Pitt Lands Florida Transfer in Middle Blocker Bre Kelley

Pitt landed an extremely talented player ahead of next season in Florida transfer middle blocker Bre Kelley on Tuesday, as she announced her decision on Instagram.

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Kelley stands at 6-foot-4 and served as one of the best middle blockers in the SEC last season for the Gators. She had a .351 hitting percentage, third best on the team and best outside of the liberos/defensive specialists. Kelley also dominated at the net, as she made 124.0 total blocks and 203 kills, second and fourth best on the Gators in 2022, respectively. She also hit over .400 in 12 matches and started all 31 matches for the Gators last season.

She earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honors ending Oct. 17, 2022, when she made nine total blocks and five digs in two wins against Mississippi State that weekend.

Kelley also played well in her first season at Florida, playing in 19 matches and 50 sets in 2021. She hit .349 and finished fifth on Florida with 51 blocks, as she made the SEC All-Freshman Team that season.

She also played with Pitt junior setter Rachel Fairbanks and under head coach Dan Fisher on Team USA these past two summers, winning back-to-back Pan Am U-21 Cups.

The addition of Kelley to Pitt is a massive one, as it solidifies the middle blocker position for the next two seasons. All-ACC Chiamaka Nwokolo, who originally walked on senior night, announced her surprise return to Pitt last Friday for her final season.

Fisher and his staff also added Michigan State grad transfer Emma Monks in February and return the talented sophomore Rachel Jepsen as well to make it four players at the position.

Pitt lost All-American Serena Gray, and Sabrina Starks at the middle blocker position from the Final Four team last season and now go from potentially one returning middle blocker to two transfers and Nwokolo returning to make it, again, one of the best units in the country.

Kelley is the third transfer to join this season, along with Monks and Virginia Tech libero/defensive specialist Logan Mosley. She arrives at Pitt as a junior with two years left of eligibility.