When Brandy Paul was guiding Beloit’s volleyball program to its first-ever state appearance in 2015, she couldn’t help but take notice of a young girl who was always around.
 
Addison Budke was only 7 years old at the time, but already she stood out on the volleyball court.
 
“She had three older sisters who were on my first state team, so she was around the program from the get-go,” Paul said of Budke. “Of course, she admired her sisters and was always wanting to be out there with there playing with them. And even then, she was one of the most natural athletes I’ve ever been around.”
 
Wanting to make sure she maximized the ability she saw in Budke, Paul planted a seed that Budke really took to heart.
 
“I just wanted to make her aware of her talent,” Paul said. “Everything had always come so easy for her that I don’t think she was aware of how good she really was. … I think it definitely motivated her.”
 
Indeed it did. Budke blossomed from a promising young athlete into one of the top hitters in state history. The Trojan standout finished her career last month with 2,302 career kills, ranking No. 2 on the state’s career list behind only Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jamie Patrick, who recorded 2,635 kills from 2008-11.
 
“In sixth grade when Brandy was my club coach, she told me she couldn’t wait for me to get up to high school and that I would be really good,” Budke said. “It made me push myself because I didn’t want to let people down and I had so much support along the way from my family, friends and coaches. I just wanted to push myself to be the best I could.
 
“Getting 2,000 kills and being second all-time in Kansas is such a cool accomplishment.”
 
A four-time first-team All-Class 3A selection by the Kansas Volleyball Association, Budke was recently named the Class 3A player of the year for the first time in her career. She’s also this week’s CapFed® True Blue ® Student of the Week.
 
While Budke is widely known for her volleyball exploits, it only scratches the surface of her contributions to Beloit High School. She’s a three-sport athlete, also starring in basketball and track and field and is a member of a handful of clubs at Beloit, including Seatbelts Are For Everybody (S.A.F.E.) and the Science Club, as well as a member of Beloit’s National Honor Society.
 
Outside of school, she’s actively involved in her church, St. John’s Catholic Church, going through the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program.
 
Truth be told, Budke would love to be involved in even more. But her demanding athletic schedule that includes playing volleyball nearly year-round only allows her so much time. She even took a year off from playing basketball to focus on her volleyball future, but returned last season in large part “because I felt I let my team down.”
 
But as busy as she is, Budke refuses to slow down.
 
“I’ve always got something going on, always on the go,” she said. “But I really like it that way. I always have something to do and I’m not just sitting at home not doing anything. It keeps me going and I kind of thrive off that.
 
“Sometimes, it doesn’t let me do things I’d like to try. This year, we have a school play and obviously that takes a lot of time with rehearsals and everything. I really wanted to do it, but volleyball was more important to me. So I had to skip out and that was kind of sad.”
 
Even without being actively involved in more school activities, Beloit principal Casey Seyfert said Budke still has become a significant leader at the school.
 
“She’s just nice to everyone at our school,” he said. “She’s going to help out wherever and whenever she can. And she always treats people the right way. What makes her special is, yes, sports are a big part of what she does, but she works hard in class, she sets a good example for the younger kids and is involved in a multitude of ways with other kids even though she doesn’t have a lot of time because she’s always doing something. She’s a friend to all.”
 
Seyfert has known Budke virtually her entire life with his daughter, Tatum, also a senior at Beloit. The two have been life-long friends and have competed in track and field with each other since an early age.
 
Both compete in throwing events with Seyfert one of the state’s best in the shot put and discus – a two-time Class 3A state shot put and the 2023 champion in the discus. Budke finished third to Seyfert in the shot put at last year’s State Outdoors and was second to Seyfert in the shot put in 2023. She’s also a two-time state qualifier in the javelin, but doesn’t throw the discus.
 
And while Budke has become a role model for many young volleyball players in Beloit, she said she’s always looked up to Seyfert as well.
 
“Our friendship has been very strong, even when we’re not in track season,” Budke said. “She holds me accountable and makes me work hard. I’ve always looked up to her because she’s obviously so good and so strong. She’s just so good and I love cheering her on and pushing her to be better.”
 
Budke’s first athletic role models came from within her own family. Those three older sisters – Kirsten Joy and twins Alexis and Alana Budke – were seniors on Beloit’s first-ever state-qualifying volleyball team in 2015.
 
And as the younger sister by more than nine years, she took it all in.
 
“They would pepper with me and show me what to do,” Budke recalled. “My sisters have always been my biggest role models. I always went to their games and watched them play and it inspired me to be like them.”
 
Now, it’s Budke who’s the role model for the next generation of Beloit volleyball players, a position she’s embraced throughout her high school years after bursting onto the scene with a freshman season in which she ranked among the state leaders with a whopping 679 kills.
 
Whenever she gets the chance, she goes out of her way to mentor and work with younger players, whether it’s those on Beloit’s sub-varsity squads or in the youth camps the high school conducts.
 
“I love seeing those little girls in the stands and helping them out at volleyball camps,” Budke said. “It means a lot that they want to be like me. I try to be a positive, good role model for them. I hope that I left a positive mark and that I’ve shown how to be responsible and how I was the best I could be. I hope people try to set out to beat all my accomplishments.”
 
Paul said the legacy has definitely been left and Budke has been paying it forward to a program she grew up dreaming of starring for and led to great heights with the Trojans capturing North Central Activities Association titles each of her four seasons as well as qualifying for state all four years.
 
“What stands out with her is she doesn’t necessarily want the attention on her,” Paul said. “She would cheer on her teammates more than herself. She was very humble about her talents and was such a great teammate.
 
“She’s been a great mentor to the young girls and even this year I saw her with one of our freshmen and would take her on the court and mentor on what she needed to be doing to improve, and you could just see that freshman shaking her head, ‘OK,’ and taking it all in.
 
“For all these younger girls coming up, Addie’s their idol. That helps the program because these young girls fall in love with the game and want to be her and we’re going to see the dividends for years to come from that.”
 
Though it was a dream for Budke to play college volleyball at the Division I level for the University of Nebraska, she’s instead signed with Division II Nebraska-Kearney, which captured its seventh MIAA title this fall and is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation with a 28-1 overall record.
 
She’ll head to Kearney a well-rounded player, also posting 931 career digs and 185 career aces to go along with her eye-popping kill total that saw her have at least 530 each of her four seasons.
 
Before she leaves, Budke will look to lead Beloit’s basketball team back to the state tournament for the first time since the 2015 team that included Alexis and Alana, as well as challenge for state track and field titles.
 
While her presence in the athletic arena will certainly leave a major hole, Casey Seyfert said the one she leaves at the school in general will be just as big.
 
“When all is said and done, it’s going to be hard on me, personally because I’m losing multiple kids in this class because I think of her as my own kid for how long I’ve known her,” Seyfert said. “She’s always been there and been very active. Just watching her grow up and evolve has been truly special because she’s just a sweet kid who’s so endearing.
 
“We’re going to have great kids coming up because that’s what we do. But we’ll miss her because she’s such a great leader in so many facets. She’s kind of been the face of volleyball and been really good in basketball and track for so long that we’ll need to find a new identity.”