For others, a long offseason lies ahead with time to rebuild, retool and refocus.

This section highlights numerous Cougar programs, showcasing what they have accomplished and what’s to come this upcoming 2025–26 season.

Soccer: Camryn Alberigo

What’s new: Houston soccer is aiming for a fresh start under new coach Ben Williams, the 2024 Southland Conference Coach of the Year from Stephen F. Austin. Since joining the Big 12 in 2023, the Cougars have managed just three conference wins, but they have retooled their roster with 11 transfers who bring a wealth of experience with over 300 games played and a combined 190 career starts including 11 conference titles from their previous programs.

What to expect: Williams brings in four transfers who played under him last season, including 2024 Southland Conference defender of the year senior Ella Morgan and midfielder of the year junior Ava Shannon, giving Houston a core group already familiar with his system. The group will face their former team on Sept. 7 before opening Big 12 play against Cincinnati on Sept. 18.

Volleyball: Camryn Alberigo

What’s new: Houston volleyball is looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament after recording a losing record for the first time since 2019, coach David Rehr’s first with the program. Redshirt senior middle blocker Kellen Morin, who played a key role in Houston’s tournament runs in 2022 and 2023, is set to return from an ACL injury that sidelined her for the entirety of last season. Houston also welcomes nine newcomers, including four transfers and five freshmen, as the Cougars reshape their roster and culture ahead of the 2025 season.

What to expect: Houston will look to determine its next defensive anchor to replace three-time conference Libero of the Year Kate Georgiades. Senior Alana Torres-Rivera, who spent three seasons behind Georgiades, and freshman Tara Greenberry, a top-50 recruit from the class of 2025, are both in position to take on the role. With a mix of experienced returners and fresh talent, the Cougars are aiming to climb back into Big 12 contention.

Tennis: Michael Carrara

What’s new: Houston tennis has won only one Big 12 conference match and is coming off a last-place finish in the Big 12. Coach Katarina Adamovic will seek the later stages of the program rebuild. Adamovic wasted no time in utilizing the transfer portal, welcoming the additions of junior Petja Drame from FIU and senior Chems Doha Zeghlouli from South Alabama. Additionally, she tagged UT Tyler’s coach Chris Wootton as an assistant, along with Santa Strombacha as a graduate assistant, fresh off her playing career.

What to expect: Adamovic plans to use Houston’s first conference win, a 4-2 win over Cincinnati in its 2025 home finale which broke a 12-match losing streak, as a key stepping stone towards improving its win totals across all match stages. 

Swim and dive: Alejandro Compean

What’s new: Houston swimming & diving is coming off its most points tallied (16) at an NCAA Championships appearance since 2010 and a third-place finish at the Big 12 swimming and diving championships. Looking to close the gap nationally and in-conference, head coach Tanica Jamison has added two international recruits in freshmen Cansu Canki, from Istanbul, Turkey, and Isabella Tramontana from Vila Velha, Brazil. The Cougars also welcome sophomore transfer Alexia Duncan from the University of Utah. 

What to expect: Jamison, entering her fifth year at the helm, has kept Houston in contention for a Big 12 swimming & diving title, with second and third-place finishes the past two seasons. Despite strong individual results, improved relay performances could be key to Houston capturing its first Big 12 championship.

Golf: Ashton Grissom

What’s new: Houston men’s golf wrapped up its season at the Urbana Regional, which was the 11th NCAA regional under head golf director Jonathan Dismuke, who is now entering his 17th season at UH. The Cougars have been aggressive this offseason, signing junior Enrique Karg, who has two years of eligibility remaining and played for Utah State, and senior Kevin An who competed for Oral Roberts for the last two seasons. Dominic Green also joins the roster for his redshirt freshman season and freshmen Matt Pawly, Jakub Janda and Jayk Altic will play their first seasons as Cougars.

What to expect: Houston faces an important offseason with the loss of its leader, Wolfgang Glawe, who graduated in the spring. The Cougars finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference this season and have already made two transfer portal moves in preparation for next season. Without Glawe and another senior Laurenz Schiergen, a pair of returning Cougars, redshirt junior Hudson Weibel and junior Chi Chun Chen, will see increased roles this upcoming season. Houston will have a chance to climb the conference standings this season, but with the loss of important seniors and bringing in new freshmen and transfers will be a difficult task to compete with young talent and new faces. 

What’s new: Houston women’s golf finished its 2024-25 season at the Columbus Regional, where it narrowly missed a team spot to the NCAA Championships. However, junior Moa Svedenskiöld qualified for the individual championships and was just the third Cougar in program history to qualify. Looking forward to next season, associate head coach Daniel Park received national recognition by being named the international Palmer Cup assistant coach. The Cougars also welcome new associate head coach Cabe Waters to the staff after previously coaching at Limestone, Georgia Southern and Missouri. With the season ending and three seniors on the roster, expect Houston to reload with young talent for the future.

What to expect: Houston women’s golf is faced with the loss of redshirt senior Brooke Morales and senior Hyeonji Kang. The Cougars will have to make some moves in the transfer portal to rebuild their roster for the start of next season. Even with losing some key players, Houston still has a very strong core of veteran golfers for this upcoming season. Senior Natalie Saint Germain, senior Alexa Saldaña, junior Maelynn Kim and Svedenskiöld were all vitally important to their success last season. With the addition of some key pieces out of high school or the transfer portal and with the leadership of the upperclassmen, expect Houston women’s golf to improve this season in the Big 12.

Baseball: Michael Carrara

What’s new: Houston baseball, coming off a 30-25 overall campaign in its first Big 12 tournament appearance, looks to improve its stance in the conference and better its resume in coach Todd Whitting’s final season on his current contract. While athletic director Eddie Nuñez issued a statement declaring his support for the program with the implied condition of it being a prove-it year for him, Whitting welcomed senior transfer catcher Dylan Maxcey from Texas Tech to satisfy depth at the backstop, and the return of the team’s offensive triple crown holder in outfielder Xavier Perez for his redshirt junior season. Additionally, with the departure of pitching coach Woody Williams, Whitting tagged coach Matt Gardner, who held 12 years of experience as an assistant at Texas Tech, including four trips to Omaha, to fulfill the role. 

What to expect: With an influx of program resources, the Cougars, in order to clinch their first NCAA tournament bid since 2018, will look to elevate their series win totals over the top half of the conference, while improving team metrics both offensively and defensively and maintaining the health of their roster. 

Softball: Camryn Alberigo

What’s new: Chrissy Schoonmaker, the 2022 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year with George Washington University, looks to elevate a Houston Softball program that has won eight Big 12 games since joining the conference in 2023.

What to expect: Houston will rely on the transfer portal to help reestablish its culture under Schoonmaker as the program seeks to bounce back from a challenging season. In the Big 12, the Cougars finished second-to-last in fielding, last in pitching, recording a league-worst 5.37 ERA and ranked eighth in hitting. Offensively, the departure of two-way star Brooke Wells, the team leader in hits and home runs, leaves a major hole in the lineup.

Track & Field: Ashton Grissom

What’s new: Beginning in the fall, a new House vs NCAA settlement goes into effect, which limits the roster cap to 45 athletes. With the new limitation in roster size, coach Carl Lewis and staff are faced with a new challenge and will have to strategically assemble the roster for the upcoming season. New horizontal jumps coach Jim VanHootegem joined the Cougars in June and is a three-time National Assistant Coach of the Year and previously coached at Texas A&M and Oklahoma. 

What to expect: On the men’s side, sophomore Cayden Broadnax had a breakout season, winning the Big 12 title in the 100-meter with a 10.15. Freshman Germain Smith-Mata followed closely, clocking a 10.18 and becoming one of four freshmen to qualify for regionals. Sophomore Antrea Mita tied the NCAA’s second-best high jump last season at 2.21m and was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week. After finishing third in the Big 12, with key returners and Lewis’ leadership, the Cougars are poised for further improvement this season.The 2025 women’s team featured 33 freshmen and, for the first time since 2017, didn’t qualify any athletes for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Now with more experience and rising young talent, Houston is aiming to compete with nationally ranked programs.

On the men’s side, sophomore Cayden Broadnax had a breakout season, winning the Big 12 title in the 100-meter with a 10.15. Freshman Germain Smith-Mata followed closely, clocking a 10.18 and becoming one of four freshmen to qualify for regionals. Sophomore Antrea Mita tied the NCAA’s second-best high jump last season at 2.21m and was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week. After finishing third in the Big 12, with key returners and Lewis’ leadership, the Cougars are poised for further improvement this season.

Cross Country: Alejandro Compean

What’s new: Kyle Gibson, entering his third year as head coach, looks to get Houston cross country in the top 10 on both the men and women’s sides. Houston concluded its 2024 season at the NCAA South Central Region Championships, with the men’s team finishing 13th overall in the 10-kilometer, and the women earning a 15th place finish in the 6-kilometer.

What to expect: If the men’s side is to ascend in 2025, it will be without standout senior Branch Cox, its top performer at the 2024 Big 12 Championships, who graduated and spent the previous two seasons with the program.

For the women, Houston returns 13 freshmen, including Cadence Patterson, who was their top finisher at the 2024 NCAA South Central Regional.

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