New Longhorn of the Week: Addy Gaido

This week we're highlighting freshman OPP Addison (Addy) Gaido as the New Longhorn of the Week. Another local kid, she went to Georgetown High School just 30 minutes north of UT. She's coming off a high school season where she led her team to a final four run in the State 5A Division 2 playoffs with a season-long 4.6 Kills/Set and 0.324 Hitting Percentage. Addy also played on the same club team as last week's New Longhorn of the Week, Callie Krueger, as the duo will remain teammates moving from Austin Skyline Juniors to the University of Texas.

Unlike her teammate Callie though, Addy didn't always have her sights set on becoming a Longhorn. In fact, most of her family went to A&M. She grew up attending Texas volleyball games, but said it always felt distant to her until her recruiting process began. It seems that the turning point for her was attending the team's summer camps. "I think once I had gone to the camps here and like, really experienced the program that it actually felt real to me and close to heart," adding that "meeting the girls and meeting the coaches and seeing how they care about each other, it was a big piece of it."

Coming into college, Addy was expecting the transition to be very difficult. Coming from a suburb that was a little bit "out there" to downtown Austin can be a big transition. Joining such a successful program with such high standards can be intimidating. In fact, she even joked that her future teammate Whitney Lauenstein was very intimidating, being such a great player and fellow OPP at both Nebraska and Texas. She had also selected a major, but didn't really know yet what she wanted out of the academic part of her time at Texas.

Fortunately though, all of those worries for Addy have gone a lot smoother than anticipated so far.

Once she got into the gym, Lauenstein became a lot less menacing to her and the two are now good friends, saying "Once you know Whitney, you know she's just a very likeable, talkative person, just the opposite of intimidating once you get to know her." Addy also feels she was eased into her new life, as both volleyball and classwork took a few weeks to launch into their full demands. And despite picking a Textiles & Apparel major as something that was completely new to her and was simply a last-minute choice, she has found a lot of joy in it and plans to stick with her choice. Oftentimes you don't discover what you actually want to do until you get to college, and it seems like Addy is going down that path.

Overall, she admits that "At first, yeah, it had its struggles, but I've had a lot of support out here. That has made it a lot easier than I ever imagined." The biggest part that remains difficult for her is time management, saying "Now, I've been busier than I ever have my entire life and just learning how to manage your time outside of your set schedule" is a skill she's still picking up on. All that stuff is true for any new college student, but I could only imagine how it's exacerbated by also being a high-achieving athlete.

When she does get some free time to herself though, she is sure to take advantage. Some of her favorite ways to spend downtime include laying out in the sun, being near any body of water, shopping, and hanging out with friends. She also considers herself a chef and a baker, mentioning some of her favorite foods to make are steaks with her Dad, vodka pasta, lettuce-wrapped tacos, chocolate chip cookies, tiramisu, and lemon bars. When she just wants to chill and put on some Netflix, you can find her watching her comfort show Grey's Anatomy, or Gossip Girl, Suits, or horror movies.

Addy comes off as a very genuine, team-focused person who is ready to contribute in any role that the staff asks of her. She's a great addition to the team and interestingly, the only OPP currently projected to be on the roster in 2026. Fans will get to see her in action throughout the spring schedule, starting with an Invitational in Houston on March 29th. Welcome home, Addy!