Barrington Athlete Set to Play Division One Volleyball

Tommy Leonard really never played volleyball prior to his freshman year and the response he did get when he started was anything but favorable.

“Freshman year was a little rough and there was a lot of laughter from the other team,” the 6‘8 middle blocker remembers fondly from his first year playing the sport he has grown to love.

But after years of practice and playing on varsity for the Barrington Broncos no opponent is laughing, they’re too busy trying to find a way to stop him.  Soon local teams won’t have to worry about the senior as he will be making the jump to the college level. Leonard made it official Nov. 16 that he will be playing at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2012.

“After working with coaches and playing club (volleyball) I realized sophomore year I was getting better and that I really wanted to play in college,” Leonard said.  “It feels pretty good that all the hard work has final paid off.”

Leonard signed with one of the nation’s best colleges for volleyball not only because of their top tier status but because he has a chance to compete for a starting position on a USC team that has won four NCAA championships while appearing in 12 Final Four with two of those appearances happening in the last three years.

“Leonard has the ability to compete for a starting job.” USC head coach Bill Ferguson said in a press release.  “He will solidify our middle blocker corps in the immediate future.”

“We are thrilled about the character and talent that these players bring to the USC program, both on and off the court” Ferguson went on to say of Leonard and the other members of this recruited class.  “Signing a class of this quality fills a lot of our future needs and allows us to build a solid talent base that will carry through the 2016 season."

Last season Leonard earned a spot on the All-Northwest Area team and All-MidSuburban West team racking up 223 kills, added 80 blocks and led the Broncos in hitting percentage while helping to lead them to a West title.  After a disappointing end to the season (loss in the MSL Championship and elimination to Libertyville in the regional championships) Leonard qualified with the Pipeline Volleyball Club to play in the Junior National Championships last July.  But the recent success isn’t the only reason that college coaches, including Penn State UCLA and UC Irvine, have been looking Leonard’s way.

“I think everybody saw the potential from Tommy even when he was a freshman,” Bronco head coach Rob Ridenour said.  “But Leonard’s best trait is his energy and love of the sport of volleyball and that motivates him to work hard and continue improving.” 

“College coaches probably saw the tremendous strides he's made in the last few years and can see that he is a kid that is coachable and will continue getting better,” Ridenour went on to say of Leonard.

After last year’s solid play, Leonard knows that one way to improve would be to bring home some hardware to the Bronco trophy case before heading off to sunny Southern California.  Not an easy task in the MSL, but Leonard knows the team is poised and ready.

“We lost four seniors (from last year’s team) but our team was mostly juniors so we are going to come back strong this year,” Leonard said. “We definitely want to go further than we went last year and that is going to help motivate us this year.”