By Brittany Bowyer
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PHOENIX — A 4.0 student and a stand-out athlete, Xavier College Prep senior Tessa Larkin fully embodies what it means to be a Gator. Competitive by nature, she approaches each challenge with the mindset of coming out on top. Whether she’s in the classroom or on the volleyball court, she’s always striving to be the best.

“She’s not only a great athlete, but a great student, and that’s what we want here at Xavier,” Head Volleyball Coach Lamar-Renee Bryant said. “We are proud that she represents us.”

Larkin has been a four-year varsity player for the Gators, where she’s had the opportunity to learn from those before her. In those four years, her continuous push to be the best has elevated her game to new heights.

“She’s played a lot of volleyball at a high level, definitely competitive situations and tough situations, and she has grown to kind of command the match,” Bryant said. “She’s a great serve-receive passer, she’s a prolific attacker, but her overall game has really matured in incorporating different shots and doing different things, and it’s just been wonderful to see her grow over the last four years.”

“Looking back at videos, I’ve changed so much personally and as a volleyball player,” Larkin said. “I feel like I’ve just matured a lot.”

Larkin said coming to Xavier has definitely had a positive impact on the trajectory of her career, and she’s lucky to have seen so much success during her time.

“There are so many great people that came here before I even came here, so just being able to play with really good athletes in a high school season,” Larkin said. “It’s not common to be on a really good high school team, but I was really lucky all of my years to to be on a pretty good team.”

Larkin has also been a member of Team USA Volleyball since she was 13. Since being invited to train with USA Volleyball, she’s had the unique opportunity to play alongside a number of highly skilled players who have helped continue to intensify her game.

“I just think it makes you better because when you’re around competition, you elevate how you’re playing,” Larkin said.

“I think that’s really where she was able to expand her game in providing different shots,” Bryant said. “When she plays for USA, everyone looks like her, hits like her, the block is bigger, and realizing that she always doesn’t have to use a hammer and being able to slice and dice … I feel like that’s where she really was able to expand her game was when she was in the USA gym.”

Most recently, Tessa was in Managua, Nicaragua with Team USA Volleyball, where she helped bring home a gold medal at the NORCECA U23 PanAm Cup. Putting up 20 points in the final match, Larkin was not only named the MVP, but also the Best Receiver.

“One of her goals and one of the things on her list was to be in the USA jersey,” Bryant said. “Not only was she in the USA jersey but she was MVP. That I know is probably going to be one of her core memories, and we’re really excited for her for that.”

As the lone senior on this year’s squad for Xavier, all eyes are frequently on Larkin, where she leads by example.

“I wouldn’t say she’s the most gregarious kid, but she definitely has laser focus when it comes to big matches and what it takes to win,” Bryant said. “She has that, and so others are able to see it and emulate it and support her.”

Because she is the only senior, Coach Bryant emphasized how important it is for her to give back to the program.

“Really just making sure that she’s pouring into the younger players and leaving the program better than she found it,” Bryant said. “Really making sure that she shows the younger players what it is to wear our ‘baggy blues’ and all our traditions, and just leading by example and showing the importance and honor of what it is to be an Xavier volleyball player.”

“Baggy blues” are Xavier's longer-length, looser-fit volleyball shorts compared to what most other teams wear.

Coach Bryant described Larkin as a supportive teammate who knows how to have fun, but also knows when it’s time to work.

“She really connects with the girls,” Bryant said. “She has a great time. She loves to be a part of the group ... She likes to hang out, she likes to TikTok dance, she likes to do all the fun things, and then she really leads by example. She sets the tone and when she wants to work hard, everyone works hard. She always wants to work hard, so that’s one of the unique gifts of being her teammate.”

The 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year, Larkin’s success on the court during her junior season helped lead the Gators to a second consecutive 6A Championship. She finished 2025 with 419 kills, 248 digs, 71 blocks and 39 aces.

“I honestly wasn’t even expecting anything, because I’ve obviously never gotten anything like that before, but it was super cool,” Larkin said.

This year, Larkin is focused on getting her team back to the 6A State Championship again.

“To win another state championship would be great,” Larkin said. “I mean, a three-peat is kinda not normal and not really heard of, so I think it would be really good for the program, and also just to go out strong my senior year I think would be so fun.”

She’s also focused on maintaining her grades and continuing to grow as a player on the court.

“Just keep doing well in the classroom,” Larkin said. “Kinda just keep growing my game, keep getting better and preparing for college.”

The no. 8 overall volleyball player in the class of 2027, Larkin had a number of big-time programs recruiting her. In April 2026, she announced her verbal commitment to Stanford.

“I chose Stanford because obviously it’s a great academic school, but the coaches and everything and just the culture of the program was really great,” Larkin said. “It’s somewhere that beyond volleyball I can thrive with a degree from Stanford. So yeah, I was really just thinking about me as a person all-around and how I would thrive after volleyball.”

“She’s extremely studious,” Bryant said. “[Larkin], just like her athletic career, she takes her academic career just as serious. She’s focused, she’s a great communicator with her teachers, and she’s a very good student. I think she will be able to be very successful at Stanford just because of what she’s learned here at Xavier and her internal gift in wanting to be the best.”

Getting into Stanford was no easy task. Larkin said she has been in and still is taking AP classes, she had to write all her essays to get into the school and she had to take the ACT.

“It was a long process, especially academically because they’re such a good academic school,” Larkin said.

Larkin’s competitive nature also spills over into the classroom, where she pushes herself to maintain a 4.0 GPA.

“I know she is equally as gifted in the classroom as she is on the volleyball court,” Bryant said. “In all facets of her life, she wants to be the best and I think that’s a fantastic trait.”

“For me, getting anything other than an A is not acceptable,” Larkin said. “I’m such a perfectionist, so playing volleyball and trying to get all A’s is obviously really stressful and a lot, but that’s just how I’m wired. I can’t get a B. That’s just not in my nature to get a B, so I’ll do anything to not get a B.”

Coach Bryant attributes Larkin’s highly competitive nature to her home life and her upbringing.

“Her dad was the golf coach at Dayton,” Bryant said. “I just think she has that competitive drive, and had that at an early age, so it’s all she knows.”

While Larkin is always looking to be the best, she does have one piece of advice she does wish she could tell her younger self.

“One of my USA coaches, she said something that really resonated with me,” Larkin said. “She was like, ‘Don’t take everything so seriously in life.’ I feel like I take school really seriously and I take volleyball really seriously, but I think just having fun with what you’re doing and remembering why you started. Remembering what you’re doing should be fun, so not being too overwhelmed with everything would be my advice.”

Brittany Bowyer is a Report for America corps member, covering sports for Independent Newsmedia in Arizona. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.