It took Kansas volleyball junior Bryn McGehe 13 years to find volleyball in the first place. So, waiting a few more to find her role with the Jayhawks was a piece of cake.
Used primarily as a deep reserve during her first three seasons as a Jayhawk, McGehe, who they call “B-Mac,” has stepped into the starting lineup for the Jayhawks in Year 4 and started every set of the season so far.
She’s one of just six players on the KU roster to appear in every set so far this season for the 8th-ranked Jayhawks, who will take their 11-1 record to Colorado later this week for a matchup with an old friend in Big 12 play.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard never doubted that McGehe would remain a good teammate, continue to put in the work and show up every day to give her best to the team. But even he realized that she had to be wondering if a role for her would ever be established.
“There were probably moments in her career here where she wondered, ‘Hey, will I ever have a role,’” KU coach Ray Bechard recently told R1S1 Sports about his starting right back defender. “But when the moment came, she was ready for it and she has been a key piece to our (hot) start.”
Here’s the funny thing about that moment that Bechard spoke about — neither he nor McGehe actually knew it was coming.
“I didn’t really expect to be a starter until Coach B, when we played at the Duke tournament, was like, ‘B-Mac, you’re starting,’” the KU junior told R1S1 Sports. “And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ It was kind of unexpected.”
For both of them.
“We didn’t know either,” Bechard said. “Leading up to the match, we were talking as a coaching staff like, ‘What do you think?’ Molly McCarthy had been playing well but Bryn had more experienced at right back and Brynn Kirsch had been a little banged up, so we just thought, ‘B-Mac gives us good energy, let’s give her a run,’ and boy she’s held onto it ever since.”
A big reason for her consistent start was the fact that she always envisioned this day coming. She didn’t always know when it would arrive, and she certainly wouldn’t have minded it getting here a little sooner, but she never doubted that she would get her chance.
“I mean, I’ve been patient for three years and I’ve worked hard for this moment, and this has been my time,” she said. “It was very frustrating at times, but I just made sure to have the most fun I could in practice and always worked hard and the coaches were good at noticing that. I obviously didn’t fit the part until now. They would’ve put me in if they needed me. So, I trust the coaches and they trust me now, which is great.”
While working hard was easy — she credits her parents and upbringing for that — McGehe found other ways to make sure she stayed ready, too.
She had constant dialogue with all of KU’s coaches about how she was doing, what she could improve and what she needed to do to be out there, and then she used the feedback she got from those conversations to improve.
“I didn’t want to be annoying or always in their ear,” she said. “But I tried to stay consistent with the coaches. I also tried to be a really good teammate on the sidelines because the coaches notice those things Sometimes they’ll look over and if you’re the one cheering the loudest they’ll be like, ‘OK, you’re up.’ That really does matter.”
The fact that McGehe’s even in this position to begin with is a funny story. For most of her childhood, she believed soccer was her sport. She played as much as she could from as early as possible on and dedicated her life to it.
And then she got burned out.
At age 13, with a little nudge from her best friend, McGehe decided to give volleyball a try.
She immediately loved it. And while there was one year when she played both sports, she quickly shifted her passion from soccer to volleyball.
Even then, though, she never thought it would lead to playing at a place like KU.
“Oh, absolutely not,” she said with a laugh. “This was never a thought in my mind. Obviously, I looked up to collegiate athletes all my life, but never once was I like I’m gonna be there. I was just very realistic.”
Her early path in the game helped keep her that way. During her first year of volleyball when she attended Platte County High School, she played on a 4’s team, made up of rookies and players still searching to find their game. But slowly, she moved up to a 3s team then the 2s and then the top squad. Just like that, she found herself on the radar of several college programs.
The one from KU was the biggest of all, and it changed her outlook on her future.
“When I got this offer, I was just astonished,” she said. “Because it was a dream come true.”
For one, it offered her a chance to play her new favorite sport at a really high level. Remember, when she announced her commitment to KU in October of 2019, the Jayhawks were just three years removed from winning a Big 12 title and four years away from playing in the Final Four.
For two, it opened the door for her to attend a major university, fitting in perfectly with her self-proclaimed vibe of being “a big school kind of person.”
After signing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Jayhawk shirts and face masks on everyone who attended, she redshirted her first year, played sparingly in Years 2 and 3 and waited patiently for her turn and never thought about bailing.
“Never once in my mind did I think about going into the transfer portal because I seriously love everyone here,” she said. “Like, all of our teammates, we have this connection that I really believe no other team has. Off the court, too. And the coaches are amazing. They make people feel valued and a lot of other coaches don’t do that. And it’s not just if you play. It’s literally everyone that they involve.”
Now, that her time is here, she has finally started to feel like she belongs out there. Interestingly enough, it was a recent match against No. 9 Creighton and the start of the Big 12 slate that made her fully comfortable.
“I would still get major nerves in the Duke tournament, the Marquette tournament and even when we played (No. 6) Purdue,” she said. “But, for some reason, when we played Creighton I just felt calm. And against UCF I just felt calm. I think I’m just starting to get used to the adrenaline and know how to handle it now.”
That was music to Bechard’s ears. He has liked what he’s seen from McGehe so far. But he likes even more to hear that she knows she has to keep it up.
“I think the initial excitement probably carried her for a while and now I think she’s like, ‘OK, I need to consistently be at that level,’” Bechard said. “Being excited about being out there is not gonna sustain itself for four months. You’ve got to be technically correct and do all the right things and I know she’ll give the type of effort that’ll make it happen.”
While her coaches and teammates will no doubt keep pushing her to improve and stay steady, she credited one teammate in particular for helping her make the jump from seldom-used sub to bona fide starter.
The fact that this teammate — junior Molly McCarthy — plays the same position and also has been fighting for time on the court only made McGehe feel stronger about the bond and connections she’s made at KU.
“Molly has done a really good job at encouraging me, even though we play the same position,” McGehe said. “And it really takes a special person to do that and be like that. I’d like to think I would do the same for her if it were the other way around. We’re really close, and we both want the best for each other and this team.”
First-time starter or not, that type of mentality sounds like it belongs to a KU veteran.
“I know,” McGehe said, smiling. “It’s very weird. In a lot of ways, I still feel like I’m a freshman.”
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