BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Long Island University senior Karly Klaer is taking the term student-athlete to a different level.  

During the 2025-26 academic year, the St. Joseph, Michigan native competed with three athletic programs at LIU, being a member of the women's volleyball, basketball, and track and field teams. On top of that, Klaer continued to achieve high marks in the classroom. 

"It's cool to be able to walk across campus and say, 'Hey, what's up teammate?' and then be able to see another teammate that's a completely different sport, but still have that connection across the entire campus," Klaer said.  

In her first year a Shark, Klaer transferred to LIU during the summer of 2025. With previous experience in playing for the LIU women's volleyball coaching staff, head coach Tony Trifonov and assistant coach Mariela Trifonov, the decision to come to Brooklyn was an easy one.  

"He's turned into family; you don't get to say that about most coaches," Klaer said. "My relationship with (Tony) and Mariela has been a game changer for me. Coming from my first couple years of college, I was starting to lose the love of the game. They're what brought that back for me." 

Klaer was a key member of LIU's 2025 NEC regular season and conference tournament-winning women's volleyball team, garnering Setter of the Year and First-Team All-NEC honors. After lining up as a right-side hitter during her junior season, Klaer was moved back to setter this past fall.  

"Over the course of her career at LIU, even though for a short year, Karly has represented everything you want in a Division I student-athlete—leadership, resilience, consistency, and commitment to the program," Tony Trifonov said. "Her impact goes far beyond statistics; she helped shape the culture of our team and set a standard for the players who will follow. We're incredibly proud of the legacy she leaves behind." 

Opposing blockers always had to be on the lookout for the aggressive setter, as Klaer racked up 137 kills on a career-best .251 hitting percentage last fall. Her prowess as an attacker stems back from her high school and club volleyball days, she said.  

"You almost have to focus on something that sets you apart from the other setters, and I was born with a left-handed mindset, Klaer said. "Being able to hit and use the offense in my own personal way helped differentiate me." 

Klaer and the Sharks found plenty of success on the volleyball court in 2025, posting a 20-9 overall record and a 15-1 mark in NEC play, claiming LIU's NEC-leading 12th regular season conference title, and the first in the Sharks era of the program. LIU returned to the NCAA tournament for the second time in the last three seasons and dueled with No. 1 seed Nebraska in the first round. 

"Getting into conference play, that's right when you want to peak," Klaer said. "We did that, and I think we had a really good season. When you look at the beginning of and the end of the season, I think we were a completely different team." 

Following the completion of volleyball season in December, Klaer continued to practice with the team during the spring semester. During one practice, Tony approached Klaer with a question, asking if she had any interest in joining the LIU women's basketball program. 

Basketball wasn't anything new to Klaer, who had received all-conference and all-region honors as a forward at St. Joseph High School in Michigan all four years of high school, and was recruited to play at the collegiate level.  

And, there's the fact that her mother, Kim Klaer, was inducted into the University of Toledo's athletics hall of fame in 2005 after her career on the women's basketball team from 1995-99, where she earned numerous honors, including a pair of MAC Player of the Year awards. Karly was raised in a multi-sport home, as her father, Ryan Klaer, played football at Toledo. 

"I said, 'Well, I'm doing nothing else right now, so sure!" Klaer said.  

After meeting with the LIU women's basketball staff in mid-February, Klaer was soon added to the roster and began activities with the team. Leading up to joining the team, she kept the news from her family until it was official. 

"I needed the jersey in my hand to be able to show her that I'm playing basketball," Klaer said. "... I was like, 'Hey, look what's going on!' She couldn't believe it; her mind was blown. We are extremely close, so hiding that from her was really hard." 

She made her debut on the Shark women's basketball team in LIU's 74-59 win over Saint Francis University on Feb. 19. Klaer was on the court for five minutes in the win, recording three rebounds and a block. Klaer appeared in five games for the Sharks this past season, who reached the NEC Tournament title game for the first time since 2010. 

All while she was joining the women's basketball program, Klaer was in the midst of joining the LIU women's track and field program. Unlike women's basketball, Klaer had prior experience with throwing, having competed in both javelin and shot put at her previous institutions. 

"It's been so fun, I love the throws group," Klaer said. 

With her collegiate career nearing its end, Klaer had one final impressive performance in her, finishing sixth in the shot put (11.87 meters) and third in javelin (34.12 meters) at the NEC Championships earlier this month, the latter of which was a personal best and earned her a podium finish.  

Her final Javelin throw moved her into second place at the NEC Championships, before finishing the meet with a third-place finish. Upon the release of her final throw, she and throwing coach Alan McGhie both knew it was a successful throw. 

"I'm super proud of the way that it went, and super grateful for the family I grew within track throughout the season," Klaer said. "It was a really cool moment to say the least, and really touching." 

While it takes a lot to be a collegiate student-athlete, among the most important factors is time management. For Klaer, she said that is a skill that she gained stemming from her youth, and being raised by her mother and father who were both Division I student-athletes. 

"That goes a lot to the way that my parents raised me," Klaer said. "They really wanted me to be the best version of myself, and they instilled that confidence in myself to be able to compete and do that at the same time." 

While being a three-sport student-athlete is cause for recognition, Klaer said she doesn't want to be remembered for what she accomplished during competition, but for how she was outside of it. 

"I want people to remember me as being a good, well-rounded person," Klaer said. "When it comes back to athletics, athletics are not always going to be in my life. I knew eventually, this day would come ... they're going to remember more how I treated people, and how I interact with people. That's the stuff that sticks with me."