New Longhorn of the Week: Callie Krueger

This week's New Longhorn of the Week is freshman Callie Krueger, the #1 Libero in the 2025 class according to PPV. A local kid, she went to Dripping Springs High School just 30 minutes outside of downtown Austin. This happens to be the same school as 2026 Texas commit and #1 overall player in the 2026 class OH Henley Anderson. Callie arrives at Texas coming off a season where the duo led their team to a 46-3 overall record and a first place finish in district with an undefeated record. Callie gets to join the Horns now, and the pair will reunite as teammates once Henley joins the team a year from now.

Growing up in the Austin area, the UT connections run deep for Callie and she always had her eye on becoming a Longhorn: "I did always have have dreams of being here one day, so once I started getting recruited by Texas it was a no brainer." Her grandpa played basketball at the University of Texas, so she was raised bleeding burnt orange. In fact, that was before the Frank Erwin center had been built, so Callie will get the opportunity to play her games in the same arena as her grandfather once played, Gregory gym. It's a full-circle moment for the freshman.

Even though it was such a natural fit to come Texas, that doesn't mean the transition is without its challenges, both on and off the court. There's been somewhat of a learning curve for Callie as the staff has made a lot of tweaks to her technique to bring her seamlessly into what they want in their gym. But she understands that's just a part of the process of developing and improving as a player, adding "We do a good job of creating that culture that it's okay to fail and learn from that." Coach Elliott seconds this and acknowledges this is just part of process, adding "We understand that players might take a brief step backward in terms of their skill development because we are working on new things."

Outside of these skill developments, Callie notes the nerves of what it's like to enter the practice gym of such a successful program for the first time. She watched a lot of Emma Halter throughout high school and looks up to her as a role model, so there were some nerves about how she'd fit in with Halter and all the rest of her new teammates. But that worry went away pretty quickly once she got to the gym, saying "Everyone's done a super good job of making me feel welcome."

I asked what her biggest strength is that she brings to the table, and she immediately mentioned communication. That's something I've heard from a lot of the defensive players on this team, and I think it speaks to the coaching staff's priorities in recruiting, especially for players in the back row. Callie seems to agree with this, saying "I feel like that's such a good skill to have in our position, because if you hear our gym, it's super loud all the time and that means that we're all doing our job."

Lastly, we talked briefly about life outside of school and volleyball. Being an Austin native, Callie already has some familiarity with the city, but it's still a new experience. For her, it's enough of a move that it's "still so new to me," but she enjoys the comfort of knowing her parents are just a quick drive away. She spent a lot of time in high school around Dripping Springs and going to the Domain, but moving into the city has allowed her convenience to new places, especially South Congress. One thing she's done a lot in her first couple of months on campus is finding brunch and lunch spots, and fortunately "that's really easy when you're downtown because there's like 900 of them, there's so many."

Fans will first get to see Callie in action at Texas' first spring match, which will be played at an Invitational in Houston on March 29th. Let's welcome her as a part of this strong defensive group this season and for years to come!