Chasin' rings | Chapter 4

With one season of college volleyball now under her belt, Kansas sophomore Logan Bell — the lone freshman on KU's 2025 team — has her sights set on an even bigger second year with the program, both for herself individually and for the team.

In Year 1 with the Jayhawks, Bell made an instant impact in multiple areas — as a hitter, with her defense and behind the service line.

She said recently that nearly every step of that first year brought with it lessons to learn and she's excited to move into her second season of college volleyball with a greater understanding of what it takes to play the game at this elite level.

She also has bigger goals than before. And they're written down as a reminder in a team-issued binder, which has the Jayhawks' scouting notes for the season and a pretty important first page.

That's where the team goals are listed. Last year, Bell said the same page had a trip to the Sweet 16 as its biggest achievement. And the Jayhawks got there during what could only be viewed as a successful first season under new KU coach Matt Ulmer.

This year? They added to the list and the 2026 first page now includes reaching the Elite Eight, Final Four and winning a national championship as this team's goals, along with their quest to win a Big 12 title and host NCAA Tournament matches, as well.

"They’re on there now. All of them," Bell said before the season began. "Baby steps. But you’ve gotta keep fighting until you get all the way there."

As Bell and the Jayhawks chase those goals — and the championship rings that come with some of them — we’ll follow her every step of the way in the latest edition of our weekly diary series that will chronicle Bell's 2026 season.

Some of what you’ll read here, in Bell's own words, will focus on the stuff happening on the court — big wins, memorable moments and the grind of the season.

But a lot of it will focus on Bell the person, whose passion for volleyball is almost unmatched and ready to be further unleashed.

The Logan Bell File

Age: 19 | Number: 25 | Height: 5-11 | Position: Outside Hitter

Hometown: Beech Grove, Ind. (Indianapolis) | High School: Roncalli High

Notable: Logan Bell came to KU after initially committing to Oregon, where current Kansas coach Matt Ulmer recruited her before he left to take the job in Lawrence... During her standout high school career, which featured a 35-o run to the Class 3A Indiana state title during her senior season in 2024, Bell was named the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024 and also was one of five finalists for the MaxPreps National Player of the Year award that same season... She was a two-time, first team all-state selection and also played libero during her prep career... As a freshman at KU last season, Bell appeared in all 35 of KU's matches, aiding her team's run to the Sweet 16 by making an impact all over the floor... She has younger twin siblings, one brother and one sister, and is the daughter of lefty parents... Her mom, Jessica, was a setter at Miami (Ohio) and is in the school's athletics Hall of Fame, and her father, Kory, played minor league baseball. Bell is majoring in sport management and also has interest in journalism.

KU record to date: 10-4 overall, 3-1 Big 12 play, ranked No. 19

Next up: Sunday at UCF, first serve 12 p.m. (central)

We're now more than five years into the NIL era of college sports, but the opportunity for men and women to use their name, image and likeness to make money remains an important part of the college experience for many athletes.

And that's particularly true in sports outside of football and men's basketball, the top two revenue sports at just about every Power 4 conference school.

Not long after she joined the Jayhawks in 2025, Bell found out firsthand about the NIL opportunities that existed for her and her teammates, in addition to other team-driven efforts, and it didn't take long for her to jump at the chance to create some Logan Bell merch.

“I had seen it pop up on my feed before, somebody had gotten some and there’s all kinds of different merch lines that you can work with.”

Do they reach out to you or you have to find them?

“Both. Depends. In my case, they reached out to me. It’s a company called My Player. They asked me, ‘Hey, do you want some merch,’ and I was like, ‘Heck yeah!’”

*** LINK TO LOGAN BELL'S MY PLAYER MERCH STORE ***

A sampling of a few of the different items available for purchase on Logan Bell's My Player merchandise page.

From there, the process was easy. Crazy easy, in fact.

Fill out a form, upload your signature, pick a few favorite action photos and your favorite media day images and they do the rest.

The My Player platform ensures that all merch prominently features the athlete's school colors, but the items each athlete can slap his or her name, image and likeness on is entirely up to the athlete.

“You can do a hat, golf balls, sweatshirts, crew necks, T-Shirts, polos. I think you get maybe like 10 options and it uploads to a page. You get your own page and then you can post it to your socials and share the links and people can buy your items.”

Much like a fashion designer on Seventh Avenue in New York City, Bell and all of the My Player athletes get to pick and choose their favorite graphics and looks from a collection created for them.

Bell, who earns commission on each item sold, called the whole process "super-easy" and said it wasn't at all time consuming on the front end or while the merch is up for sale.

“They ship all the stuff. I don’t have to do it. And this year they were like, ‘Hey, LB, we gotta run it back for Year 2.’ And I was like, ‘Let’s do it!’”

New images, different items, different graphics, same fun.

As one might expect, Bell's family and friends have purchased plenty of her gear, but she said she's seen it elsewhere too, on random fans who come up to support the Jayhawks on match night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

“That does happen. And it's so cool. It’s fun when we do autographs and they have you sign it. It’s like, ‘Aw, I’m glad I’m making an impact on others.’ That’s why I play volleyball. I want to show off my gifts that God gave me, and this kind of touches a good part of your heart. It’s like, ‘OK, this is why I do it.’ It’s a good reminder.”

Logan Bell (25) reacts to a KU point during a recent home victory. [Kansas Athletics photo]

When Bell sees one of her family members rocking her gear at a regular match, it barely registers and is mostly like, 'Hey, nice shirt, let's go!'

However, last season, when the Indianapolis native traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue, she was blown away by what she saw — nearly 150 friends and family members took over a chunk of Purdue's volleyball arena, many of them wearing Logan Bell, KU #25 gear from her My Player merchandise line.

“It was crazy. That was really fun. It’s funny, too, because, when they called my name when I was getting introduced, the entire gym basically erupted and half of one whole side was basically my people. It was really, really special.”

Surely, then, Bell has some of her own merch in her closet and dresser drawers, right?

Nope.

“None. I don’t feel like that’s right to own your own gear. I don’t know, having a shirt with my face on it and wearing it, I don’t know.”

When the thought of having them as keepsakes to look back at many years down the road was introduced, Bell had an answer for that, too.

“My parents have 'em.”