Minnesota duo graduated high school early to get head start on Montana State volleyball career

BOZEMAN — Montana State is in the midst of its spring volleyball session, and the team already has a couple new faces on the roster: Teagan Jaynes and Elli Tufto. Both are freshmen from Minnesota who opted to graduate high school early to get their careers jump-started with the Blue and Gold.

Jaynes is a setter from Northfield, Minnesota, and Tufto is an outsider hitter from Prior Lake. Both were excited to get to Bozeman and join the team.

"Well, (the program) just brought it up, and I was like, 'Yeah, I’ll think about it.' And then I just realized that I was totally fine leaving my senior year, I didn’t really have anything else I needed to accomplish or anything, and I just wanted to get started out here," Jaynes explained.

"I really had to think about if I wanted to leave my friends, my family and school, which was really hard, but the opportunity, or like this chance, was really good," Tufto said.

The two had been on the recruiting radar of Montana State head coach Matt Houk for years. He spent nine seasons at the University of Minnesota prior to becoming the head coach at MSU in 2023, which is when he was first introduced to the pair.

"We saw them at tournaments when they were 12, 13, 14 years old and coming to camps, all that kind of stuff, and we actually recruited Teagan’s older sister to Minnesota for a while, so we also knew their family quite well," Houk said. "They were early, in terms of like, kids we wanted to pursue once we got to that ‘25 recruiting class."

Jaynes and Tufto had also known each other for years, as they played a year of club ball together back in Minnesota and went to high schools that frequently competed against one other.

Tufto even joked Jaynes' high school team always won.

But now the pair is reunited, and despite what can be a difficult adjustment of leaving home early and acclimating to college, what’s made it easier is the fact the two are in it together.

"It’s been really good," Tufto said. "I don’t know if I could do this on my own because we’re just scared little high schoolers coming in. The team’s been super welcoming and everything, but it’s been really nice to have somebody that is also going through it with you."

The benefits of a semester head start are seen through development, learning the playbook and meshing with their team before the intense schedule of the fall season.

"I think just learning all the plays, or just getting to know the players themselves, has been a good thing," Jaynes said.

"I’ve kind of changed my whole game, honestly. I’ve changed my footwork, my blocking, my passing, all these different things," Tufto explained of how the head start has been worth it.

According to Houk, the two have a high ceiling over the next few years representing Montana State.

"Teagan was one of the best pure ‘25 setters in that class," he said. "I think she’s got a chance to be one of the best setters to come through the Big Sky Conference.

"You saw (Tufto) flying around out there. The kid’s a good jumper, she’s whippy, she can put some real heat on the ball. She’s going to have a chance to really make some noise in this conference and eventually establish herself as one of the better outsides, as well."

Montana State hosts Providence for its home spring game in Shroyer Gymnasium on Saturday at 2 p.m.