Healthy DeLeye Ready for Senior Season
Last season, Kentucky volleyball’s Brooklyn DeLeye proved several things. But more than anything else, she proved that she has a love for the game, she loves her teammates, and she’s extremely tough.
In UK’s second match of the season, a 3-2 setback against Nebraska, DeLeye felt something odd in her knee.
“I kind of just turned on it weird,” DeLeye said. “I just turned and kind of felt something weird.
She continued to play with an apparent injury, one that was confirmed as being a torn meniscus shortly before the Cats faced Washington on Sept. 20. DeLeye remembers the feeling.
“I started doing treatment on it, but before the Washington match, I got my MRI results back,” she said. “There were just a lot of emotions in that game.”
The Topeka, Kansas, native could have opted to have her knee operated on, which would have cost her a good chunk of the season. Instead, DeLeye played through the pain.
“It was more of a conversation of, is it going to get worse or not,” DeLeye said. “It probably wouldn’t have gotten worse, so it would just be painful. And I’m one that was like, OK, I’ll just tough it out and keep going.”
DeLeye proved how unselfish she is by continuing to play not only for herself, but for her team.
“Looking at the reputation Kentucky has in the SEC, I was like, I can’t (have the surgery),” DeLeye said. “I wanted to be out there to fight with them instead of just watching from the sidelines.”
The injury and the rehab made deepened DeLeye’s love for the game.
“I felt like I lost a little bit of taking volleyball for granted,” she said. “Just coming out every day, playing, getting through practice. But once I dealt with (the injury), I actually found my love for the game again.”
Her numbers were outstanding in 2025, amplified by the fact that she was playing on a bad knee. DeLeye was second on the team with 545 kills (one behind Eva Hudson), while hitting .279. She led her team to a ninth consecutive Southeastern Conference title and the school’s second appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Final Four.
After having surgery in January, DeLeye has gone through the rehab process and is now completely healthy. She admits it’s a good feeling to not be in pain any longer.
“It feels great, finally fully healthy again,” DeLeye said. “I remember doing vertical testing and I jumped and landed and didn’t feel pain for the first time in six months. I was like, wow, that’s what it feels like.”
A healthy Brooklyn DeLeye will make a huge difference for the Kentucky volleyball team this season.
