Winthrop University volleyball head coach Heather Gearhart has announced the 2027 Signing Class. This class includes four student-athletes: Ellie Osowski, Milena Miladinovic, Anneliese Weber, and Aubrey Dumstorff.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this class and am so eager to officially welcome them to the Winthrop volleyball family,” said Gearhart. “First, they are all very driven and well-rounded individuals who are a great cultural fit for how we do things here off the court.”
“They are a high-achieving group on the court as well, and all have a chance to contribute as soon as they arrive on campus. This group contributes to all aspects of the game at a high level and are phenomenal competitors. They add great touch and control across the board with their first-contact abilities, and supplement that with physicality and athleticism in the second and third contacts. Aubrey and Anneliese will add a lot to our ball control and positively impact our ability to stay in system, and Ellie and Milena each will add a different type of physicality for us at the net. All of them are high-IQ players from great volleyball areas who will help the program continue to elevate our expectations,” added Gearhart
Ellie Osowski | Outside Hitter | 6’0 | Medina, Minn. | MN Select, Northern Lights
Osowski is a four-year varsity player at Wayzata High School and a three-year starter. She has earned AVCA All-Region honors, All-Conference honors three times, and All-State honors twice. At the club level, she was named an AAU 15 Open All-American and won national championships at AAU’s in 14 Open and USAV’s in 16 National. Academically, she holds a 3.95 GPA.
“I chose Winthrop because of the amazing coaching staff, the winning culture, how sweet and welcoming all the girls are, and the location,” said Osowski.
“I’m really looking forward to having Ellie officially join our program. She has great potential to develop into a well-rounded 6-rotation player for our program. She has a phenomenal arm and an ability to score out of system that can’t be taught. She is also developing into a complete backrow player to balance that and has a great court awareness and competitive drive. She has big goals off of the court as well and is a great fit for the values our team emphasizes,” stated Gearhart.
Milena Miladinovic | Middle Blocker | 6’3 | Houston, Texas | Houston Juniors
Miladinovic was a two-time Region Blocker of the Year at Stratford High School in Houston, Texas. She was named to the TGCA Volleyball All-Star team and the GHVCA postseason team, earned a spot on the AVCA All-America Watch List and AVCA All-Region Teams, and ranked among the top 10 in Texas in hitting percentage. Academically, she is a member of Key Club, HOSA, the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honors Society, and she serves as vice president of Women in STEM.
“I chose Winthrop for the diversity, team culture and coaching staff,” said Miladinovic. “Winthrop offered me an opportunity to get an education while playing the sport I love. I immediately felt that Winthrop’s team is a family that I want to be a part of.”
“I’m very excited for Milena to join the program early this spring as she’s got a tremendously high ceiling. She’s one of the more natural blockers I’ve seen at the club level in a long time, and she will add great physicality for us at the net. She is joining us from a high-level Texas volleyball scene and is used to competing against some of the best players in the country year-round. Off the court, she is incredibly driven academically and will fit in great with our culture of high-achieving student-athletes,” said Gearhart.
Anneliese Weber | Setter | 5’11 | Lake Orion, Mich. | Michigan Elite Volleyball Club, Legacy, Unified Volleyball Club
Weber was named the No. 4 setter in Michigan by Prep Dig and earned MHSSA All-Region and CHSL All-League honors in 2026. She was also named to the JVA Watch List on the club circuit. She is a team captain at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory, where she helped the program win Catholic League championships and District Championships in 2024 and 2025. She captained her club team from 2023 to 2026. Weber also won a varsity rowing state championship, placing first and second at States in 2024, and placed fourth at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Championship Regatta that year. Academically, she holds a 4.1 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, Dental Club and Athletes for Christ. She received the Academic Art Award in 2024.
“I chose Winthrop because the coaches were so welcoming and genuine, and I immediately felt comfortable with them,” said Weber. “When I visited campus, I loved the beautiful surroundings and, especially, how sweet and friendly the girls on the team were. They made me feel included right away, and I knew I wanted to be part of a team like that. I also loved how competitive the volleyball program is. Seeing players who push each other to be the best they can be both on and off the court shows me that Winthrop is my home away from home.”
“I’m excited to have Anneliese joining us next fall, as she will add another dimension to our setting position. She’s a very dynamic lefty setter who likes to be offensive and use her athleticism to create opportunities for her team. She also takes pride in her blocking and defense and will positively impact other areas of our team’s game. She is a fiery competitor and a great leader on the court. Anneliese is very involved off the court in extracurriculars and has high academic goals that will help continue our program’s academic traditions as well,” said Gearhart.
Aubrey Dumstorff | Libero/Defensive Specialist | 5’7 | Wildwood, Mo. | High Performance STL, Sports Performance
Dumstorff is a four-year varsity letterwinner at Lafayette High School, a three-time Missouri Class 5 State Champion, and is the 11th-ranked player in the state of Missouri. She is a team captain, an AVCA All-Region selection , and has totaled more than 148 aces, 470 assists, and 1,025 digs. At the club level, she won an AAU national championship, served as a two-time team captain, earned All-Tournament Team honors and placed ninth in the country at USAV Nationals 17 Open. Academically, she is a two-time Academic All-State honoree, a three-time conference All-Academic selection, a two-time Lafayette Scholar Athlete, a Gold Scholar, a Scholar Artist and a member of the National Honor Society.
“I chose Winthrop because of the team culture, coaching staff and location,” said Dumstorff. “After spending a day with the team and coaches during my visit, I knew Winthrop is building something special and it’s the program I want to be a part of.”
“Aubrey will continue our strong libero tradition we have built here. She is coming to us with solid foundational training from Sports Performance and HPSTL, clubs that consistently develop strong ball control players. Aubrey has great touch on the ball and a very calm court presence that makes her play look effortless. She has great court sense and has had success in each of her stops, and will help us continue to build a championship culture here. Aubrey is also very academically driven and will be a great fit for who we are off the court as well,” said Gearhart.
Sign up for our Sunday Spectator. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday, with all the news from the week.
Patrick Byrne lives in Tega Cay with his wife and two daughters. After 25 years working for a Big 4 bank, he retired to pursue his passion for writing. Additional articles and content can be found on his blog (reverian1776.blogspot.com) and freethepeople.org.
