Auguste Named SEC Freshman of the Year; Four Gators Earn SEC Honors

Kennedy Martin, Elli McKissock, Jaela Auguste and Taylor Parks tabbed to All-SEC Teams.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida volleyball received one major award and placed four student-athletes on an All-SEC Conference Team, as the league announced its 2024 postseason awards on Sunday.

Florida 2024 SEC Postseason Awards

SEC Freshman of the Year:

Jaela Auguste

All-SEC First Team:

Kennedy Martin

All-SEC Second Team:

Elli McKissock & Jaela Auguste

SEC All-Freshman Team:

Jaela Auguste & Taylor Parks

Jaela Auguste becomes the seventh Gator overall and first since Alexis Stucky in the 2022 season to be named SEC Freshman of the Year. The Spring, Tex. native also earned a spot the All-SEC Second and SEC All-Freshman Teams.

Following her historic 2024 campaign, Kennedy Martin was awarded All-SEC First Team. It marks the third All-SEC postseason honor of her career, as she was named to the All-SEC Team and the SEC All-Freshman team a season ago. The Fort Mill, SC native also received 2024 Preseason All-SEC Team accolades.

After missing seven matches in the beginning of the season due to an ankle injury and only playing in 76 percent of Florida’s 105 sets, she currently ranks second in the nation for points per set (6.13) and for kills for set (5.43). In SEC matches alone, her 6.36 points per set and 5.66 kills per set rank No. 1, while her 0.39 aces per set sits fourth. Furthermore, she has recorded double-digit kills in every match played wearing the Orange and Blue (50 matches).

Elli McKissock joins Auguste on the All-SEC Second Team, while Taylor Parks lands a spot next to her on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
This is the second honor for McKissock, as she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2020.

Parks grabbed her first postseason conference honor for her 2024 campaign. The Clearwater, Fla. native was named SEC Freshman of the Week four times in her first season wearing the Orange and Blue.
A breakdown of each honorees 2024 bios are below:

Jaela Auguste

* Currently ranks 14th overall in the nation with her .409 average hitting percentage and her .380 average hitting percentage in conference matches only sits seventh in the SEC
* 2024 SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11
* Has started in 26 matches and has led Florida in blocking in 15
* Has posted double-digits kills in five matches
* Registered a career-high .733 hitting percentage (12-1-15) against Ohio State on Sept. 8 and has recorded four matches with a hitting clip between .300 -.399, four between .400 -.499, two between .500 -.599 and three between .600 -.699 when recording 10 or more attempts
* She also finished with a career-high 12 kills and 14 points against Ohio State
* Tied her career-high seven blocks in Florida’s win over Mississippi State on Oct. 11
* Made her collegiate-debut in Florida’s win over Colorado State on Aug. 30, posting five blocks and finishing with four kills
Kennedy Martin

* One of 14 semifinalists for AVCA’s 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award presented by Nike Volleyball
* AVCA National Division I Player of the Week on Oct. 29, 2024
* 2024 SEC Player of the Week on Oct. 28 and Nov. 11
* 2024 SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28 & Nov. 11 and Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 4, Oct. 21, Nov. 18 and Nov. 25
* Martin becomes the first Gator in program history to earn a share of the SEC Offensive Player of the Week award for six-consecutive weeks and is the only player in program history to earn SEC Offensive weekly accolades six times in a single season.
* 2024 Preseason All-SEC Team
* Has seen action and started in 21 matches
* Has led Florida in kills 20 times, 20 times in points, six times in aces and four times in blocking
* Recorded a program-high 32 kills in Florida’s comeback win at Missouri on Nov. 15 to set the school record for most individual kills in a single-match.
* Has recorded four double-double matches
* Registered her fourth double-double match of the season after recording 27 kills and a season-high 11 digs against Georgia on Nov. 30
* Tallied back-to-back double-double matches, finishing with 31 kills and 10 digs at Auburn on Nov. 20 before recording 29 kills and 10 digs against UCF on Nov. 23
* Earned her first double-double of the season with 31 kills and 10 digs on Oct. 30 at Arkansas.
* Registered a season-high 11 digs in Florida’s last regular-season matchup at Georiga on Nov. 30, while adding 27 kills and six blocks to finish with 30.0 points and a .412 hitting clip
* Dropped five aces to tie her career-high in Florida’s sweep at Texas A&M on Oct. 18 and finished with 17 kills, six blocks, four digs and one assist.
* Posted a season-high .568 hitting percentage in Florida’s season opener against Colorado State on Aug. 30 and led Florida in kills (25) and points (30.5), while also recording a season-high seven blocks, five digs and one ace
* Has hit between .300-.399 ten times this season, four times between .400-.499 and five times above .500
* Has finished with 30+ kills in four matches
* Has recorded 31 kills three times during a four-set match to mark the most kills recorded by a Florida player in four sets. Former Gator Aury Cruz recorded against Nebraska on December 8, 2001 in Florida’s Final Four match, which went into five sets. Cruz’s recorded 31 kills twice in her career when rally scoring went to 30 points
Elli McKissock

* 2024 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 4
* Has played in every match as the starting Libero, leading the backcourt in 27 of Florida’s 28 matches
* Ranks 2nd for career digs (2,049), 9th for career aces (138) and 21st for career assists (522) in Program history
* Recorded her 2,000th-career dig during the second set of Florida’s comeback win against then-No. 25 Missouri on Nov. 15, becoming just the second Gator in program history to reach the milestone
* Currently ranks third in conference play for digs per set (4.43), while her season average of 0.34 aces per set sits seventh in the league
* Tied her career-high 31 digs in the Gators road win over Auburn on Nov. 20, recording 21 in two sets
* She has finished with double-digit digs 23 times, having 20 or more digs in six matches
* Has led Florida in aces seven times
* Set a career-high five aces after to earn a career-high five points in Florida’s win over Alabama State on Sept. 12
* Recorded a season-high eight assists against Michigan State on Sept. 1 and added 18 digs and two aces to her stat line
Taylor Parks

* Four-time 2024 SEC Freshman of the Week (Nov. 11 & 25, Oct. 28 and Sept. 2)
* Has played in 27 matches and started in 16
* Totaled 30 or more assists in 12 matches
* Has led Florida in assists 20 times and in aces nine times
* Posted three double-double matches
* Tallied her third double-double of her career in the Gators win against Ole Miss on Nov. 3 after tallying 48 assists and 10 digs
* Recorded her second double-double in Florida’s win against then-No. 18 Florida State on Sept. 17 after totaling a career-high 56 assists and 10 digs, while dropping a career-high four aces
* Earned her first double-double as a Gator against South Florida on Sept. 6 after finishing with 46 assists and a career-high 13 digs
* Registered 49 assists to tie her career best for a three-set match after subbing into the second set of Florida’s 3-1 comeback win against Arkansas (10/30).
* Helped the Gators post a .444 team hitting percentage in Florida’s 3-1 comeback win against Tennessee on Oct. 25. Entering the second set in the setter position, Parks dished out 40 assists, seven digs and one block, while also tying her career-high four kills
* Scored a career-high 7.5 points in win against Northern Colorado on Aug. 31 and finished with 36 assists, four kills and three aces
* Made first-collegiate start in win over Colorado State on Aug. 30 and posted 44 assists, three aces, four digs, three kills and one block assist in the win
* Currently ranks 19th for career assists in Program history with 794
2024 All-SEC Award Winners
Player of the Year: Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky

Libero of the Year: Maya Sands, Missouri

Newcomer of the Year: Mychael Vernon, Missouri

Freshman of the Year: Jaela Auguste, Florida

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Cammy Niesen, Ole Miss

Coach of the Year: Craig Skinner, Kentucky

The All-SEC First Team consists of 16 student-athletes, followed by the All-SEC Second Team with 10 representatives and the All-Freshman Team with seven. All awards were chosen by the league’s head coaches, and no ties were broken.

All-SEC First Team
Kennedy Martin, Florida

Sophie Fischer, Georgia

Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky

Emma Grome, Kentucky

Jurnee Robinson, LSU

Nia Washington, Ole Miss

Jordan Iliff, Missouri

Maya Sands, Missouri

Mychael Vernon, Missouri

Alexis Shelton, Oklahoma

Riley Whitesides, South Carolina

Nina Cajic, Tennessee