The air is crisp as winter lingers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
All is quiet on the west side of LSU’s campus except for the stir of chatter that comes from a sand-ridden court, where the words “Welcome to Death Volley” hang over the Bayou Bengals’ beach volleyball court as the 2025 team prepares for its upcoming season.
Led by head coach Russell Brock, who has been working hard since 2017 in shaping one of the finest beach volleyball programs in the country. Since coaching LSU’s program, the Tigers have ended up at the NCAA championships each year, finishing No. 3 in 2019 and 2024 and No. 1 in 2020.
During his time with the Tigers, Brock coached 2024 Paris Olympians Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth. Since Nuss and Kloth left LSU, plenty of talent has come and gone from the team, so what do Brock and the Tigers have in store for this year?
Gracey Campbell
Studying sports administration at LSU, Campbell is starting her third collegiate season in beach volleyball as a junior.
Before transferring to Baton Rouge in 2024, Campbell played for Pepperdine University, where she received the 2023 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete award and was a member of the WCC All-Freshman Team.
During her first year at Pepperdine, she played in all 33 matches and made the WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll with Bronze Honors while committing herself to her sport.
With LSU, she played in one match on court five.
Athleticism isn’t new to Campbell’s family, given that her mother, Robyn Campbell, played both volleyball and basketball at Ouachita Baptist University.
In addition to her skills as an athlete, Campbell has also succeeded in securing NIL deals through NILSU, generating publicity for both herself and her team.
Through her social media presence, Campbell has over 1,500 followers on Instagram, where she has promoted brands like Athleta, HEYDUDE, Olipop and Hollister.
As she continues to work with NILSU, Campbell is promoting her team and the skills she’s working to bring to the season this spring.
Parker Bracken
Making her way to the sand is the 5-foot-10 Ridgeland, Mississippi native, Parker Bracken.
The Kappa Delta member has been playing for the Tigers for her entire collegiate career, winning 75 matches within her highlights as a player.
In 2024, Bracken was a member of the NCAA all-tournament and CCSA teams. In the same year, she and her partner, Reilly Allred, were named the CCSA pair of the year.
She secured wins over USC, Washington, TCU, California, GCU, Stanford and even UCLA as part of her top-20 wins.
Bracken’s skills had followed her since her first year when she was awarded the 2022 AVCA Top Flight (Court 2) award alongside Alli Hansen and was also a member of the 2022 CCSA All-Freshman team.
“We have mottos about keeping your legacy,” Bracken told LSU Athletics for an article highlighting her senior career. We want to make the team better than how we got here.”
Given her massive growth over the past four years, Bracken has brought tremendous success to her team, which the Tigers and beach volleyball fans hope she will carry into the upcoming season.
Skylar Martin
Shifting the focus to sophomores, Skylar Martin was the country’s No. 2 beach volleyball player in 2020.
Martin is from Canton, Georgia and had a prosperous freshman season. She was named the 2023 AVCA Junior Beach First-Team All American and was a member of the 2024 CCSA All-Freshman Team.
She posted a 24-15 overall record as a freshman, competing on Court four with her partner Amber Haynes for most of the season.
Prior to her collegiate career, she was a three-time USAV Beach National Champion and was given the Scholarship-Athlete Award in high school for her efforts both in and out of the classroom, playing tennis and volleyball.
As Martin continues her career playing for Brock alongside the Tigers, fans can expect her to only grow beyond who she is now as both a player and a student.
Fans can watch LSU’s beach volleyball team for the first time this year on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Purple versus Gold Exhibition Scrimmage at LSU’s Beach Volleyball Stadium.
