SAN DIEGO — Junior libero/defensive specialist Reese Bates has been added to the 2025 San Diego volleyball roster as a transfer from Butler University, head coach Jennifer Petrie announced on Thursday evening.

Bates, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, spent the first two years of her college career with the Bulldogs, accumulating 219 digs, 33 service aces, 26 assists, a kill, and a block across 48 matches and 147 sets.

Most recently as a sophomore at Butler she appeared in 21 matches and 52 sets while recording 61 digs in 2024. She ranked fifth among her teammates with 13 service aces last year and set a new career-high with four service aces vs. Providence on October 13. She also earned a season-high nine digs vs. Seton Hall on October 18.

As a freshman in 2023 she competed 26 matches for the Bulldogs, playing in 95 sets. Bates posted 158 total digs and 23 assists that season and finished third on the team with 19 serving aces. She registered a season-high 13 digs at Providence on October 13, and was tied for most serving aces in a match by a Bulldog in 2023 with four vs. DePaul on October 21.

A four-year starter at Blue Valley Southwest High school in Overland Park, Bates' career prep statistics include more than 500 digs and 500 assists along with a 97 percent serving rate that featured more than 100 career aces. She earned a wide array of accolades in high school,  including being named to the KC Metro Sports All-Star Team and being chosen as the Hyvee-Spectrum Athlete of the Week. Bates was a four-time AVCA Phenom selection, a four-time Top 100 Prep Volleyball honoree in Kansas, and a four-time All-Academic first team recipient in the state. On three occasions, she was part of the USAV Beach Open and participated in Kerri Walsh Jennings' first RAD Academy. In club play, Bates spent time with both Topeka Impact and the KC Power. 

In addition to her work on the court, Bates was also a four-year letterwinner in track and field in high school, leading her 4x400 relay team to the state meet.

Graduating with better than a 4.0 GPA, she earned National Honor Society and Chinese National Honor Society accolades, and was recognized as a 2023 Children's Mercy Sports Medicine Center Rising Star Award Honoree for demonstrating outstanding leadership qualities, setting and achieving goals, and making a special impact in the community.

Bates and the Toreros will begin their 2025 season in August.