CHICAGO – If there is one conference that is loaded with stars in women’s college volleyball, it is the Big Ten.

The Big Ten is already the best volleyball conference in the region and has become even stronger with the addition of Washington, UCLA, Oregon and USC.

With such a large field, you might think it would be difficult to identify the conference’s best players. Eighteen student-athletes were recognized ahead of the season, including three unanimous nominations: Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez and Merritt Beason and Penn State’s Jess Mruzik.

Let’s take a look at the preseason All-Conference team:

Given the sport’s growing popularity, FOX Sports asked Big Ten digital anchor Emily Ehman if there was a player who had what it took to take viewership to the next level, similar to what Caitlin Clark did with women’s college basketball.

Ehman immediately responded with reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Sarah Franklin of Wisconsin.

“As a player, she’s an incredible outsider and can do everything really well,” Ehman said in an interview at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “She’s also just a bright spot and so much fun to be around. She lights up a room much like Caitlin Clark by always being willing to do all the media stuff. She stays as long as you need to tell her story, which is pretty inspiring too.”

Inspiring might even be an understatement.

Last season, the award winner underwent surgery due to blood clots related to quadrilateral space syndrome.

“Before the season started, Franklin was basically told that she would probably never be able to play volleyball again because they found blood clots in her legs,” Ehman explained. “The team was scheduled to leave for an overseas trip to Turkey two days later, but luckily that was discovered in time because they said if she got on the plane, she could have potentially died from the blood clots.”

“So she didn’t play all summer, had major surgery, recovered from that, somehow made it back to the first game in August and played every single game and had the best year of her career, won national player of the year and took the Badgers to the Final Four.”

As Ehman explained, Franklin rebounded in impressive fashion and was unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten first team and was named National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield believes Franklin’s star will continue to rise.

“You can see how humble she was and how driven she is to keep improving,” Sheffield said. “She doesn’t feel like she’s at the top yet. Then you get to train athletes who are doing bigger and better things and they want to keep pushing boundaries and climbing a new mountain.”

With more and more attention on her and the team, can Franklin take her game and the Badgers to the next level next season?

“She’s great with the media, she’s fun to watch, she’s great out there and she can hit insane angles on the court,” Ehman said. “She hits cut balls that go about 5 feet past the net. She’s just a rock star. So she’s definitely one of those players that can take the game to another level.”

“So yeah, I’d say our Caitlin Clark would be at least Sarah Franklin in the Big Ten.”

Franklin was touched by the praise and is happy to see the sport evolve. She spoke to FOX Sports about the influence she, her teammates and women’s volleyball are having on the next generation.

“It means so much and is such an honor to have people like us who can serve as role models for the younger generation,” Franklin said. “When we were growing up, volleyball wasn’t that big, but now you can see it on TV and to see that growth to this day is so impressive.”

“I just love it when little girls come up to us and say, ‘I want to be like you someday.’ It makes my day every time.”

Nebraska is another team that is always loaded with big names, and Ehman stressed that the Cornhuskers’ best player, Lexi Rodriguez, should not be underestimated.

“One player that doesn’t get talked about enough and who I think might be the best player out there is Lexi Rodriguez, a libero at Nebraska,” Ehman said. “Because she’s a libero, she doesn’t get as much attention, but she’s hands down one of the best college liberos I’ve ever seen.”

“She’s definitely a player that I can see potentially playing in the Olympics in 2028, if not after that. But she’s another one that’s just fun to watch.”

You can watch Franklin, Rodriguez and all the great stars play next season.

Don’t miss the big Women’s College Volleyball show on FOX and FS1 this Labor Day weekend.

Texas, Wisconsin, Stanford and Minnesota will participate in the exhibition and the games will take place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

• Sun., Sept. 1, 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX – Texas vs. Wisconsin
• Sun., Sept. 1, 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1 – Stanford vs. Minnesota
• Mon, Sept. 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET on FOX – Stanford vs. Wisconsin
• Mon, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 – Texas vs. Minnesota

Let the games begin!

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