Kentucky volleyball coach Craig Skinner has recruited elite talent to Kentucky, including senior Brooklyn DeLeye, a potential national player of the year next season.
He thinks he could have another future star joining his team in 6-foot-5 Bryah Breaux of Maryland.
“Bryah may be the best athlete in the 2026 class. Her height and jumping ability will be impactful from the beginning,” Skinner said after Breaux signed with UK. “The physicality she brings to the net will make opponents adapt their system.”
Breaux’s mother, Brandy, knew her daughter was relatively new to the sport with her late starter. She did not have a dream school but her mother but wanted to play in college where it “was warm and had good food” according to her mother.
“I started to search for schools further south. I started with the SEC and did a little research and used my sports connections to find out as much as I could about different schools,” Brandy Breaux said. “I have a good friend who works for the SEC and ESPN and knew Craig and told me to look at Kentucky and his resume.”
She emailed various schools and when coaches were allowed to contact her, Kentucky reached out on the first day. That led to her attending UK’s camp and after she attended club nationals, she told her mother she was ready to commit to Kentucky.
“We were on our way to the airport and she told me she was ready to commit,” Brandy Breaux said. “One thing I really liked about the camp was how the coaches ran the camp like practice. She connected with coaches really well. We went a day early and just drove around Lexington to see what the vibe was like. We went to stores and even found a wing place (to eat) that we really liked.
“The weather was very similar to Baltimore. She hit it off with Craig. Bryah is very laid back, very mild mannered. She’s a sweet kid and Craig fits her personality and that helped them really connect.
“Honestly it was all about finding a program that would develop her because she was so new to the sport in comparison to her peers. Craig and his staff had a clear plan laid out for Bryah for the next four years on how they see her developing at Kentucky. That really stood out to us as a family and made us feel like we could trust them with her collegiate career development.”
The future Wildcat has always been tall compared to her peers. Her mother remembers when her daughter was 3 years old and pushing her in a cart at the grocery store when people would ask if she was 6 or 7.
“I would say, ‘No, she is just a 3-year-old toddler trying to figure things out.’ She understands when you are tall and athletic, there will always be eyes on you,” her mother said.
Breaux started track at age 5 and her mother says that is where she got here athletic foundation. She went to Junior Olympics and competed in the AAU Nationals in Florida in track.
“She got third place in the triple jump (at nationals). She was super competitive in the long and triple jumps. She is a sprinter, but nothing over the 400 (meter dash). She still likes track and field,” Brandy Breaux said. “She started basketball in elementary school and played through her freshman year but once she got serious about volleyball she let basketball go because she was in love with volleyball.”
She did not enroll at Kentucky in January like two other UK freshman volleyball players did. Her mother said she decided “not to overwhelm” herself with extra courses last summer so she could graduate early. She also has a 2-year-old sister she wanted to be around a bit more before going to college.
Breaux’s size comes from both parents.
“Her dad was an amazing athlete who played basketball and football in college until his senior year when he gave up basketball. He wanted to enter the NFL draft and chose to play football only. He could have also run track, which I thought was his best sport,” Brandy Breaux said. “He did enter the NFL draft and went to a few minicamps with the Ravens, Giants and Redskins but did not get picked up. He tried semi-pro ball but decided to come back and be with his family.”
Brandy Breuax was also a multi-sport athlete. She played basketball in college at Towson and also ran track. She was ever a “very good dancer” through middle school.
Bryah really has not specialized in just volleyball yet. We believe in multiple sport athletes. I think she is special and I am not saying that just because she is my kid. Craig told her he thought she was the best athlete in this recruiting class and after getting to know him I knew he is a guy of his word who just doesn’t say things,” Brandy Breaux said.
Her mother describes the future UK player as a “physical blocker” who can get high in the air quickly.
“Her arms are very long. Sometimes you have athletes with a long torso but not long arms. Her arm span is special and her touch is so high above the net. She can jump straight up and grab the (basketball) rim. She is super athletic and can take up so much space on the defensive end,” Breaux’s mother said. “But she will also clobber you.”
