Right about 11am on Monday, On3’s Talia Goodman reported that Marquette volleyball setter Isabela Haggard is entering the transfer portal.
The timing of that is fascinating, because at almost exactly the same time, Marquette hit publish on their press release announcing that Brazilian junior
national team setter Luanna Markus had signed with the Golden Eagles for the 2026 season.
Just my personal suspicion on this, but I suspect that Haggard’s entry to the portal is a long time coming, because obviously Tom Mendoza did not just call up Luanna Markus on Monday morning and ask if she wanted to sign with the team. We can be honest about this: There were bound to be roster aftershocks from Marquette’s coaching change after the 2024 season. Ryan Theis was hired by Florida in the middle of February, which means that Haggard as well as Mari King and Keira Schmidt enrolled for the spring semester nearly a month earlier and had started their time at MU with Theis as the head coach.
Then he left for Gainesville, and Tom Mendoza was officially announced as the new head coach in early March. It should not be a surprise to anyone that any of the six freshmen — the three who were already on campus and the three who arrived over the summer — have an interest in moving on since the coach that they committed to left Marquette. After all, Meghan Carroll and Malayah Long left Marquette in the wake of Theis’ departure after they redshirted in the 2024 season. We don’t know what Theis’ plan for Haggard was pitched as, and we don’t know what Mendoza’s plan for the future of Marquette is. If those two things aren’t in alignment, you can see how Haggard, who hails from Kentucky, might be interested in a different way to spend the next three seasons of her collegiate career.
Haggard was named the 2025 Big East Co-Freshman of the Year right before the conference tournament in late November, sharing the award with DePaul’s Kendall Timme. She was Marquette’s primary setter all season long, wrapping up the campaign at 9.32 assists per set, which was helped out a bit by a Marquette NCAA tournament record 55 assists in MU’s 3-2 loss to #2 seed Louisville in their second round match on Saturday. Her assist total was limited a little bit by averaging 2.40 digs per set — can’t make the assist on the second touch if you make the first touch, after all — and she chipped in a block every other set on average and 0.82 kills/set, too.
Let’s go to the MU press release for a little bit of a download on Markus:
Markus brings international experience and a winning pedigree to the Golden Eagles. She has been a key member of Brazil’s U19 National Team, earning recognition as one of the top young setters in the world. In 2024, Markus was named Best Setter at the U19 South American Championship, helping lead the national team to a first-place finish in the tournament. She also competed at the 2025 U19 World Championships, where Brazil placed eighth.
At the club level, Markus plays for Paulistano/Barueri Volleyball Club, one of Brazil’s premier programs. She guided her team to a second-place finish at the 2025 Paulista Championship, showcasing her leadership and playmaking ability against elite competition.
Marquette had previously announced the signings of two outside hitters and a middle blocker for their 2026 recruiting class, so adding Markus fits right into the profile of what you need for this group. As things stand right now, Markus has a pretty clear path to being MU’s starting setter on Opening Day next fall. The only other player listed as a setter on the roster for next year right now is Calli Kenny, and she’s actually listed as a setter/defensive specialist/right side hitter combination. That’s on top of the fact that she suffered a knee injury after less than a month of the season and spent a good chunk of the year on crutches and in a brace. Is she going to be ready to go next August? Hard to say right now, that’s for sure, and that’s how Markus has a clear path… at least right now. Who’s to say what Tom Mendoza and his staff do as far as the transfer portal themselves?
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