Ryla Jones announced her transfer from the Pitt Panthers to Penn State women’s volleyball ahead of the 2026 season, posting the news on her Instagram account Wednesday, Christmas Eve.

Jones, a 6-foot-2 rising junior middle blocker from Oxon Hill, Maryland, has two seasons of collegiate eligibility remaining. She will enroll in classes at Penn State in January, allowing her to participate in spring practices with the Nittany Lions, and build chemistry with new setters Alexis Stucky and Danielle Whitmire.

“I’m extremely blessed and excited to announce that I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at Penn State University!” Jones wrote on Instagram. “Huge thank you to the coaching staff for this opportunity to be a part of such an elite program. I can’t wait to be in Happy Valley! Luke 1:45”

Jones is the latest player with DMV roots to pick Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s program, as junior outside hitter Emmi Sellman and sophomore outside hitter Alexis Ewing also played club for Metro VBC. Jones and Sellman were club teammates and are now teammates once more.

Metro VBC alums Alexis Ewing, Emmi Sellman, and Ryla Jones caught up and posed for photos after @PennStateVBALL’s 3–1 loss to Pitt on Sept. 17 at Rec Hall. pic.twitter.com/74m3IcjDyt

— DigNittanyVolleyball (@DigNittany) September 22, 2025

Penn State’s 2027 middle blocker commit, Taylor Harrington, also hails from the DMV. Harrington is coming off a strong junior season for Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Jones played her high school volleyball for Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia, where she won three consecutive VISAA Division I state championships from 2021-2023 before enrolling a semester early at Pitt. She also played basketball in high school.

Jones was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2024 and earned AVCA East Coast region honorable mention as a sophomore. Jones has 222 kills, 202 total blocks, 34 digs, 20 assists, 2 aces, and .393 hitting percentage so far during her college career.

Here’s a great video the NCAA released this November, detailing Jones’ Indigenous heritage. She’s a member of the Cree tribe through her mother’s Canadian side of the family. Jones’ older sister, Rainelle Jones, starred at the University of Maryland, where she holds the career total-blocks record with 718, and is now playing professionally with the Columbus Fury of Major League Volleyball (MLV). Their younger sister, Renee Jones, is a rising sophomore opposite hitter at the University of Arizona.

Jones is the second player to join the Nittany Lions via the transfer portal this offseason, following Stucky’s decision on December 14th to play her final season in University Park after a decorated career with the Florida Gators. Schumacher-Cawley and her staff continue to show why they’re regarded so highly for their success recruiting out of the portal, filling key needs and developing those players well when they arrive on campus.

Jones is a dynamic attacker and consistently makes herself available for her setter, and Stucky is known to set her middles well. Jones is fast from pin to pin and can set out-of-system balls if needed.

Some of Jones’ areas for growth include fully closing out blocks more often and working on her hand placement. She joins a middle blocker group that features sophomore Gabrielle Nichols and incoming freshman Kendall Northern, who will enroll in classes this January alongside Penn State’s three other Class of 2026 signees.

Jones’ addition is a significant one for the Nittany Lions, as middle blockers Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp exhausted their collegiate volleyball eligibility in 2025, and Catherine Burke is headed to Wake Forest to continue her playing career after graduating from Penn State this May.

Jones will need to select a new jersey number at Penn State, as rising sophomore defensive specialist Lexi Gin currently wears No. 9, Jones’ number at Pitt, for the Nittany Lions. Jones was one of the top middle blockers available in the transfer portal this offseason.

Before Penn State