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Lone Peak middle blocker KJ Burgess (39) hits the ball during a game between the Pleasant Grove Vikings and the Lone Peak Knights held at Pleasant Grove High School on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald

Isaac Hale Daily Herald

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Lone Peak's KJ Burgess (39) celebrates her teams' 3-1 victory against Fremont with teammates Grace Evans (2) and Hannah Hawkins (6)  in the Class 6A volleyball state tournament semifinals at Hillcrest High School in Midvale on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Kelli Jo "KJ" Burgess has signed to play her senior season for BYU women's volleyball.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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Turns out the best way for Kelli Jo “KJ” Burgess to decide if she wanted to continue playing volleyball was to find out who she was without it.

A trip to Europe seemed to sort everything out.

In mid-May, Burgess signed with BYU to play her final year of college eligibility. Her father, Chris, is a men’s basketball assistant coach at the school and KJ attended high school just up the road at Lone Peak.

Regardless, ending up back in Utah was not really on the agenda.

After a decorated career at Lone Peak, Burgess played her first two seasons at the University of Utah before transferring to the University of Oklahoma. She played two seasons in Norman and was second team All-SEC last season. Because of a back injury suffered at the U, Burgess had the option of playing another year.

“I always thought I was going to have four years in college and that would be it,” Burgess said. “I just had this mindset at Oklahoma that it would be my last season in college volleyball. OU does this study abroad program in Italy and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.'”

Burgess spent the spring semester in Italy, near Florence, along with 45 other students. The group took classes and traveled all over Europe. Burgess was also involved in an internship with a non-profit organization.

“It was kind of an excuse to go abroad for free, because volleyball was over,” she admitted. “It was such a cool opportunity.”

She had already graduated in December with a criminology degree, adding a minor in criminal justice.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I found the information so interesting,” she said. “I love psychology and discovering why people think the way they do.”

Burgess enjoyed her time in Italy sightseeing and trying new foods, exploring the culture shock of being in Europe but also being free from the grind of waking up at 6 a.m. to train. The five months in Italy without volleyball put Burgess in the right frame of mind to decide if she wanted to continue playing competitively.

“I felt like a grew in my independence and as a person even more,” she said. “It’s not for the weak to live abroad. It’s hard with the language barrier. But I was trying to figure out who I was without volleyball. It’s really my personality and all I’d known.”

Burgess admitted she never imagined herself in a BYU uniform — “I wasn’t super recruited by the previous coaching staff,” she said — but reached for the opportunity when it was presented.

“BYU kind of came out of nowhere,” she said. “My dad was there and there were a lot of connections to people I knew. I didn’t want to regret not using my fifth year. I love competing so I thought, ‘Let’s use it.’ With my dad there and being close to home, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. All the puzzle pieces fit together.”

BYU is going through a transition of its own. Rob Neilson, a former Cougar volleyball player, came from Utah State to replace the ultra-successful Heather Olmstead, who stepped away after the 2025 season for other coaching opportunities.

“Rob and Chloe (assistant coach Chloe Hirst) have been recruiting me since I was 14-ish,” Burgess said. “So we already had a relationship built. I’m a big relationship person. It means a lot to me when a coach cares about me as a person. Rob and the coaching staff have been extremely welcoming and I’m excited to learn from them. He knows my head coach at Oklahoma (Aaron Mansfield) and they only have good things to say about each other.”

Burgess joins an already loaded middle blocker group. Brielle Kemavor (6-5 Sr.) was a first team All-Big 12 selection last season and will be joined by the 6-foot-2 Burgess, Pitt transfer Rachel Jepsen (6-4 So.), Abby Hoybjerg (6-2 Jr.) and Brooke Hardy (6-0 Fr.).

“It’s an amazing group of middles,” Neilson said. “They are as talented as I’ve ever been around. They push each other and want to get better.”

Burgess totaled 195 kills for Oklahoma last season and hit .411 with an impressive mark of 136 total blocks.

“This is going to be my last season and I want to go out with no regrets,” she said. “I’ll work my hardest but I also want to have fun. That’s why I play volleyball. I’m excited to build good dynamics with my teammates and play in the Big 12.”

The Burgess clan is very busy on the home front. Another daughter, Zoey, plays volleyball for Arizona State and Ava Burgess, who has committed to play volleyball at Stanford, is prepping for her senior year at Lone Peak. With brothers Beckham and Zach still at home, Chris Burgess and his wife, Lesa, have resorted to a spreadsheet to keep up with the playing schedules of their children.

Having KJ in Provo simplifies things.

“My family was only able to come to a few Oklahoma games, so they’re really excited to be able to drive 20 minutes down the road to watch me now,” KJ said.