Three years ago, freshman Meagan Burke was a softball player who had never played organized volleyball before. Today she is a dual-sport athlete at the University of Tampa.
“Even though she had more experience in softball, she was recruited here for volleyball first,” said softball Head Coach Leslie Kanter. “We sure are happy to have her.”
In high school, Burke had tons of success. She won national championships in softball in 2008 and 2009, and volleyball in 2010. In her first season at UT, Burke gained a lot of playing time on an already stacked volleyball team. The volleyball team ended up going 33-2 and lost in the national semifinals. Burke was fifth on the team with 169 kills and fifth in points, with 221.5 total points on the year.
“Meagan came in more polished in softball, but her upside in volleyball is extremely high thanks to her size and strength,” said volleyball Head Coach Chris Catanach. “She has a great arm, which is great for volleyball and softball.” “A lot of kids can’t do what she’s doing because they flat out don’t have the athletic ability,” he said. “But just having that many teammates is tough.”
The 6’2”, curly-haired Burke always seems to be smiling.
“She’s very fun, very silly, even a bit goofy,” coach Kanter added smiling. “But when it comes down to it, she’s a gamer.” Burke couldn’t pick which sport she liked better, but did offer some comparisons and contrasts.
“I’ve played softball all my life,” she said. “I started playing volleyball sophomore year. It’s always been softball first for me. There is so much more running in softball though!” “The nice thing about volleyball is that you can make an error and come right back and make up for it,” she said. “It’s not so easy in softball.”
Burke currently has no errors in softball, sporting a fielding percentage of 1.000.
“I didn’t know how it would be to have to bond and meet girls all over again, but I think it turned out okay,” she added laughing. “I’m definitely more myself here compared to volleyball because these girls are crazy!”
“I love both sets of girls, but I’m more in a comfort zone here at softball.”
Burke is second on the team with a .321 average, three home runs and three triples. She leads the team with 22 RBI. She also has a grand slam. She was named SSC Player of the Week twice this season.
The softball team is 34-5, No. 8 in the country, and in first place in the SSC. Burke has been fortunate to be able to play on two extremely successful teams here at UT.
Her combined record so far is 67-7 between volleyball and softball.
Burke’s father is more of the softball fan and her mother prefers volleyball. Her sister likes both but her two brothers prefer volleyball for one simple reason.
“My brothers like volleyball more because of the spandex shorts,” the freshman said laughing.
One of Burke’s greatest role models was a two-sport athlete that played at a different UT. University of Texas’s Destinee Hooker was a four-time NCAA champion in track and field, and a first-team All-American in volleyball.
“She’s definitely someone who I’ve looked up to,” Burke said.
Hooker left the University of Texas one year early, to play professional volleyball in South Korea in 2010. Burke does not know yet which sport she would like to pursue after college, but she has three years to figure that out.
Coach Catanach wants to be supportive of her playing softball, but Burke doesn’t always let him.
“She told me not to watch her until she was doing really well,” he added. It’s safe to say he can start watching now.
John Hilsenroth Jr. can be reached at jhilsenroth@spartans.ut.edu.
Meagan Burke is my GREAT-niece. I tell her she is great because she has a GREAT Aunt (haha). Her uncle and I support her when she plays either sport on the East Coast. Meagan has always been a special, fun, and loving young lady and very polite. She gets her athletic ability honest. She comes from a background where her grandmother Marcie and 4 aunts played volleyball out of Jacksonville, Fla. Her mother, another aunt, many cousins, and I played softball both in Jacksonville and Stuart, Fla. Don’t forget her father played basketball.
From the Jones/Blount families, we wish her much success in both her career of choice and the sports she plays. Meagan we love you.