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You may not know the name Kayla Simmons.
But you may want to get to the name.
Simmons starred at Marshall University as a setter on the volleyball team from 2014-2017. So had over 1,5000 assists in her first three years for the Thundering Herd.
But in lieu of a potential pro career, she’s turned her focus to other avenues, including modeling. That’s turned out to a pretty lucrative decision for Simmons, who recently surpassed the one million follower mark on Instagram.
In 2019, she talked about the switch from sports to modeling and how her time at Marshall prepared her.
“Being a former college athlete and growing up around sports has taught me to push myself to the limit,” she said.
“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.”
But despite any hurdles that may have been in her way, Simmons has turned into a remarkable success on the modeling scene.
And it’s not hard to see why.
Simmons’ latest post quickly garnered over 17,000 likes and nearly 300 comments.
In a recent YouTube Q+A, she talked about how her, um, advantages in modeling were disadvantages on the volleyball court.
“It is funny because, in middle school, I really wished to have small b****. It would have made everything easier for volleyball. But I did not get that wish. You can’t jump as high, you can’t run as fast and everything is harder.” Simmons’ frank admission highlights the physical demands of playing volleyball at an elite level and sheds light on the unique challenges faced by female athletes.”
Clearly things worked out for her in the end.