Purdue transfer Eva Hudson is looking forward to playing with Brooklyn DeLeye at UK. (UK Athletics Photo)
Eva Hudson was a top 25 recruit coming out of high school and one of the first college coaches to reach out to her was Kentucky’s Craig Skinner. However, she decided to stay in her home state and play for Purdue where she became the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2022 and a three-time all-Big Ten selection.
Now Hudson is at Kentucky after transferring and UK fans can have their first chance to see her play Sunday when Kentucky hosts Ohio at Memorial Coliseum.
“I felt like my time at Purdue was coming to a close. One of the things I want to do is get farther in the NCAA Tournament and really just get better and grow as a player,” Hudson said when explaining her decision to transfer. “Entering the transfer portal was really a hard decision, probably one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.
“Once I got in there and started talking to Craig I knew this was the place I needed to be. Craig was one of the first people to reach out to me which was nice because in my previous recruiting process he had reached out and I am glad he reached out again.”
Hudson, who led the Big Ten with 4.81 kills per set last season, says Purdue was “definitely what I needed” to start her career close to home in Fort Wayne.
“As a senior in high school I was afraid to go as far away from home, not that I am super far away still. I grew up around the Big Ten, so that is one thing I wanted to do, too,” she said. But as the game is changing and all the conferences are becoming really good, I knew that I could branch out.”
“I am super, super close with my family. My mom had gone to Purdue and played volleyball. That was a really big deal for me but times change. She was super, super supportive. From the beginning of my recruiting process in high school she said this was my decision and she had no say in it and would support me and she has stayed that way now that I am at Kentucky.”
Her mother introduced her to volleyball when soccer was her sport of choice at the time.
“I was really into soccer but I kept growing and she said maybe I should try this volleyball thing,” she said. “Both of my parents coached me at one time, my mom in volleyball and my dad in basketball. We have a very athletic family and they wanted us to try everything.”
She believes playing soccer and softball helped her eye-hand coordination in volleyball. It also helped develop her stamina and taught her to work with new people at a young age.
Something obviously worked because she had double digit kills in 62 of 64 matches she played at Purdue. The 6-1 Hudson led the Big Ten with 567 kills last season and also had 288 digs to help Purdue go 27-7 record with a 16-4 mark in Big Ten play and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Hudson credits her competitive personality for part of her defensive prowess.
“My mom says when I grit my teeth, then she knows I am here to play. It helps being surrounded by great teammates and wanting to do it for them,” the new UK player said.
When Skinner reached out to her about transferring to UK, she knew only two players — Brooklyn DeLeye and Lizzie Carr, who had already transferred from Purdue to UK a few weeks earlier.
“I had a few conversations with Brooklyn DeLeye through USA stuff and knew she was super sweet and an absolute bad ass. The other person I knew was Lizzie. But other than that, I didn’t know anyone,” Hudson said.
Hudson played with outside hitter Chloe Chicoine, a two-two all-Big Ten pick, at Purdue. Chicoine transferred to Louisville after the season ended.
“I played with Chloe and it was amazing and having someone to push you every day was something I appreciated in her and wanted to do again. Having Brooklyn in the same position doing the same thing is a healthy competition and great competition to make each other better,” Hudson said.
Hudson has enjoyed every day life in Lexington. She likes having more food options than West Lafayette, Ind., offered the last three years. She also has enjoyed the “beautiful weather” and didn’t mind the cold, snowy days.
“At Purdue we would be walking to school in 1 degree weather all the time. Here it is 30’s more, so we are good. This is nice and not nearly as much snow even when it did snow,” she said.
She also likes Memorial Coliseum and is looking forward to her first match in the facility.
“I loved playing at Purdue in the close atmosphere and crazy student section we had. Nebraska, Wisconsin (arenas) are about this big. It doesn’t faze me as much to be in a bigger atmosphere and this is a great facility. I cannot wait to see what it is like with UK fans here,” she said.
