What is a rare honor for most of the country is in fact quite common in the Bryant family.
Kansas women’s basketball signee Cydnee Bryant took part in the McDonald’s All-American girls basketball game on Tuesday night in Glendale, Arizona, making her the third member of her family to participate in the prestigious high school all-star event.
Her older brother Carter had participated in the 2024 edition of the boys’ game before going to Arizona and now plays for the San Antonio Spurs. Their uncle, Travon, was the second-ever McDonald’s All-American to play at Missouri when he joined the Tigers back in 2000; he now coaches for the Cal women’s basketball team.
“Getting to carry that legacy with this last name,” Bryant said at McDonald’s media day on Monday, “it’s a beautiful thing.”
Bryant will soon be forging a legacy at KU, and it will be a distinct one: She intends to play not just basketball, in which she is a consensus four-star prospect, but also volleyball, in which according to KU Athletics she was ranked as a three-star by VB Recruiter.
It’s an uncommon arrangement, especially given the two sports’ overlapping seasons — that makes for a somewhat different situation as compared to, say, Bryce Foster’s past participation in both football and track and field. But Bryant said she didn’t want to compromise on this front, and “it means the world to me to know that I have multiple different staffs and teammates that trust in my abilities to go out there and dominate in both sports.”
“Basketball and volleyball are my passions, and those are the things I love to do,” she said, “and when I was getting recruited, my mom, my family, they were like, ‘If it’s really what you want to do, you have to make yourself a non-negotiable.’ And that’s who I am.”
At 6-foot-4, Bryant will provide valuable size both to the basketball team as a center and to the volleyball team as a middle blocker. KU women’s basketball, which recently concluded its season with a loss to BYU in the WBIT semifinals on Monday, will need reinforcements in the post next season with Nadira Eltayeb and Lilly Meister graduating. The volleyball team, which reached the Sweet 16 in 2025, had a couple of middles transfer out after the season, though it did add early-enrolling freshman Jaeli Rutledge in the 2026 class.
Bryant said that her volleyball experience makes her a more “explosive” basketball player.
“I love just jumping up there, blocking shots, but that’s also something I do on a day-to-day (basis),” she said. “It helps me with rebounds, being more agile. Volleyball, almost every hitter is 6-foot or taller, and they can move, they can jump.”
She added that the overlapping skill sets have helped her develop as she draws closer to college.
“It’s also helped basketball with my coordination,” she said, “and just being able to guard one through five and excelling in various areas.”
