BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Three Bethune-Cookman Volleyball student-athletes have been voted to the 2025 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Preseason Team announced Wednesday, Aug. 20, from the league office in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
After finishing last season in fourth place and advancing to the quarterfinals of the SWAC Tournament, the Cats were picked to finish third in this year's preseason poll. Picked to finish atop the standings was defending champion Florida A&M, followed by Jackson State to round out the top three.
 
Rylee Davis, Mecca Freeman and Ariel "AJ" Simmons have each been voted to the Preseason All-SWAC Second Team.
 
Davis, a 5-foot-5 senior defensive specialist/libero from San Antonio, Texas, is making her first-ever appearance on the All-SWAC Preseason team after finishing the 2024 campaign second on the team in digs (231) with an average of 2.16 digs per set. She set up 43 assists and served up 16 aces along with three kills from her libero position on the court. She had 11 matches with double-digit digs, securing a season-high 15 against Stetson (8/31) during the Bash at the Beach hosted by Bethune-Cookman.
 
Freeman is a 6-foot-3 outside hitter from Houston, Texas, and makes her way onto the preseason team for the first time as well. The rising senior ended the 2024 season fifth on the B-CU squad with 141 kills (1.70 per set) and pulled in 79 digs to go along with a team third-most 64 blocks (0.77 per set). Across the campaign, she recorded four matches with 10 kills or more, including 12 at Alabama State (11/3).
 
Simmons, a senior middle blocker from Miami, Florida, accumulated 111 kills and 51 blocks in her junior year, as she is also earning her first All-SWAC preseason recognition. On three separate occasions in 2024, Simmons – known to all as "AJ", racked up double-digit kills. One of her best matches for the season came against Portland (8/30) in the Bash at the Beach, where she tallied a .296 hitting performance with 10 kills, two digs and a block.
 
Kylee Owens (Prairie View A&M) was voted preseason Player of the Year. The preseason Blocker of the Year was Kaylen Hines (Alabama State); Dylan Hoskins (Florida A&M) was Libero of the Year; and Setter of the Year was Karys Dove (Jackson State).
 
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About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.

Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis. 

Women's competitions are offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.
 
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or visit the official website of the SWAC at www.swac.org.