Lexi Rodriguez may have just finished her rookie season of professional volleyball, but the Husker standout added a big exclamation point to her collegiate résumé on Tuesday as she became the third volleyball player to win the prestigious AAU James E. Sullivan Award.
The award is presented annually to the most exceptional athlete at the collegiate, Olympic, or other similarly elite level in the United States. Leadership, citizenship and sportsmanship in addition to athletic performance are all considered. Rodriguez is the 95th winner of the award, joining Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini and Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer as volleyball players to win the award.
The other finalists were Trey Augustine (Ice Hockey, Michigan State), Cooper Flagg (Basketball, Duke), Ashton Jeanty (Football, Boise State), Lee Kiefer (Fencing, USA) and Ilia Malinin (Figure Skating, USA). Former Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA, became the first two-time winner by taking home the award in both 2023 and 2024.
Rodriguez, a native of Sterling, Illinois, is the first Nebraska volleyball player to win the award and second Husker to win it, joining Rulon Gardner (wrestling, 2000) in the exclusive club. Former Husker volleyball players Kelsey Robinson, Mikaela Foecke (twice), Kelly Hunter and Annika Albrecht previously made the finalists list.
Rodriguez left Nebraska as the program’s career digs leader with 1,897. A four-year starter at libero, she annually coordinated one of the best defenses in college volleyball. Her list of accolades is extensive as she is a four-time AVCA All-American and All-Big Ten performer, a three-time Big ten Defensive Player of the Year and Academic All-American and the first libero to win an AVCA Region Player of the Year award. She was also a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year this season and a three-year team captain.
The Huskers went 118-19 during Rodriguez’s four seasons in the libero jersey, capturing a Big Ten title in each of the past two seasons. Rodriguez is beloved among the Husker fan base, growing into one of the most popular female athletes in college sports over the past few years.
Rodriguez just completed her rookie year with LOVB Omaha, who finished runner-up in the inaugural season of League One Volleyball. She spent her first season as a pro learning under another all-time Nebraska great in Justine Wong-Orantes. Despite not being a regular starter, Rodriguez was among seven first-team LOVB Icons, which is the league’s version of all-star recognition with fans accounting for 50% of the vote — a testament to Rodriguez’s popularity.
“I want to say 'thank you' to the whole state of Nebraska.
It is such an honor.” – @Alexis14Rod pic.twitter.com/145D9kHT2i
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) April 15, 2025
