Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer is bypassing the women's NCAA basketball transfer portal, instead joining SDSU volleyball after going undrafted in this year's WNBA Draft.
The 6-foot-2 South Dakota State University forward will join the Jackrabbits' volleyball team for the upcoming NCAA season after exhausting her basketball eligibility. Meyer averaged 22.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game this past season, while ranking third nationally in field goal percentage at 64.6%.
Only one mid-major player — Davidson's Charlise Dunn — was selected in the 2026 WNBA Draft, leaving Meyer and other elite mid-major stars without pro opportunities in the US despite standout college careers.
"Brooklyn is a champion, plain and simple," SDSU volleyball coach Dan Georgalas said. "We are excited to welcome an elite competitor with a championship mentality to our program."
Meyer leaves the women's NCAA basketball program ranking third all-time at South Dakota State in career points (2,097), fifth in rebounds (850), and tied for second in blocks (174). She additionally led the Jackrabbits to four Women's March Madness appearances.
The NCAA permits athletes to play a fifth season in a different sport after exhausting eligibility in their primary sport. Meyer was a multi-sport athlete at West Lyon High School in Larchwood, Iowa, playing three seasons of varsity volleyball.
Meyer will feature as a middle blocker while pursuing her master's degree in nutrition and dietetics. She joins a volleyball program that went 23-5 overall and 16-0 in Summit League play last season before making its second consecutive NCAA tournament in 2025.
"I am so excited to join the SDSU volleyball team and represent the Jacks for another season," Meyer said.
The second round of March Madness will wrap on Monday, after an eight-game slate featuring some of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament’s breakout stars, with title contenders colliding with a few of the weekend’s feel-good storylines.
Hoping to turn an upset into a Cinderella run is the competition's last-standing double-digit seed, No. 10 South Dakota State.
Following their 74-68 defeat of No. 7-seed Oklahoma State in Saturday's first round, the Jackrabbits must contend with UConn's legendary program, facing the surging No. 2-seed Huskies on Monday night.
Also hunting a Cinderella story is tournament’s second-lowest remaining seed, No. 9 Mississippi State. After edging out No. 8 seed Cal on Saturday, the Bulldogs will lean on both defense and their leading scorer, guard Jerkaila Jordan, to push them past sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins' No. 1-seed USC on Monday.
Underdog team stars to push for Sweet Sixteen berths
While all eyes have been on superstars like Watkins and UConn standout Paige Bueckers, Monday’s slate will give fans a chance to check out some of the season’s most exciting surprise performers — possibly for the last time this year.
Hoping for a little Madness magic is No. 6-seed Florida State, who will rely heavily on star junior Ta’Niyah Latson — Division I's leading scorer — to fuel them past the offensive firepower of 2023 NCAA champion No. 3-seed LSU.
Chasing a third straight trip to the Final Four — this time without back-to-back National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark — No. 6-seed Iowa must upend No. 3-seed Oklahoma to advance past the second round.
Both teams are buoyed by star transfers. The Hawkeyes will look to ex-Villanova guard Lucy Olsen to boost them over the line into the Sweet Sixteen, but the Sooners won’t go easy, as former Oregon State standout center Raegan Beers will be eager to lead her new squad on a deep tournament run.
How to watch Monday's March Madness second round
Monday's action will cap the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first two rounds — and invariably put a stamp on some of the season's heartwarming storylines.
No. 7-seed Michigan State and No. 2-seed NC State tipped off Monday's slate at 12 PM ET on ESPN, with the final seven second-round games to air throughout the day across ESPN and ESPN2.