Miami Gardens, Fla. – Following a successful 2025 campaign, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-Region honorees with St. Thomas University's Head Coach Whitney Battoe being named the Southeast Region Coach of the Year while Tayla Barnes and Payton Bertke were named to the All-Region Team.

Under the leadership of Battoe, the Bobcats went 27-5 overall, winning their fifth-straight Sun Conference Regular Season Title, fourth-straight Sun Conference Tournament Trophy and advancing to the NAIA National Championship Final Site for the third-straight season. The Bobcats ended their campaign with a .269 hitting percentage, fourth-best rate in the NAIA, while adding 2.31 blocks which sits 15th. The Bobcats made national noise on Saturday, Oct. 25 when they broke the NAIA Attendance Record for a Women's Volleyball Regular Season contest.

Barnes ends her career with All-Region accolades after leading the Bobcats at the net behind 120 total blocks on a 1.15 per-set rate which cracked the top-25 at 25th with 40 solo that sits 12th while adding 2.34 kills on a .310 hitting percentage. During her four years at St. Thomas, Barnes boasted 367 total blocks on a 0.99 per set average with 102 solo blocks on top of 2.13 kills per set on a .295 clip.

Bertke garners her third-straight All-Region nod after dishing out 10.45 assists which ranked ninth in the NAIA this fall on top of 2.12 digs per set and 12 double-doubles. She ends her third season as a Bobcats with 3,349 assists (10.70 per set), 662 digs (2.12 per set), 105 blocks (0.34 per set) and 92 service aces (0.29 per set).