The RoundHouse | 11/13/2025 2:24:00 PM
By
Paul Suellentrop
For two-plus years, Wichita State volleyball coach
Chris Lamb referred to
Brooklyn Leggett's path from NCAA Division II redshirt to Shocker starter by saying some version of, "If I can't find a ball for her to hit, I'm not doing my job."
As Leggett, a senior right-side, nears the end of her career it is clear Lamb found many volleyballs for her to hit. Most important, Lamb and his coaches restored the confidence that she could be the type of athlete who can power the offense.
"She felt like she had a point to prove," said teammate
Emerson Wilford. "You watch her swing and you're like 'Wow, how is that kid not playing?'"
Wichita State (17-9, 9-5) plays first-place Rice (17-8, 13-1) in its final home match this season at 6 p.m., Friday (ESPN+). Leggett, Wilford and fellow senior
Katie Galligan will be recognized before the match.
Leggett, from Draper, Utah, found a place to play. Lamb loved her athletic ability and her swing. Once he found sets that worked for her and showed her the results, Leggett's career took off.
"The main thing was they helped build my confidence a lot and succeed, be the best volleyball player I could be," Leggett said. "It went from having a point to prove to knowing how good I was and knowing my worth. It worked itself out after that."
In 2024, she finished third on the team with 266 kills. She peaked in the season's final month with a career-high 22 kills vs. Tulsa and 13 against Florida Atlantic in the final of the American Conference Championships. This season, she ranks second on the team with 325 kills and is hitting .276, up from .198 in 2024.
Leggett, from Draper, Utah, transferred to WSU in the spring of 2023 after redshirting at NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa in 2021 and starting in three matches in 2022.
She signed with Colorado Mesa, a strong NCAA Division II program, during COVID. That meant NCAA Division I rosters filled up with seniors taking another year of eligibility. Recruiting changed with seasons abbreviated and in-person recruiting limited. While she didn't play regularly at Mesa, she finished 2022 with good performances that she could show coaches after entering the transfer portal. She attached video of workouts and lifting to her emails to demonstrate her athletic ability.
"We're super lucky we opened her email," assistant coach
Katie Zimmerman said. "Her video stood out. She can jump. We looked at her stats and she didn't play much. 'What does that mean?' All of the things she would send Lambo were weightlifting things, jumping things. He's fascinated by that."
When Leggett decided to transfer, many NCAA Division II schools contacted her. She considering staying at that level a likely outcome, especially as coaches who watched her play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference reached out. Reed Carlson, her coach at Club V in Utah, knows Lamb and helped the two connect.
"(Chris) definitely makes every player feel like they have a home away from home," Carlson said. "She's a dynamic athlete. She's a culture kid. The combination of Chris and Brooklyn coming together seemed like a beautiful fit."
Leggett learned behind Sophia Rohling, a two-time All-American Conference pick, in the 2023 season at WSU. She worked to cut down the error rate that plagued her at Colorado Mesa. Lamb built up her psyche by showing her practice numbers that demonstrated the progress of her game with better contact and range.
"We stat everything and I can pick and choose the things I want them to keep their eye on," Lamb said. "It didn't take too long before she's seeing results. I think that goes a long way."
Lamb diagnosed that Leggett scores off vertical balls, sets that put the ball in front of her – instead of passing by horizontally. That gave her the best chance to get her hand on the ball and direct it accurately and forcefully.
"When I was in the portal, I was like 'I don't know if I can compete at this level,'" she said. "He helped me get to the point where 'I can compete at this level and I can win at this level.' They helped me believe in myself."
Extra hours in the gym helped.
"She just kept working hard and didn't give up," Galligan said. "Sophia was here. That was a tough person to compete against. She used that to get better vs. letting that get the best of her."
Carlson expected a positive outcome. Lamb, Leggett says, reminds her of Carlson with his coaching techniques.
"It's people taking the time to get to know her and then walking her through it," Carlson said. "I don't think every college coach does that. Chris spends a lot of time developing the kids he has. When she's given clear direction and when she's given the right instruction and people take the right amount of time with her, she's going to flourish. Chris loves to do that."
Three years ago, Leggett came to Wichita State with a point to prove. Shocker coaches proved that point was always within her, waiting for the right environment.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
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