Three-time medallist Neufeld to join BU Wall

Scott Neufeld joined the Brandon University Bobcats without a clear path to court time.

But it wasn’t long before the Brandonite was irreplaceable.

When the program was most known for its superstars from Australia and New Zealand, Neufeld quietly became the only Bobcat volleyball player to win three national medals.

On Thursday, Neufeld was named as part of the Dick and Verda McDonald BU Sports Wall of Fame class of 2026. He will be inducted this fall, along with his 2010-11 national silver medalist and 2012-13 bronze team, as well as the man who got him started in the game — his father, Kevin.

“It’s definitely going to be special that we’re both going in on the same day. I don’t think I could have asked for anything else, honestly,” Scott Neufeld said.

“I wasn’t really expecting it at all.”

Bobcats head coach Grant Wilson said it’s well-deserved.

“Scott is one of those guys that quietly went under the radar, for the most part, because he was a really quiet guy. He was a guy of few words, but his game spoke volumes,” Wilson said.

“He was a really efficient player. You could literally put him in any position on the court, maybe except middle, and he would find a way to help us succeed.”

Kevin is being inducted as a builder, a long-time presence in the Westman volleyball scene and coach of some of the best girls volleyball teams to come out of Brandon.

He led the Crocus Plainsmen and Neelin Spartans to AAAA provincial titles, and served as interim head coach of the 2017-18 Bobcat women when Lee Carter was on a sabbatical.

Scott still remembers knocking a ball around as a little kid at his dad’s practices, not realizing how much it would help him one day.

“Since before I could even remember, I was going to every practice with my dad,” Neufeld said. “He coached from when I was born, so as soon as I could walk, I was going to practices with him.

“It’s crazy, you don’t think of it at the time, but five years old being in the gym … with so many hours spent there, I knew all the positions, I knew how to play them all.”

Neufeld played for Myles Hubbard at Crocus Plains in his freshman year, helping the junior varsity Plainsmen earn a consolation title at AAAA provincials. The setter joined Konrad Plante’s varsity team for the next three years, and made it to provincials but ran into powerhouses in the quarterfinals, never making it past the second round.

In Grade 11, Crocus lost to future University of Manitoba starter Ryan Munt and the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes, who reached the provincial final.

The following year, it was Chris Voth’s St. Paul’s Crusaders. The future pro and current University of Winnipeg head coach earned his second-straight provincial MVP selection after steamrolling through the tournament.

But Neufeld was about to get even over the next few years. When then BU head coach Russ Paddock offered him a roster spot, he saw no need to look elsewhere.

Neufeld joined the relatively new program for just its fourth season of Canada West action, with Aussies Paul Sanderson, Cam Blewett and Luke Reynolds, but didn’t feel comfortable right away.

“It was a bit intimidating. I’m definitely the opposite of most of those guys. I’m on the quieter end, which those guys obviously aren’t, so it was a bit nerve-racking,” Neufeld said.

The six-foot-one rookie saw setters Kyle Dellezay and Andrew Korol ahead of him on the depth chart and didn’t foresee that changing any time soon.

But he didn’t feel like sitting around waiting, either. So he decided to be the best libero he could be, learning from Blewett for a year, grinding on the B-side at practices and coming in as a serving substitute.

The Bobcats enjoyed their best season yet, qualifying for nationals and earning a bronze medal in 2009. Neufeld felt a whole lot more prepared for the future after his rookie year.

“I was taking serves from Sanderson, (Kevin) Miller and those guys,” Neufeld said.

“Getting thrown right into it was a pretty big step getting right into the fire.”

For the next four years, Neufeld was a full-time starter.

In his third year, he owned the role and helped the Bobcats get one step further than 2009.

Neufeld finished the year third in Canada West in digs per set, and the Bobcats earned their second trip to nationals. They beat McMaster in four sets, then swept Laval to reach the final against the host Trinity Western Spartans, who made quick work of the gold-medal match.

Brandon didn’t make it in 2012, but was on a good path to return in 2013 when all-Canadian Sam Tuivai went down with a quad injury late in the season.

Wilson, in his first season as head coach, took a risk.

“You need to become a volleyball player. The more you can do, the more likely you’ll get opportunities to get on the court,” said Wilson, who knew he had a truly versatile guy in his fifth-year libero.

“Our health situation put us in a spot where we needed to make a decision.”

That was to let Neufeld play as an outside hitter and slide rookie libero Jeremy Davies into the lineup.

“We knew he was a great passer, great defender and honestly a pretty good attacker for a guy his size,” Wilson said. “He was a big enough jumper and proved, we felt, that he could handle (blocking).

“We immediately became a really good passing team, we immediately became a really good defending team, and that opened up options for our other guys offensively.”

BU tested it out against the UBC Okanagan Heat on the last weekend of the regular season. While Neufeld put up a measly four kills and six errors on the weekend, Brandon won both matches to take the No. 6 seed into the playoffs.

The Bobcats swept the host Saskatchewan Huskies to reach the final four, where they upset the Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton, and knocked off the Spartans the following night.

Neufeld went error-free with three kills and nine digs in the match.

He repeated the stat line in a 3-1 victory over Montreal in the first round of nationals, then posted three kills and 17 digs in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Laval in the semis. Four of the five sets were decided by just two points.

BU rebounded to beat Western on the last day, as Neufeld capped his career with a second bronze and third overall U Sports medal.

Neufeld graduated with 759 digs, which was a program record and second all-time in Canada West at the time.

After graduating with a bachelor of science degree, he and wife Niki Friesen moved to Fort McMurray, Alta., and lived there for five years, had two kids and then moved to High River.

They have been away from volleyball for a few years but Neufeld said they’ve been in touch with some clubs and would like to get back into it as coaches once the kids are older.

Looking back on memories from more than 13 years ago, Neufeld has simple advice for the current Bobcats.

“Learn to live in the moment. You don’t realize it — I didn’t realize it at the time — how special or important what we were doing for those five years was,” Neufeld said.

“The whole town gets right in there and it’s such a big deal to all of Brandon, if not even beyond.”

• • •

The rest of the class includes Tuivai, Donata Huebert of women’s volleyball and Terena Caryk of women’s basketball in the athlete category.

The builders include Kevin Neufeld and referee Kevin Newton, along with community leaders Bruce Thompson and Doug Roach.

The ceremony is scheduled for the morning of Sunday, Nov. 15 at the Victoria Inn.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com