Wake Forest Athletics
Catherine Burke Brings Depth at Middle Blocker for Demon Deacons Volleyball
12/17/2025 2:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Wake Forest adds a 2024 national champion to its incoming fall roster.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest volleyball program and head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer announced the signing of Catherine Burke on Wednesday.
Burke will join the Demon Deacons' roster for the 2026-27 school year with one final season of eligibility remaining.
Catherine Burke | 6-3 | Middle Blocker | Glenview, Ill. | Penn State
Competing as a middle blocker, Burke comes to DEACTOWN from Penn State, where she spent the last three years. In 2024, she was a member of the Nittany Lions' national championship roster while also landing a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team. An Illinois native, Burke ranked as the No. 86 recruit overall and No. 4 in the state by PrepDig.com as a four-year standout at Loyola Academy. Within club volleyball, she played multiple years with both Wildcat Juniors and Adversity VBC.
Personal
Catherine is the daughter of Jim and Erin Burke, as her father, Jim, played lacrosse at Colby College. She has one older brother, Jack, who played hockey at Navy, one older sister Annabelle, who played lacrosse at Michigan, and three younger sisters: Emma, Nora, and Lily.
From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I'm very excited about the addition of Catherine to our program. She has consistently performed at the highest level against the best players in the country. It is all those players like her who work behind the scenes that create championships as it did for Penn State. A special thanks to Tina Readling on our staff, who was able to see the contributions Catherine made and what she brings to Wake Forest as a graduate student."
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Burke will join the Demon Deacons' roster for the 2026-27 school year with one final season of eligibility remaining.
Catherine Burke | 6-3 | Middle Blocker | Glenview, Ill. | Penn State
Competing as a middle blocker, Burke comes to DEACTOWN from Penn State, where she spent the last three years. In 2024, she was a member of the Nittany Lions' national championship roster while also landing a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team. An Illinois native, Burke ranked as the No. 86 recruit overall and No. 4 in the state by PrepDig.com as a four-year standout at Loyola Academy. Within club volleyball, she played multiple years with both Wildcat Juniors and Adversity VBC.
Personal
Catherine is the daughter of Jim and Erin Burke, as her father, Jim, played lacrosse at Colby College. She has one older brother, Jack, who played hockey at Navy, one older sister Annabelle, who played lacrosse at Michigan, and three younger sisters: Emma, Nora, and Lily.
From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I'm very excited about the addition of Catherine to our program. She has consistently performed at the highest level against the best players in the country. It is all those players like her who work behind the scenes that create championships as it did for Penn State. A special thanks to Tina Readling on our staff, who was able to see the contributions Catherine made and what she brings to Wake Forest as a graduate student."
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
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