Merritt Beason

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Merritt Beason (born April 16, 2003) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an opposite hitter for the Omaha Supernovas. [1] Beason was the number one draft pick for the Pro Volleyball Federation in 2024. [2] She played college volleyball for the Florida Gators and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

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Early life

Merritt Beason was born and raised in Gardendale, Alabama. While playing volleyball for Gardendale High School, she was a first-team all-state selection, was named a 2020 AVCA Under Armour Third-Team All-American and was a two-time AAU Academic All-American. [3]

College career

Beason started her college volleyball career at the University of Florida, where she was an All-SEC and AVCA All-Southeast Region honoree in 2022, as well as an All-SEC Freshman Team selection in 2021. [4]

She transferred to Nebraska following two years at Florida. Her first season as a Husker, she averaged 3.76 kills per set and a .282 hitting percentage [5] and earned All-Big Ten and AVCA first-team All-American Honours. She helped lead her team to the National Championship match, where they lost to the Texas Longhorns. [6] She was also AVCA North Regional Player of the Year. In her senior year, she started all 36 matches and averaged 2.78 kills per set with a .233 hitting percentage, [5] and was named to the All-Big Ten team again. [7]

While at Nebraska, Beason won two Big Ten Conference Titles with her team. [8] She was a captain of the Nebraska squad and participated in Volleyball Day in Nebraska which set a world record for attendance at a women's sporting event. [9] She graduated in 2024 with a degree in Child, Youth and Family Studies. [10]

Professional career

Beason was drafted to the Atlanta Vibe of the Pro Volleyball Federation in November 2024, as the number one pick in the draft. [11] The team lost in the semi-finals of the 2025 PVF Championships. [12] Beason was selected for and played in the league's inaugural All-Star match. [13]

She transferred to the Omaha Supernovas in the 2025 season, where her former collegiate coach John Cook was now General Manager and part owner. [14]

International career

Beason earned Silver with the United States National Team at the 2024 NORCECA Final Six in the Dominican Republic. [15] [16] [17]

At the youth level, she was named MVP of the 2022 Pan-American Cup, where she helped the U.S. Women's U21 National Team win gold [18] [19] In the summer of 2025, Beason was selected to train with the U23 National Team ahead of the NORCECA U23 Pan American Cup. [20] [21]

Coaching career

In March 2025, it was announced that Beason would take a job as Head Coach of her former high school volleyball program. [22]

References

  1. "Merritt Beason - Atlanta Vibe". Pro Volleyball Federation. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  2. Burmaster, Baillie (2024-11-25). "Vibe trade up in PVF Draft to secure Beason". Atlanta News First. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  3. Aggarwal, Eva (2025-03-24). "Former Nebraska Volleyball Star Takes Over Head Coach Duties Despite Ongoing Pro Career". EssentiallySports. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  4. "Huskers Add Transfer Merritt Beason". University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  5. 1 2 "Merritt Beason - Volleyball 2024". University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  6. "Texas claims 2nd straight NCAA volleyball crown". ESPN. 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  7. Padilla, Jacob. "Nebraska Volleyball Places Five on All-Big Ten First Team, Earns Two Individual Honors | Hurrdat Sports". Hurrdat Sports. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  8. Sports, N. T. V. (2024-11-30). "NEB VB: Huskers Win Back-to-Back Big Ten Titles". KHGI. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  9. volleyballworld.com. "Beason hits the ground running in her fresh start with Nebraska". Volleyball World. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  10. "Merritt Beason accepts the first high school head coaching position - River City Omaha". 2025-03-27. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  11. "Pro Volleyball Federation Draft: Atlanta Vibe Takes Nebraska's Merritt Beason No. 1, Omaha Adds Lindsay Krause". Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI. 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  12. Reports, From Staff (2025-05-10). "Upset Loss Ends Atlanta Vibe Season in PVF Semifinals". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  13. Kern, Mason (2025-02-12). "Two former Huskers selected as Pro Volleyball Federation all-stars". KSNB Local 4. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  14. Writer, Mike Patterson World-Herald Staff (2025-08-11). "How John Cook recruited Merritt Beason back to Nebraska — this time for the Omaha Supernovas". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  15. Feinswog, Lee (2024-08-26). "Volleyball Today: NORCECA gold, silver for USA; Hamburg Elite16; A Team; LiMu Emu on the beach". Volleyballmag.com. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  16. Athletics, Nebraska (2024-06-24). "Five Huskers chosen to compete for USA Volleyball internationally". KSNB Local 4. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  17. "Purdue's Eva Hudson Wins Silver Medal with USA Volleyball in Pan American Cup". Purdue Boilermarkers On SI. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  18. Bhattacharya, Soumik (2025-03-17). "Ex-Nebraska volleyball star Merritt Beason shares recent life glimpses as she sports USA basketball t-shirt & spends moments with pro team". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  19. "Merrit Beason elected MVP at Women's U21 Pan American Cup – NORCECA". 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  20. "Beason Named to U.S. U23 National Training Team". North Platte Post. 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  21. "Former Nebraska volleyball star to train with the USA Women's U23 National Team". Cornhuskers Wire. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  22. "Former Husker volleyball star Merritt Beason takes first coaching job". 247Sports. Retrieved 2025-03-31.