NSD 2025: Seale signs with Brenau University to play volleyball
Grace Seale signed a volleyball scholarship with Brenau University on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
HOPE HULL -- Grace Seale plays a lot of sports at Hooper Academy, but volleyball has always held a special place in her heart.
“I don’t know what separated it from other sports but when I just started playing I absolutely fell in love with it,” she said.
Hooper Academy coach Jessi Hayes remembers her first impression of Seale, who would go on to record 1,000 career kills for the Colts.
“The first time I met her, she walked into the gym as a 12-year-old, a seventh grader, and we were doing some volleyball stuff and she got out on the court and she was just a natural,” Hayes said. “She has a love for the game. She loves to watch it and each skill she loves to work on. It different from other sports that she plays, for sure.”
Seale decided to do her own research to see if she could find a place to continue playing at the collgiate level. She quickly discovered Brenau University, a private NAIA program located northeast of Atlanta in Gainesville, Ga.
“I was just searching through different colleges online and I saw it and looked up the campus and saw how pretty it was,” she said. “So I emailed the coach and reached out and they gave me the chance to play.”
Seale signed the paperwork to play for the Golden Tigers in a ceremony in the school gym on Wednesday morning. She recalled the feeling when Brenau officials reached out to her with an offer to play college volleyball.
“I was just in awe at the time,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to say. It was unreal.”
Seale is a dominant outside hitter for the Colts, but Hayes said she can play multiple positions at the collegiate level.
“Honestly, any position they need,” Hayes said. “I think she can play any position on the front row because she can set, too. She’s going to be whatever they need. That’s what they saw in her, too.”
Hayes hopes the signing will send a message to the next seventh grader walking into the gym.
“As far as I know, this is the first scholarship a volleyball player has signed for,” Hayes said. “I think it’s special to see. Our program has done so well over the last few years. To add to it that she’s going to college to play on a scholarship? That’s a big deal for our program. It shows some of these younger ones there’s a chance for them, too.”