After a season ending with a Mountain West Championship, the Colorado State Rams are aiming to replicate their success. However, the roster looks significantly different going into the fall, with notable departures of Malaya Jones, Naeemah Weathers, Kennedy Stanford, Karina Leber and Kate Yoshimoto.
In the midst of all the departures, Maria Brun, a sophomore out of Barcelona, Spain, decided to stay and has emerged as the team’s new star player.
“I think she could be one of the Ram greats by the time she’s done,” head coach Emily Kohan said.
Even on a star-studded roster, Brun made her presence known, recording 156 kills in 101 sets played as a true freshman. This upcoming season will look notably different, as Brun enters her sophomore year as the most experienced player on an already young and unproven Rams’ roster that is looking to make a jump in touches and impact.
“Last year, (Brun) only played three rotations, and when the season was over, in our meeting, she was like, ‘How do I play all the way around?’ And she honestly said, ‘How do I get set like Malaya?’” Kohan said.
With a complete roster turnover, the Rams’ 2025 fall roster will consist of nine new additions between the transfer portal and incoming freshmen. Kohan and the team have looked to Brun to be a new voice and leader to fill the void of former players.
It isn’t easy and can ultimately be a lot of pressure for young players to become a team’s vocal leader on top of trying to adjust to a different style of the game, but Brun doesn’t fear the pressure. She’s embraced it, saying, “I actually was so excited — I was not afraid.”
Brun’s vocal impact was palpable as the Rams finished their home spring exhibition games April 19 against Rocky Mountain rival Colorado, beating them 3-1. Brun’s leadership played a crucial role in the team’s success.
“Sometimes when things don’t go good, we say, ‘OK, let’s hold it higher, and let’s take a breath. Let’s get the next ball. Let’s get a good pass,’ and with that, we can work,” Brun said.
With high roster turnover comes growing pains. Even with the Rams’ early spring success, the team looks to continue building their CSU winning culture going into the fall.
“The mission never changes,” Kohan said. “We’re going to go win conference. We’re going to go to the NCAA Tournament, and for the players that were on this team last year, let’s go win that first round and go make a wave.”
Brun is no stranger to a winning culture. Before finding herself at CSU, her team won the Queen’s Cup in the Spanish First League in 2023 and 2024, along with making playoff appearances in 2021 and 2022 and winning the Spanish First League MVP title in 2022.
However, the style Brun was used to looks a lot different here in the U.S. Even with her stellar first season, she seeks to make a great jump this upcoming fall while still adjusting to the U.S. style of volleyball.
“Here, everything (is) more fast,” Brun said. “You need to go for all the balls, even if you don’t arrive — you need to.”
Even with the challenges that come with adjusting to a new style of game, Brun sets her sights high.
“My goals are … (to) keep playing hard (and) improving (on) back row,” Brun said.
Along with Brun’s self aspirations, Kohan echoed her high expectations for Brun as she heads into her fall campaign seeking defend the Ram’s throne, aiming to go back-to-back in a competitive MW conference.
“Just keep getting 1% better every single day,” Kohan said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but you just got to keep climbing and being patient and getting a little better everyday.”
Reach John Vu at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @john_vu10.
