She's back: Brooklyn Meyer added to South Dakota State women's basketball roster

Oct. 28—BROOKINGS — She’s back.

Brooklyn Meyer, the reigning women’s basketball Mid-Major player of the year, was quietly added to the South Dakota State roster on Wednesday, indicating she’ll return to the Jackrabbits for a fifth year.

Meyer, who went to four NCAA tournaments in her first four years and is a three-time All-Summit League honoree, regained a fifth year of eligibility with the NCAA’s newly-imposed ‘five-for-five’ rule. The Larchwood, Iowa, native joined the SDSU volleyball team in the fall but recently left that squad to pursue another year with the basketball team.

Meyer’s intention to play volleyball was met with much fan fare, and the school announced it with a press release, but she only ended up appearing in two matches, notching four kills across five sets and was removed from the roster earlier this month.

The school has made no public announcement as of yet regarding Meyer’s return to the basketball team and head coach Aaron Johnston had mostly downplayed a possible return, but once Meyer’s name was scratched from the volleyball roster the writing was on the wall.

Meyer’s return instantly shakes up Summit League women’s basketball.

North Dakota State returns most of their roster from last year’s regular season Summit League champion squad and was the choice to win this year’s title in the preseason poll. SDSU was picked second. With Meyer’s return the Bison may still be the favorite, but the Jacks suddenly look like a much bigger threat.

Meyer averaged 22.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last year while shooting .646 from the field — all career-highs. She was the Summit League player of the year and defensive player of the year in 2023-24 and the Summit League tournament MVP last season.

Her 2,097 career points are third in program history, while her 174 blocks rank second and her 850 rebounds fifth. Assuming Meyer stays healthy and plays a significant role on this year’s team, those records are all in jeopardy.

The Jacks host St. Cloud State in an exhibition game tonight and open their season on Monday when they host Creighton.