Getty Image
By now, you must have been living under a rock if you don’t know the name of former Division I volleyball player Kayla Simmons
Simmons, who played her collegiate career for Marshall University, is one of the most-followed former female athletes in the world on social media.
The blonde bombshell and former SI Swimsuit model has over one million followers on her Instagram page.
But before becoming a social media star, she shined on the hardwood.
Simmons finished her career with over 2,000 assists for the Conference USA program. The 5-foot-9-inch Gainesville, Florida native certain left her mark on Thundering Herd volleyball.
Though she says the university was not always supportive of her pursuits away from the court.
“Being a former college athlete and growing up around sports has taught me to push myself to the limit,” Simmons said in 2019 while applying to a spot in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. “College athletics was a great experience for me, but it also taught me some valuable lessons. I was told by my school administrators that the pictures I post are inappropriate because of my body, I was even asked to delete my Instagram at one point. I was torn bc I felt I couldn’t embrace my body & play the sport I love. I’ve since learned that you can’t let other people affect how you feel about yourself.”
She hasn’t let that hold her back though. Simmons built a massive brand for herself, and it’s easy to see how and why.
She went viral yet again on Thursday with a series of Instagram photos recapping her life of late.
Within 24 hours, the post has over 35,000 likes and nearly 500 comments. Simmons’ popularity seems to be growing with each passing day. And with posts like the one from Thursday, it doesn’t seem like that’ll stop anytime soon.