Kansas libero/defensive specialist Raegan Burns will take a medical redshirt and miss the rest of the season after tearing her ACL and meniscus, she announced in a post on Instagram on Sunday.
“Can’t believe I don’t get to play another point with this team, but love cheering them on every step of the way,” she wrote. “I have the best circle around me, and I can’t wait to be back next year!”
Burns had played in two matches this season, and not since KU took on Wisconsin on Aug. 29, when she appeared in two sets with three digs. The junior from Lafayette, Indiana, served as the Jayhawks’ starting libero during her freshman and sophomore seasons; she was a Big 12 all-rookie selection after averaging 3.47 digs per set as a freshman in 2023, then remained consistent with 3.44 the following years.
Head coach Matt Ulmer brought along senior Ryan White, a transfer from Oregon State who had been signed to play for him at Oregon, and who provided competition for Burns. White has served as KU’s primary libero in the early stages of the 2025 season and is averaging 3.50 digs per set.
The Jayhawks have a variety of other potential back-row contributors to rely upon (as they have indeed already done so) in Burns’ absence. Logan Bell, a highly touted freshman from Beech Grove, Indiana, is a versatile player, technically listed as a 5-foot-11 pin hitter, who has played in all 42 sets for KU this season, as just one of four players to do so. Redshirt junior Molly McCarthy made her season debut after Burns’ injury and set career highs in digs in matches against Georgia Tech and Purdue. Sophomore Heidi Devers also provides depth at the position.
Ulmer has credited Burns for her leadership. During the preseason, he said she was “definitely invested in this group’s success, and she’s really leading the charge as far as giving an example of it.”
“I think she really has a really good gauge of the temperature of the group,” Ulmer said. “… When she says things, it’s so good, I’m always stopping, listening, taking it in. I think she’s been someone that I just think consistently has just been there for the group.”
Burns may be able to provide some of that same value even while off the court. In any case, the timing of her medical redshirt puts her in position to potentially reclaim the role of starting libero as a redshirt junior in 2026, by which point White will have graduated. Bell, for her part, could ultimately progress to playing in the front row, like Ulmer’s former All-American Brooke Nuneviller — to whom he has compared Bell — did at Oregon.
The KU volleyball team is 6-4 on the season and will play at Wichita State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
