Graduate outside hitter Brianna Ford celebrates with a teammate during a game against Abilene Christian University on Nov. 4, 2024, at College Park Center.
After beginning her professional career overseas in Germany, Major League Volleyball announced Friday that UTA alumna and former standout Brianna Ford signed with the Columbus Fury, joining one of the nation’s top women’s volleyball leagues.
Ford, a 2024 graduate outside hitter, was one of the key players under former head coach JT Wenger’s squad that made history. The team took the Western Athletic Conference championship, backed by a 29-3 overall record, to mark its first conference tournament and regular season win since 2002.
Ford’s five-year tenure at UTA was nothing short of phenomenal, earning several MVP awards, conference first-team selections and player of the week awards. As a fifth-year, she bundled all of these accolades together and capped her collegiate career by being named the WAC Player of the Year, selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team Southwest Region, and named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
After crossing the stage, she took her talents to Germany to play professionally at USC Münster during the 2025-26 season as the only American on the roster. During Ford’s time there, the team earned fifth place in the German Cup, an annual knockout competition organized by the German Volleyball Association and fifth place in the German Bundesliga tournament.
Outside hitter Brianna Ford, left, and Alexis Bull, middle blocker and right-side hitter, attempt to block the ball during a game against Santa Clara University on Sept. 5, 2024, at College Park Center.
Now, Ford returns to the United States after being signed to the 2027 Fury roster as Major League Volleyball has begun to grow across the nation, becoming a new entity featuring independently owned teams and backed by over $100 million in funding.
The league officially launched in January as a professional women’s indoor volleyball league following a merger with the Pro Volleyball Federation. The Pro Volleyball Federation was announced in 2022 and began its first season in February 2024, according to a league press release.
Amid the current season, the recently reformed league currently holds eight teams, with two more to come in 2027, according to the Major League Volleyball website.
The U.S. holds two other professional women’s volleyball leagues: Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball, which launched in 2021, and League One Volleyball, which started competition in early 2025. All three of the current outlets for professional women’s volleyball are indoor competitions.
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