Gulf Shores, Ala. – LSU Beach Volleyball players Gabi Bailey and Parker Bracken have earned the honor of AVCA First Team All-American.
The pair has played every match of the 2025 season together and has an overall record of 26-6. Bailey and Bracken have showcased that they are one of the best pairs in the country with AVCA Top 20 wins against UCLA, LMU, USC, Texas, California, Arizona State, Hawaii, and Grand Canyon while also earning CCSA Co-Pair of the Year as well as a spot on the CCSA All-Conference Team. The pairs have also earned CCSA Pair of the Week three separate times in the 2025 season.
“Couldn’t be more proud of Gabi and Parker,” said head coach Russell Brock. “First Team for both of them is not an easy accomplishment. It really speaks a lot to how impressive they’ve been in the sand this year. That success doesn’t just happen either. They’ve made great investments in their training in the sand, their weight room commitment, their recovery, and obviously in their consistently dominant play. We already know that they deserved recognition as we look at the history of our program. This honor really solidifies their place as one of the best 1’s pairs to have ever put on the Sandy Tig uniform. Really happy for them.”
Bailey, a grad student, and Bracken, a senior, are not new faces for the Tigers. Gabi Bailey is a four-year starter from the College of Charleston, where she is the sixth all-time leader in serving, tied for seventh for aces in a single season (44,2021) and single-season aces per set (0.39, 2021). In 2024, her first year with the Tigers, Bailey played only on Court 1 and was named AVCA Second Team All-American and achieved five Top-20 victories with wins against California, Georgia State, South Carolina, and GCU.
Bracken is no stranger to success in her time as a Sandy Tig. In her freshman season, she earned a spot on the CCSA All-Freshman Team and earned AVCA Top Flight honors with partner Kylie Deberg on Court 2. In the 2023 season, Bracken went 28-10 overall with partner Grace Seits on Court 2 and had top 20 wins against TCU, FSU, FAU, Hawaii, Georgia State, and Washington. Bracken also earned a spot on the CCSA All-Tournament Team with Seits on Court 2 in 2023. In her 2024 season campaign, Bracken added multiple accolades to her resume. She made the 2024 NCAA All-Tournament team, CCSA Pair of the Year with partner Reilly Allred, CCSA All-Tournament Team, and CCSA Pair of the Week. To top it all off, Bracken earned her 100th win as a Sandy Tig with a court win over Texas at the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida. Bracken is one of only three players to earn 100 wins in an LSU uniform – Claire Coppola at 121 and Kristen Nuss at 139.