AMHERST, N.Y. -- Three months after graduation, Daemen University men's volleyball alumnus
Cameron Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) is one week away from embarking on the next big chapter of his life: flying across the pond to play professional volleyball in Denmark.
"I'm feeling a little bit of every emotion right now. Excited, a little nervous because it's a super new experience in a completely different country but this is what I've been wanting to do for my entire life so I can't complain about anything, I'm super excited for it," Milligan said. "This is what I've wanted for so long and now it's finally coming true."
Milligan signed with an agent shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 Daemen men's volleyball season ended, and together with the help of his agent Milligan made the choice to sign to play for Volleyklubben Vestajælland. Leaving America on August 13, his contract runs from August 14 to May 1 with his first professional game set to play on September 27. Playoffs will be around mid to late April.
"It's like a whole school year, but now I'm just studying volleyball instead of schoolwork."
He will be the only American on the team, but won't have too far to find a familiar face in Denmark. Former Wildcat
Jake Couzens, who was a part of Daemen men's volleyball's first graduating class in 2023, will be playing for another team in Denmark about an hour away from Milligan.
A native of Pavilion, N.Y. and attending school at Daemen an hour away from his hometown for the past four years, Milligan will be leaving the familiarity of Western New York for the first time in his life as he prepares to leave the country for the first time. Just as they were at his home games in Lumsden Gymnasium, the Milligan family will be cheering on his every move from afar.
"I think a very similar feeling to me, it's going to be tough to leave them and I think they're kind of nervous for me to leave but they are just super excited because they know how much I want this and how passionate I am about volleyball. They're excited for me but obviously they're going to miss me. We're already talking about when they're going to come visit," Milligan said.
As he prepares to embark on this next adventure, it's not lost on Milligan that he's blazing a trail for other Wildcat graduates of the men's volleyball program to follow at the professional level overseas in the years to come.
"I'm still going to be following the Daemen season and I'm still really close friends with all the Daemen guys, so any questions that they have I'll be available to answer them. I've had some parents say they're going to vicariously live through me so that they can see what it's like and see if that's something that they'll want to do. I'm so open to helping anyone get through the process and get to play pro like I am," Milligan said.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
