TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Four Florida A&M volleyball players have been tabbed to the Preseason All-SWAC Team, the conference office announced, as the defending back-to-back champion Rattlers look to pursue a third straight title in 2026.

Sophomore LaDonna Trantham earned Preseason All-SWAC First Team honors at outside/right side hitter, while junior Sydney Whitfield (outside/right side hitter), senior Farah Farooq (middle hitter/blocker) and junior Makenzie Taylor (setter) were each named to the Preseason Second Team.

The four selections reflect the depth of a Florida A&M roster that won the 2025 SWAC Tournament championship as the No. 8 seed and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

LADONNA TRANTHAM
Trantham heads into her second season in Tallahassee after a breakout freshman campaign that ended with her being named the 2025 SWAC Freshman of the Year. She was the only Rattler to play in all 116 sets across 31 matches last season, and she earned Second-Team All-SWAC and SWAC All-Tournament Team honors while helping Florida A&M win the tournament title over Jackson State, Prairie View A&M and Southern.

A three-time SWAC Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 17, Sept. 24 and Oct. 29), Trantham led the Rattlers in kills (336) and total attack attempts (1,018) and topped the SWAC in both points per set (3.32) and kills per set (2.91). She reached double-figure kills in 21 of 31 matches, including a season- and career-high 21-kill, 23-point performance at Alabama A&M on Nov. 21. She also posted 18 kills at Grambling State, 17 against Bethune-Cookman, 16 at Alcorn State, 16 against Texas Southern, and 15 apiece against Jacksonville, Jackson State and Bethune-Cookman.

Trantham also finished second on the team with 241 digs, one of just three Rattlers to surpass 200 for the season. She recorded double-digit digs 10 times, including a season-high 16 against both Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman, and totaled 44 digs across Florida A&M's three-match SWAC Tournament title run.

SYDNEY WHITFIELD
In Whitfield's first year as a Rattler, she started and appeared in 78 sets across 24 matches, helping lead Florida A&M to the SWAC championship.

Whitfield led the team with 27 service aces and ranked third on the roster with 199 kills and 3.04 points per set. She was named SWAC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 4 after strong outings against Grambling State, Alabama State and Alabama A&M, and she recorded at least one ace in 13 of her final 14 matches, including multiple aces in six straight contests down the stretch.

She reached double-figure kills 11 times, highlighted by a career-high 20 kills against Alabama State on Oct. 31. Whitfield also strung together five double-doubles in kills and digs during the season and posted a double-double in each of Florida A&M's three SWAC Tournament matches, averaging 13.3 kills and 11.7 digs during the championship run.

FARAH FAROOQ
Farooq has helped Florida A&M win back-to-back SWAC championships in 2024 and 2025. She earned All-SWAC Second Team and SWAC All-Tournament Team honors last season while also being named to the SWAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in both 2025 and 2026.

She played in 115 of a possible 116 sets across 31 matches and led the Rattlers in hitting percentage (.391), blocks (120), solo blocks (25), block assists (95) and blocks per set (1.04). Farooq topped the entire SWAC in hitting percentage and total blocks while ranking eighth in total points scored (355.5). She hit above .500 in eight matches, including a career-high .750 clip against Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 14 (12 kills on 16 attempts).

Farooq reached double-figure kills 11 times, with a career-high 19 kills against Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 7. Her career-high nine blocks came in matches against Maryland Eastern Shore and Queens (N.C.), and she posted seven total blocks in each of Florida A&M's three matches during the SWAC Tournament title run. She averaged 11.5 points per game on the season, with a career-high 21.5 points against Bethune-Cookman.

MAKENZIE TAYLOR
Taylor enters her junior season with 1,121 career assists after being named the 2025 SWAC Tournament MVP and earning her second straight SWAC All-Tournament Team selection. She has been a fixture in Florida A&M's back-to-back championship runs in 2024 and 2025 and is a three-time SWAC Player of the Week.

Taylor played in all 31 matches last season, averaging 44.0 assists, 10.7 digs and 3.0 kills during the SWAC Tournament, including a career-high 50 assists in the semifinal win over Alabama A&M. She surpassed the 1,000-career-assist mark against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 21 and finished the season fourth in the SWAC in total assists (693) and third in assists per set (6.24), both single-season career highs for the setter.

She recorded 40 or more assists in five matches, including twice during the SWAC Tournament, and added a career-high 20 service aces on the season, three of which came against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Oct. 26.