
Kentucky volleyball commit Bellamie Beus eyes title over NIL
LEXINGTON, Ky. (BVM) – In today’s NIL era, high school athletes often enter recruiting conversations wondering how much money they can make. For Bellamie Beus, however, the discussions leading up to her commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats volleyball program had a different focus.
“I want everyone to know that I just want to win,” Beus said. “When I talked to (Kentucky head coach) Craig Skinner, NIL was brought up. But I told him I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in winning a national championship.”
Beus had been aware of the Wildcats’ growing interest in her ever since she attended a UK camp in eighth grade. According to NCAA rules, Division I volleyball coaches can begin contacting athletes on June 15 after their sophomore year. On that very day, Beus spoke with coach Skinner, and just a few days later, she called him back to give her verbal commitment.
“To be honest, for about two or three years, I had known that Kentucky was where I needed to be,” Beus said. “I had prayed about it. I had consulted family members. So, it was a very easy decision. I knew that it was the right place, so I committed as early as possible.”
Beus is poised to make a big impact for the Wildcats. Earlier this month, she was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Idaho Volleyball Player of the Year. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter wrapped up her junior season at Skyview High School with an impressive 595 kills and 335 digs – earning her the No. 16 prospect ranking in the nation for the Class of 2026 by PrepDig.
Beus had never even lost a championship game until her junior year; she had previously helped Skyview win state as a freshman and sophomore. This past season, she led the Hawks (27-8) to the most competitive Class 6A state title game, but they came up short.
“Despite the loss in the championship game, I’m proud of my team and how we performed over the season,” Beus said. “We had a really young team. At the beginning of the season, one of our goals was to just have better chemistry. Our coaches actually got mad at us and told us that we had fake chemistry because we just weren’t playing well together. But our team chemistry developed as the season went on and that was really awesome to see. So despite the loss, I’m really happy with how the season went.”
Winning championships has clearly been at the top of her mind throughout her volleyball career. That won’t change at Kentucky, where her focus will be helping the Wildcats win their first national title since 2020.
“I’m very, very, very, competitive – like uber-competitive,” Beus said. “And I feel like that will help us to win and get over that hump. When I was talking to my coaches before I committed, one of the things that they said that stood out to them about me was just my competitive drive, my overall want to win and the actual need to win.”
Beus will begin her journey at Kentucky when she graduates high school early and enrolls in January 2026. She said she’s excited about becoming a better athlete and growing as a person.
“When I was on my phone call with coach Craig, one of the big things that he talked about was how Kentucky wants to produce not only great athletes but also great people – and I really love that,” Beus said. “The conversations I had with the coaches were very personal, and they were all about me outside of volleyball as much as me in volleyball.”
Beus plans to continue her personal growth through her ongoing humanitarian efforts. Most recently, she traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with her club team, where she took on a mentorship role with children at an orphanage. After returning, she organized the delivery of sports equipment to the orphanage and launched a fundraiser on its behalf.
“I’ve been in contact with the orphanage since the trip,” Beus said. “I’ve been trying to stay up-to-date with things that they need. One of the main things that they have asked for is school and art supplies – which is very interesting because when we were at the orphanage, one of the activities we were able to do with the children was make art. So part of the work that I am doing is setting out boxes at the club that I play for and getting the community involved in helping make donations with school supplies, athletic equipment, clothing and just anything that the orphanage might need.”
Overall, Beus is focused on achieving her on-and off-court goals as she looks ahead to her future, stating, “Kentucky is the perfect place to do it all.”