Brooklyn Meyer joins South Dakota State volleyball team

May 1—BROOKINGS — Brooklyn Meyer isn't finished as a Jackrabbit.

South Dakota State's star women's basketball player will return to school in the fall to play one season for the volleyball team, the program announced on Friday.

Meyer, a 6-foot-2 center who was named college basketball's Mid-Major women's player of the year in 2025-26, has exhausted her eligibility for hoops but is allowed by the NCAA to play a fifth season in a different sport.

The Larchwood, Iowa, native played three years of varsity volleyball at West Lyon High School before coming to Brookings to play basketball, where in four years she took the Jacks to four NCAA tournaments and was named a first-team All-Summit league pick three times. She's third on SDSU's all-time scoring list with 2,097 career points.

The SDSU volleyball team, coming off its second-straight NCAA tournament appearance, graduated two standout middle blockers in Sydni Schetnan and Annalee Ventling-Brown, and coach Dan Georgalas is confident Meyer can step immediately into that role and be a factor. This isn't a publicity stunt.

"We had one spot open on our roster, and we were really looking for a grad transfer middle blocker with one year left to get us to the next class of commits in 2027," Georgalas said. "(Assistant coach) Cole Aiazzi came up with the idea to reach out to Brooklyn, and when we presented the option to her a couple months ago I think we caught her by surprise. But she's really excited about the opportunity. She fits our roster perfectly, she's great physically and she has volleyball experience — this is gonna be a fun opportunity for her and a fun thing for our fans."

Meyer was considered a potential WNBA prospect coming off the Jacks' NCAA tournament run, and the volleyball staff respected that. While they had already discussed her possibly joining the team, they waited for her to pursue pro basketball. She could still look into overseas opportunities next year, but for now Meyer will pursue a master's degree in nutrition and dietetics.

While the Jacks have won the Summit League regular season title in each of the last two seasons, going a combined 31-1 in conference play over that stretch, they were upset in the conference tournament both years. They still earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament both times, but faltering in the Summit League tournament has left a bad taste in their mouths.

Meyer's winning pedigree and big-game experience and toughness are traits Georgalas will love to bring to the locker room in hopes they rub off on her teammates.

"She's got four championships and our group is looking for a three-peat," said Georgalas, whose team will return two-time Summit League MVP Sylvie Zgonc as well as Summit League first-teamers Rylee Martin and Madison Burr. "They're extremely motivated. We've had a lot of success the last two years but the job's not finished. They want to win a Summit League tournament championship on our home floor. I think we all know the competitor Brooklyn is. Her legacy here is amazing. She's on the Mount Rushmore of Jackrabbit women's sports. To be able to move to another sport and join this team and help them pursue something special — it's a heck of a story."