HARLINGEN — Harlingen High senior Juli Bryant figured she would be in this position as a basketball player.
However, Bryant signed her NCAA Division I National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday at Harlingen High School
The Harlingen High standout had dreams of playing in the WNBA as a youth, until she started playing volleyball in fifth grade, she said.
Bryant decided to make her main sport volleyball during her freshman year at Harlingen High.
“My dream switched,” Bryant said. “Volleyball became my new love. It pushed me to strive to be better at everything. Now that this moment is finally here, it is unreal. I never thought this day would actually come, but it is here and I am excited.”
The Valley Morning Star’s 2022 Volleyball Player of the Year still hooped, making a huge impact on the basketball court as a Cardinals player, but it is on the volleyball court where Bryant’s athleticism was on full display.
Bryant smashed more than 400 kills for the Cardinals, doing so while sharing the court with another talented hitter, Casey Vidal. Bryant received District 32-6A’s offensive player of the year award for her performances for the district champs.
“It has been an honor to be her coach,” Harlingen High volleyball head coach Joslynn Torres said. “It is just natural talent, ability and me guiding the ship. She has truly been a blessing to our team and our program.”
The senior is the first volleyball player from Harlingen High to receive an NCAA Division I scholarship, Torres said.
Bryant joins a UTRGV volleyball program on the rise. The Vaqueros are coming off their most successful season in program history under head coach Todd Lowery.
Lowery guided the Vaqueros to a 27-win season, a regular-season conference championship with a record of 13-1 and two postseason wins at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
“I love the program,” Bryant said. “I got to check out to do my visit in early October. I got to check out the facilities, wow. I never thought that the Valley would have something like that. I am so excited to be a part of the program.”
Bryant has trained with RGV Venom Volleyball, a club in Edinburg, for the last four years. Bryant has spent the past two seasons with Lowery as her coach for Venom’s 17s and 18s teams.
Bryant is happy to have another four years with Lowery, she said, as well as just being able to play the sport and study criminal justice while attending the school in Edinburg.