WINCHESTER — Shortly after going to the podium during Thursday night’s college signing ceremony in the James Wood High School auditorium, Colonels volleyball coach Adrienne Patrick stated, “Kennedy [Spaid] is a four-year varsity athlete with more accolades than I have time to mention in my short time that I’m allowed to speak.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more decorated trio of athletes on any stage for the countless number of signing ceremonies that will take place across the country in the coming months.
After each made a verbal commitment to their respective schools more than a year ago, volleyball players Spaid and Brenna Corbin and softball player Brynnen Williams made their decisions final to compete at the NCAA Division I level following Wednesday’s initial signing date. Approximately 100 people came out to celebrate their achievements on Thursday night.
Spaid will play beach volleyball on a full academic and athletic scholarship to Arizona State University; Corbin will compete in indoor volleyball for James Madison University on a scholarship that will cover two of her four years; and Williams will participate for Eastern Kentucky University. Williams isn’t able to reveal her scholarship details, but she said she’s “very fortunate” with what she will get.
Spaid and Corbin have led James Wood to three straight Class 4 state championships, and they’re three wins away from earning their fourth state championship rings. The 27-2 Colonels host Dominion in the Class 4 quarters at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Deep feelings for the athletes was evident. Patrick got emotional during the overall ceremony, and Williams’ Tri-State Thunder NoVa coach Anna Green also had to compose herself during an extended segment for Williams and her supporters afterward. In between the two speaking portions was 20 minutes of photos with friends, family, coaches, current teammates and former teammates.
Before the ceremony began, each athlete spoke about decisions that they’ve known for a long time were the right ones for their college futures.
A 5-foot-11 outside hitter, Spaid is a three-time Virginia High School League Class 4 All-State First Team selection, two-time Class 4 Player of the Year and a two-time Winchester Star Player of the Year. On Oct. 2, Spaid broke the program record of 1,293 career kills and has 1,477 heading into the Dominion match. At the end of the regular this season, Spaid ranked second in the area in kills per set (4.95), eighth in digs per set (2.77) and was tied for seventh in aces per set (0.71).
Spaid’s beach accomplishments include winning the 14U Nationals in Atlantic City, N.J., with Corbin in the summer of 2022.
“I love the outside,” said Spaid when asked why she enjoys beach volleyball so much. “I love the heat. I love having control over the ball, because beach volleyball is only two players, and I can touch the ball each play.”
Spaid made an official visit to Arizona State in Tempe in August of 2024, and liked it so much that she committed a week later.
“I think I knew right away that’s where I wanted to go,” Spaid said. “The coaches were great. They were very welcoming. I loved it there. It felt like home. I’m so excited to get down there and start playing.”
Arizona State went 22-14 last year. (The beach season starts in February and runs through May, and features five pairs of active players in each team match.) The Sand Devils went 2-2 at the Big 12 Championships and took second after losing to national Texas Christian University twice. TCU and LSU were two other schools Spaid considered.
Arizona State finished with a No. 11 national ranking under Kristen Glattfelder, who is entering her third year at ASU. Spaid appreciates the attention from the Sand Devil coaches.
“They’ve texted me every week just to check on me,” Spaid said.
Spaid’s looking forward to giving ASU her best.
“I’ve been playing indoor volleyball almost 13 years now, and beach for almost nine,” Spaid said. “As soon as I stepped on a sand court, I knew that’s what I wanted to go to college for. I’ve been working for it.”
Spaid said she plans on studying either nursing or health science.
Corbin is also a three-time Class 4 All-State First Team selection. She surpassed the 1,000-career dig mark at James Wood’s Champions Classic tournament to open the season. The 5-5 Corbin will be a libero for JMU but has been an outside hitter for much of her career with the Colonels. In the regular season, Corbin ranked first in the area in aces per set (1.13), fourth in digs (3.42) and fifth in kills (3.03).
For Corbin, the Harrisonburg area has long felt like home. Corbin has grandparents, an aunt, an uncle and a cousin who live there.
Like Spaid, she only needed a week after her first volleyball experience with her future school to commit. Spaid participated in a prospect camp one week before telling JMU she was going there in July of 2024.
“I had been to other camps and other different schools, and nothing felt like home like JMU did,” said Corbin, who also received an offer to play from American. “The coaches are amazing. I couldn’t ask for better coaches. The players are just so welcoming and just made me feel so comfortable.”
The Dukes are led by 16th-year head coach Lauren Steinbrecher. She has guided JMU to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a 20-7 record this year. The Dukes are Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions with a 13-2 record and will compete in the SBC Tournament next Friday.
Proximity to family was also a major attraction for Corbin to go to JMU.
“I’m super excited to get those home-cooked meals,” she said.
Corbin is graduating early from James Wood and will enroll in JMU for the spring semester. Corbin will major in biology and minor in pre-veterinary medicine.
“I’m just super proud of myself,” Corbin said. “I’ve come super far. I’ve put my heart and soul into this sport, so I’m super glad I’ll be continuing it at JMU. I’m ready to train with the girls and just be a part of the team already.”
For Spaid and Corbin, being able to sign together made Thursday extra special.
“This is one of our last moments together because she’s going early to college,” Spaid said. “We’re playing our last few games together, so it’s pretty bittersweet. I’ve done all this with her all along.”
“I’m super proud of her, and Brynnen also,” Corbin said. “We all deserve it with our hard work at James Wood.”
During the ceremony, Patrick pointed out the team’s court alignment always has them supporting each other.
“When one’s in the front row, the other’s in the back row,” Patrick said. “They really are each other’s true supporters.”
It was at this point where Patrick had to take a long pause to collect herself. Patrick has not only coached Spaid and Corbin for all four years of high school, but they were student managers as middle school students after Patrick took over as varsity head coach for the 2020-21 school year. This is Patrick’s last year as the Colonels’ head coach — she’ll be an assistant principal at Millbrook next year.
“[It’s] tremendous, phenomenal,” said Patrick about spending all six of her coaching years with the duo. “Both of these young ladies are more than phenomenal volleyball players. They’re hard-working students.”
Patrick noted the duo has helped James Wood received three American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Academic awards for maintaining a minimum 3.75 team GPA for the entire school year.
“Girls, please remember what you did here,” Patrick said. “Let your success be a constant reminder of what you can do. You have left an indelible mark on the volleyball program, this school and this community. I’m incredibly proud of you both, and honored to have been one small part of your journey.”
James Wood’s assistant coach is Corbin’s mother, Brandy. Naturally, she was also bursting with pride. After walking on, Brandy played college volleyball herself at West Virginia University for one year before spending three years at Shenandoah University.
“It just goes to show you that the amount of work and the hours really pays off,” said Brandy of the duo. “As a coach, I’ll tell that to anybody. I walked on and made it [at WVU]. I always try to encourage girls that no matter when you start [playing], your dreams can come true.
“It’s been an honor to see not only my daughter, but almost like my second daughter because they’ve been so close all the way through, go through the process of that. I couldn’t pick two people better in the community to showcase what a Colonel is, what a volleyball player is, and what a good human being is.”
Williams is a shortstop for James Wood who is capable of also playing third base and second base at the college level.
Williams is a three-year varsity starter and two-time All-Region selection. She holds the program record for batting average (.541 as a sophomore). For her career, she has more than 100 hits, 91 runs, a batting average of .472 and an on-base percentage of .538. Williams is The Winchester Star’s reigning Softball Player of the Year.
Last year, Williams had 43 hits in 82 at-bats to repeat as the area’s batting champion (.524, 79 points higher than the runner-up). She repeated as the area on-base percentage champion (.571, 71 points higher than anyone else). She led the area in runs (32, two more than anyone else) and ranked second in RBIs (29).
Williams became interested in Eastern Kentucky when she attended a camp at the University of Kentucky in the summer of 2024. It was there that she met Sarah Rainwater, a former Wildcat player who was then the EKU director of softball operations and assistant coach. Rainwater’s passion for EKU made Williams love it as well.
Rainwater’s husband decided to take a job as an offensive line coach at the University of Rhode Island, so now Rainwater is an assistant softball coach at Rhode Island. Williams said it was difficult to hear that from Rainwater, but she understood.
“She made a big impact throughout my commitment there,” Williams said. “Just getting to know who she was as a coach at that camp, that was my assurance that I need to see what Eastern Kentucky had to offer.”
There’s plenty for her to be excited about in Richmond, Kentucky, where Williams will be able to continue her scholastic career as a Colonel and major in agriculture.
She first visited EKU in September of 2024, a trip that allowed her to get her first long interaction with Jane Worthington, the only head coach EKU has had since it started its program in 1993. Worthington has guided the Colonels to three NCAA Tournament appearances, and last year’s squad went 38-16 overall and 17-5 in the Atlantic Sun to take second.
“Getting to meet [Worthington], seeing the coaches interact together, meeting a couple of the players, i had that ‘home’ feeling,” Williams said. “They have a 1,000-acre farm there, and that was a home away from home for me. I just had this warm feeling the whole time I was there. I had a smile on my face. Meeting people with the same common goals and interests as me was really reassuring that this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Williams also visited JMU and Kent State, but she canceled several trips after her experience at EKU. She gave her verbal commitment in October of 2024.
“Before I was even born, my dad always said he was going to have a daughter, and she was going to play Division I softball when she grew up,” Williams said. “He kind of spoke it into the universe for me.”
Williams had to endure some harsh spoken words as well in her journey to Thursday’s ceremony. When she played for a 12U team in Loudoun County, the experience was so bad that she thought about quitting the sport.
“I faced a lot of adversity growing up, which has obviously shaped me into who I am today,” Williams said. “It was the constant, ‘You’ll never be good enough, you’re not strong enough, you’re too short, you’re not vocal enough, your attitude isn’t good enough.’ No matter what I did or how I did it, I was never going to be good enough in their eyes.
“The [official signing Wednesday] marked me fulfilling a dream that me as a little kid, I wanted to do. Eastern Kentucky has been everything for me.”
During Williams’ portion of the ceremony, she spoke about the numerous people in her life now and thanked them for shaping her career, particularly her parents for the sacrifices they’ve made.
The softball coaches who spoke all expressed great admiration for Williams.
“Some words to describe Brynnen for me — game-changer, difference-maker, and just an overall winner,” James Wood head coach Patrick Gibson said. “She’s a pleasure to coach, because she doesn’t settle for average, and she helps the standard for what we’re looking for at James Wood. Brynnen, I want to thank you for being coachable, showing up every day with a winning mindset, and your dedication to James Wood softball. EKU is getting an amazing player.”
Frank Paige first met Williams when she was 8 or 9, and he’s worked with her just about every week since for hitting instruction. He’s always liked her determination, no matter how she’s feeling, and he credited Williams’ parents for shaping her into someone who’s respectful, kind and appreciative.
“She will be successful,” Paige said. “You just have to keep pushing, keep striving. There are moments where you’re going to want to give up … but that’s when you know a breakthrough is on the other side.”
Green began giving Williams fielding and hitting lessons when she was 11, and Green said she knew Williams would be playing Division I ball immediately. This fall is her first coaching Williams in a team environment with Tri-State.
“[At 11], she was bursting with passion and excitement,” said Green, a JMU player from 2011-13. “Most importantly, she had so much potential, and you could just see it oozing out of her. You can teach skill, you can teach fielding, you can teach hitting. But you can’t teach heart. You can’t teach the love of this game, and teach people how to want it. You either have that thing, or you don’t. Brynnen has that in spades, and I could see it since she was a little kid.
“I have played with a lot of incredible athletes over the years, and I’ve coached a lot. There has not been one singular person who has ever outworked Brynnen Williams. She has outhustled everyone I’ve ever interacted with in this sport. All the success she’s had in this sport is purely hers. She’s earned it, 100 times over.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
Follow on X @WinStarSports1