Alec Rothe celebrates with fans after Florida's sweep of LSU on Friday night at the O'Dome. (Photo: Gabriella Childers/UAA Communications)
Double Shot Of Energy: Alec Rothe Fuels Gators
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In a sport fueled by exuberance, Alec Rothe is a cup of dark roast with a double shot of espresso on a sleepy morning.
Mention her enthusiasm and energy, and Rothe responds in a hurry.
"I get that a lot,'' she said.
A junior middle blocker for Florida's volleyball team, Rothe has emerged as a player the Gators can rely on not only in the clutch, but also as a leader unafraid to take charge.
In Sunday's road win at Texas, Rothe fired up her teammates with a passionate plea not to fold in crunch time. She did her part with a career-high 17 kills and eight blocks as the Gators outlasted the Longhorns in a five-set marathon. Rothe earned Southeastern Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance in wins on a Texas road swing.
The going was easier on Friday night as Florida played at home for the first time in nearly three weeks. Fifth-ranked Florida swept LSU for its 14th win in 15 matches, and as the Gators closed out the third set, Rothe danced on the sideline with her teammates and waved to young fans in the O'Dome crowd.
If there is a definition for joy on a volleyball court, Rothe fits the bill.
"I love being an athlete in general,'' she said. "I played a lot of sports growing up."
Alec Rothe plays with an exuberance that is impossible to miss. (Photo: Gabriella Childers/UAA Communications)
Rothe grew up in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb located on the Scioto River northwest of downtown Columbus. She starred in volleyball and basketball at Scioto High and, as a freshman, played lacrosse with her older twin sisters, Ashleigh and Karleigh.
Ashleigh and Karleigh went on to play lacrosse at Grand Valley State in Michigan. Rothe has an aunt who swam at the University of Houston and a paternal grandfather who played for the Mexican national handball team.
But volleyball became her true love in middle school, and by the time she finished up at Scioto High and enrolled early at UF in January 2024, Irish head coach Jackie Wilson told the Columbus Dispatch how much Rothe would be missed.
"I don't expect to have another Alec Rothe to come through the gym,'' Wilson said.
What fuels Rothe's enthusiasm on the court?
She had a ready reply for that, too.
"My middle school volleyball team was just so competitive, and there was like a culture of success within my school of being good at volleyball in middle school and through high school," Rothe said. "That kind of differentiated my excitement and readiness. It was around that age I was like, 'I really want to go far with this.' Obviously, when I'm in seventh grade, there's really not much you can do about that. As I got older, I just fell more and more in love with it. I found that I could play volleyball all year round and be happy."
As Rothe got older and developed as a player, opportunities began to surface that she never imagined as that seventh-grader. Rothe is of Mexican heritage on her father's side of the family and in 2023, was part of the Team USA squad at the U21 World Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
She cherishes the memories of the unique experience.
"We played Mexico in Mexico, and my dad was there,'' Rothe said. "I was like, 'I could literally be on either one of these teams right now.' And then my dad, we were doing the U.S. national anthem. Obviously, my dad is a U.S. citizen, so he was like being respectful to the national anthem of the United States of America, but then when the Mexican national anthem came on, he was singing it with pride. I was like, 'You know what, I respect that because that is so much a part of your culture as it is a part of mine.' It's really cool."
Rothe signed with the Gators and, as a freshman, started 24 games in former head coach Mary Wise's final season. She remained committed to the UF program when Ryan Theis replaced Wise before last season. As Florida negotiated a roller-coaster 16-12 season, Theis explored all options heading into his second season.
One of his most important decisions was to stop rotating Rothe from the middle to the outside. In Theis' view, the Gators were at their best when Rothe played middle, and that's where she would stay.
When associate head coach Leah Johnson joined the staff following last season and began evaluating the roster, she naturally considered whether Rothe might fit better at right-side hitter. Theis had already traveled that road.
He made his position clear in January.
"You're a middle. We're not going to move you no matter what pieces are around," he said. "And ever since then, she's kind of took off and doesn't really even try and practice the other stuff. And I think that just lets her excel."
Rothe said it's like finding her home.
It sure looked like it in Friday night's victory over the Tigers. In the back-and-forth second set, the score was tied 20-20 when Rothe, who finished the match with four blocks, seven kills and nine points, reeled off four consecutive kills on assists from roommate setter Taylor Parks. The sequence propelled the Gators on their way to an 8-0 home record.
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"We were fortunate late in the game to get her in those spots,'' Theis said. "She can just get so hot and be such a load to stop. She's been playing both ways the whole time. That's why she's got to be All-American."
If the Gators keep winning and Rothe keeps leading the way, it could be a no-brainer.
Anyone watching her take over the match late in the second set on Friday night can attest to that. Rothe was right in the middle of it.
That has made all the difference.
"I was kind of bouncing back and forth to other positions; it was hard to kind of get my feet under me and feel confident in what I was doing all the time,'' she said of finding her spot. "Being able to hone in on one thing and really have intentional training and intentional scouting and everything leading into that position has been huge. It allows me to just kind of get in flow with it."
That flow is a sight to behold – and impossible to miss.
