Get to know Mikayla Butzke
SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Mikayla Butzke, 20, was born in Santa Maria, California, to Tyson and Jennifer Butzke. She has only one sibling, an older sister, Corinne. When she’s not busy being a multi-talented athlete, she also enjoys camping, photography, gardening and volunteering at places with kids and disabled individuals because she loves the feeling of making a difference by bringing happiness to people.
Mikayla is a 2020 graduate of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California. In high school, she played volleyball, basketball and softball all four years. She is currently a freshman at California State University where she plans on majoring in kinesiology and later pursuing a career in some sort of therapy or aftercare, such as physical therapy or occupational therapy.
Butzke remarked that the greatest influence on her is her family. For example, her parents influenced her career choice.
鈥淢y mom is a licensed vocational nurse and my dad studied athletic training and kinesiology in college,鈥� Butzke said. 鈥淚 was going to be a nurse, but then I realized needles freaked me out. So I thought maybe I shouldn鈥檛 do that. Because my dad studied kinesiology, I can go to him and say that my ankle hurts, and he can do a test to tell me what is wrong with it. I thought that was really cool and to be able to help people.鈥�
Not only did Butzke play three varsity sports at Dos Pueblos High School, but she was a standout in all of them. Her most memorable moment in high school was finishing in first place in the Channel League in her senior year because that was what the program had been working towards since her freshman year of high school.
She was an All-Channel league performer in volleyball, basketball and softball, but her one true love is volleyball, and the 6-foot setter signed with California State University, San Marcos, in the fall of 2020. She also played for the Central Coast Spikers (2014鈥�2015), Santa Barbara Volleyball Club (2016鈥�2018) and the SoCal Volleyball Club (2019鈥�2020).
During her four-year high school career, Butzke amassed a staggering amount of accolades, including four-time All-Channel League first-team selections, 2020 Channel League co-MVP, three-time team MVP, two-time Athlete of the Week (2018, 2019), two-time recipient of the Scott O鈥橪eary Lifetime Charger award and Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete award, as well as the 2019 Phil Womble Ethics in Sports award.
She was beloved by her high school coaches, too.
鈥淲ith Mikayla, you know what you are always going to get,鈥� her volleyball coach, Megan O鈥機arroll, remarked. 鈥淪he is fiercely consistent in all the best ways possible. She鈥檚 highly intelligent, her effort is always 120%, she remains calm and positive in all situations and she proved time and time again that she is easily the best setter in Santa Barbara County.鈥�
Her basketball coach, Phil Sherman, had high praise for Butzke as well.
鈥淪he is very easy to coach and get along with,鈥� Sherman said. 鈥淎s far as I am concerned, she is one of the great Charger athletes I have coached in my 20-plus years.鈥�
Not only did she build her athletic career at Dos Pueblos, she also learned how to be a team player and leader. When asked what her biggest challenge was, she reflected on her growth.
鈥淭rying to become a leader for volleyball,鈥� she said. 鈥淔reshman year, I was that freshman on the varsity team, and they were like ‘Whatever.’ For sophomore year, a lot of upperclassmen had left, so the coach pulled me aside and said, ‘You are good, you are strong, you look like you could be a leader so maybe you could step into that role.’ I had to figure out how to hold myself and how to inspire others. At such a young age, to step into being a leader was definitely one of the hardest things for me in high school.鈥�
She alluded to the fact that she had come from a very small middle school with only about 100 kids, so to step into a leadership role her sophomore year was a bit of trial and error until she figured out how to hold herself and inspire others.
Now, Butzke plays volleyball for the Cougars of California State University San Marcos.
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