How a fourth-year player with little experience emerged as Shocker volleyball star

It seems like it should be a surprise that the breakout star from opening weekend for the Wichita State volleyball team was a fourth-year college player with hardly any experience.

But talk to those in the program and they saw the emergence of outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett coming long before she racked up 33 kills on a .328 hitting percentage to help the Shockers come away with a 2-1 record from the Kennesaw State Invitational this past weekend.

“Brooklyn is a big jumper with a big arm, so the sky’s the limit with her,” WSU head coach Chris Lamb said. “High and hard has always been a thing you want in our sport and she brings that to the table.”

It’s easy to pinpoint why Leggett only played eight sets for WSU last season, as she was behind the best opposite hitter in the American Athletic Conference in Sophia Rohling. But before that? She redshirted her first year at Colorado Mesa, a good Division II program, then only played sparingly during the 2022 season.

“When I was in the transfer portal, I wanted to find coaches who really believed in me,” Leggett said. “I found that here at Wichita State.”

Lamb identified the potential in Leggett dating back to her days as a standout club player in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. Explosive athleticism in a 6-foot frame is hard to find, but it was evident from film that Leggett needed to improve her hitting accuracy to fulfill her potential. When she arrived, Lamb told Leggett that she was an athlete — but he was going to turn her into a volleyball player.

It didn’t matter to Leggett that she hardly played her first year in Wichita because she felt like she was in a better environment with a coaching staff invested in helping her improve. Lamb would even stay after practices to run drills with her to help improve her hand contact.

Leggett also learned the value of listening, watching and studying. Instead of being discouraged by the lack of playing time, she viewed each practice day as an opportunity to compete against all-conference hitters like Brylee Kelly and Rohling.

“It was hard at times (not playing), but I also believe I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if I didn’t go through these past three years,” Leggett said. “I definitely improved in practice a lot. I was able to play against some really good players and I learned so much from them.”

With the graduation of Rohling, Leggett was expected to replace her on the right side. While Leggett will still likely take the majority of her swings on the right side, her efficiency from the left side in practices has piqued Lamb’s interest.

Leggett looked comfortable on both pins in two wins over Kennesaw State and a five-set loss to Indiana this past weekend. Her emergence gave WSU setter Izzi Strand more firepower to work with outside of the two returners, Morgan Stout in the middle and Emerson Wilford on the outside.

“Brooklyn is a soarer, a flier,” Strand said. “She’s worked really hard on getting her hand on the ball and getting that ball contact and figuring out where she could score. She has the confidence and is now getting the opportunities. I know I can give her a high, loopy set because she can jump over the block almost every time.”

It took more than three years, but Leggett is finally proving to others what she always believed.

And with WSU taking on two nationally-ranked opponents this week (at No. 13 Kansas on Wednesday, then at No. 21 Arkansas on Friday), the timing of her breakthrough couldn’t have been better for the Shockers.

“I always knew that at some point all of my hard work was going to pay off,” Leggett said. “I know all of the work that I put in these past three years and it’s all starting to pay off now.”

It’s been more than three years in the making, but Leggett is finally showing what she always believed she could do.