GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imagine if the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, born in 540 BC, had lived in the age of social media. Heraclitus has a famous quote or two attached to his credit that continue to influence in 2025.

Here is perhaps his most famous one: “The only constant in life is change.”

We undoubtedly know what would have happened on the morning old bearded Heraclitus woke up on his bed of straw, popped open his laptop and shared the message with the world on X.

At least one Gators volleyball fan would have fired back: “You’re an idiot Hagryphus (which is actually a dinosaur, but you know how these mistakes happen when firing off angry posts). You don’t know anything. Mary Wise has been Florida’s volleyball coach since the Bush Administration (yeah, the first George Bush). You, sir, are an idiot.”

If Heraclitus were still among us, he could have shot back his own zinger six months ago when Ryan Theis became the first head coach of the Gators other than Wise since 1991. Theis, after 11 seasons as head coach at Marquette, returned to UF to replace his former boss.

And on Friday night in Lincoln, Neb., Theis makes his debut when the No. 16 Gators face No. 6 Stanford in the AVCA First Serve Showcase. Coincidentally, Theis’ first game as Florida’s head coach comes against the program that Wise faced in her final match, a loss to the Cardinal in last season’s NCAA Tournament.

This is the third time in his career that Theis has taken over a program with the task of making it his own. He did it at Ohio University in 2008 and at Marquette in 2014. He won big at both schools, earning an opportunity to return to Florida when Wise retired in February.

The Gators arrived in Nebraska late Wednesday and practiced at the University of Nebraska on Thursday. They don’t play until Friday night at 9 ET, so Theis is eager to see what the Gators can do.

“I found that the first weekend, if you can be low error, you’ve got a chance to win,” Theis said. “I would assume Stanford is not going to give us much. They play pretty clean volleyball. If you are giving away 10, 11 points a set, it’s just really tough to win.”

Theis has reshaped the roster over the past six months, partly due to natural attrition, partly to necessity.

 

Florida opens the season with 13 freshmen and sophomores on its 17-player roster. The Gators have a solid core with All-American setter Alexis Stucky back and 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year middle blocker Jaela Auguste, a formidable presence at the net. The Gators have three seniors in liberos Emily Canaan and Emerson Hoyle (injured), and middle blocker Amaya Thomas (injured). It’s a team that will rely on young outside hitters Kira Hutson, Lauren Harden, Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin to take the next step in their development and boost the offensive attack. Sophomore setter Taylor Parks had a strong rookie season, and the Gators signed three freshmen: De’Andrea McMillian (injured), Lily Hayes and Milica Vidačić from Serbia.

“I hope this group can take this season as a bunch of underclassmen and build on it,” he said. “We’ve got some physicality. We’ve got good length above the net. We’re going to block some balls. And I actually think we can pass it pretty well. We have yet to see if we can serve it well against opponents. That takes a couple of matches to see if we’re a good serving team or a bad serving team.”

Theis worked overtime to build his first UF team during a period of constant change, including the start of the revenue-sharing era in college athletics and the continued growth of NIL (name, image and likeness) and transfer-portal implications.

 

“For these guys to go through a transition and coaching change in the midst of contract negotiations, NIL, it’s a lot,” Theis said. “So, the biggest thing is just trying to create some sense of normalcy, a safe space, almost, for what is going on out there.

“All of them are in this world of peril, and I’m just trying to normalize it and make being a Florida Gator the priority. I want people who want to be here and play the Gator Way and who play for the uniform. That’s what we’re going for, and I hope it’s resonating.”

 

Theis took over a team he knew was losing key contributors Elli McKissock, AC Fitzpatrick and Isabel Martin, but there remained uncertainty about the return of All-American outside hitter Kennedy Martin. The 2024 AVCA Southeast Region Player of the Year announced in May that she was transferring to Penn State, leaving a gaping hole.

 

Once Martin’s decision became final – and graduate transfer Gabrielle Essix landed at Baylor –  Theis had a better idea of what he had to work with. He began to see a team bond deeper over the summer when the Gators took an overseas trip and played several exhibition matches.

“Once we left for Europe, these are the 17 people,” Theis said. “This is the preparation now for next season. Spring was about trying to build trust and solidify the roster with the transfer portal in the new world. When it was Europe time, ‘ok, let’s go do this.’ I’m very thankful for that trip. I think that was a big part of hopefully some success this fall.”

Of course, regardless of where Theis went or whom he spoke to, he heard Wise’s name. The winningest female coach in the history of the sport – and fourth overall – Wise built the Gators into a national program over her 34 seasons.

 

She is one of college volleyball’s most recognizable figures and top ambassadors. ESPN announced recently that Wise has joined the network as a commentator.

Theis was on Wise’s staff as a young assistant for two seasons in the late 2000s, and she made a visit to a spring practice not long after he got here. She made a return visit in preseason camp as the program prepared for its first campaign without her since the 47-year-old Theis was a 12-year-old kid growing up in Wisconsin.

 

He is now the boss. Wise is the legend.

“She’s going to be around our team. We’re OK with that. We’re just trying to normalize it,” Theis said. “They love seeing her and giving her a hug. She cares about them, but she knows she has to keep some distance since she’s not the coach anymore.

 

“I think that part of the transition is actually really easy. Mary is going to handle that the right way. I’m going to handle it the right way. There are so many great Mary stories that I never mind it coming up, whether they are funny ones or lessons learned. I love Mary and I’m thankful she is still around and wants to try to help the program any way she can.”

The Ryan Theis era is officially here. Heraclitus, wherever he is, can post it without fear of attack.