Florida A&M volleyball is going to the big dance.
The Rattlers are headed to the NCAA Division I Tournament to represent the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the 64-team bracket.
FAMU (14-16) will face the tournament’s overall third seed, Texas Longhorns (23-3), in the first round at 8 p.m. Eastern Time inside of Austin’s Gregory Gymnasium.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRattler volleyball fans can watch the match on ESPN+. Tickets to attend in person are available on the Texas Longhorns athletic events website.
The Florida A&M Rattlers celebrate a play during an NCAA volleyball game at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida.The rest of the quadrant, hosted by the Longhorns, is made up of Penn State and South Florida. Texas is the one-seed of the specific quadrant.
FAMU will play in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years: 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025. The Rattlers won the SWAC Tournament to earn the league’s automatic bid in all of those years.
Following opening their season 2-10 due to key injuries and graduations, the youthful Rattlers sparked a midseason surge en route to capturing another SWAC Volleyball Tournament title.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFAMU ended the regular season winning six of its final seven matches. Then, while hosting the SWAC Volleyball Tournament on campus, the Rattlers swept through the three-round postseason bracket, finishing it off by beating the Southern Jaguars 3-1 for the trophy on Nov. 23.
The Florida A&M Rattlers won the NCAA Southwestern Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. The Rattlers have won the SWAC in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.“Our goal every year is to make the NCAA Tournament,” FAMU head coach Gokhan Yilmaz told HBCU Gameday’s Vaughn Wilson.
“I’m glad we accomplished that — especially in a year where we didn’t start too strong. We had so many positions to fill and had to develop leadership on and off the court. But I’m very happy we’re in, and it’s great to be headed somewhere new.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEntering the national tournament, FAMU is led by middle blocker Farah Farooq, who is having an All-American caliber season.
She’s ranked first in the SWAC in hitting percentage, at .390, which also is 31st in Division I volleyball. The Houston native is 109th with 119 total blocks as she returns to her home state to face the Texas Longhorns.
FAMU’s other key players include setter Makenzie Taylor, the SWAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, outside hitter LaDonna Trantham, and outside hitter Sydney Whitfield.
The Rattlers departed Tallahassee for Austin on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Florida A&M at Texas
NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament First Round
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen: Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time
Where: Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN+
Tickets: Texas Longhorns Events
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida A&M volleyball to face Texas Longhorns in NCAA Tournament
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