U of A alumni qualify for men’s volleyball in Paris 2024 Olympics

Back in high school, Ryley Barnes and Brett Walsh broke lamps, photographs, and mugs from always tossing around a volleyball together. Now, they are preparing to play together at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the Team Canada men’s volleyball team.

For Walsh, making his Olympic debut is “nothing short of a dream come true.” Although Barnes was nominated as an alternate, he is “very happy to be in the position,” since he left the sport in 2020 and didn’t plan to return.

The two began their volleyball careers at the University of Alberta, where they played together for four years. Walsh, who graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Commerce, played on the Golden Bears volleyball team for five years. Barnes also played on the team for five years, but left to play professionally in 2017. He returned to school in 2020 to finish his Bachelor of Arts in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism.

Playing for the Golden Bears was the “most memorable portion of my athletics career,” Walsh said. Barnes said he remembers “the people and the times we had there more than anything.”

“I’m just really looking forward to being a Golden Bear at the Olympics,” Walsh added.

After graduating, Walsh went on to play professionally in Italy for a year. He’s stayed in Europe since, having played in Belgium, Turkey, Greece, and now France for the past year.

Walsh will play in France again next year, which will be his eighth year overseas.

“It was a dream of mine from a pretty young age to be a professional volleyball player and play overseas in Europe. Being an athlete at the U of A was a very necessary part of that journey for me. It prepared me really well,” Walsh said.

“We had a lot of people that were really instrumental in our success as a team. None of what I’ve been able to do after the U of A would’ve been possible without the contributions of those people.”

Barnes left the U of A in 2017 to play professionally in France for a year. He went on to play in Russia and Italy, before he returned to finish his degree in 2020. At that point, he “decided to hang the shoes up.”

“I never thought that I’d be back. Then I went and joined Walsh in Greece for a half-season because he did a great job convincing me to come back.”

After, Barnes went on to play two years in France, where he’ll play a third year.

Playing in the Olympics is “the pinnacle of most sports,” Walsh said.

Barnes said it’s a “cool feeling” to look back and see their dreams come to life.

“We both kind of had this goal, as we were growing up from young men to adults, to play together on the national team, make the Olympic squad. It’s great to look back and see how far we’ve come together.”

“We used to put on old Team Canada jerseys and play against each other in the basement,” Walsh added. “Being chosen for the team and being a part of this is definitely an experience of a lifetime. I’m really grateful we still get to play volleyball together and do what we love.”