Niko Hales has had an impressive first season at BYU, proving he has the potential to be a key contributor for years to come.
But after this season, his volleyball journey will be put on hold as he prepares to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hales, as one of many BYU students who have decided to serve a mission, will be leaving behind his family, friends, education, and, in his case, volleyball, to teach others in a different part of the world the gospel of Jesus Christ.
About a month ago, the Virginia native first opened his mission call in front of his family, then to his extended family, and finally, to his teammates, who were eagerly awaiting where he was going to serve.
"My teammate Ethan [Gant] drew a beautiful map of the world on the whiteboard, and we all took guesses to where I was going," Hales said. "Before practice, I read the call, and it was honestly such a surreal experience."
Hales got assigned to serve in the Spain Barcelona mission, speaking Spanish. He will start home MTC on June 23.
Being one of the younger players on the team, Hales has learned from the experiences of older players who have served missions and now sees this as a chance to show his teammates how much his beliefs mean to him.
"They're all super excited for me. In a way, this has let me share my testimony with them. They get to see this is something I care about and that I'm dedicating my life to," Hales said. "They made it a special moment; it was a really positive moment for me."
OPK FOR NIKO HALES👏
— BYU Men’s Volleyball (@BYUmvolleyball) February 9, 2025
📺https://t.co/8QwMSzFc4R pic.twitter.com/9FiA5ciSoI
While Hales is looking forward to this opportunity to go out and serve, being a missionary wasn't always something he saw in his future.
"At one point, I certainly thought I wouldn't be serving a mission. All throughout high school, I sort of struggled with my testimony, struggled with some mental health issues, anxiety and depression," Hales said. "It was really when I turned to Jesus Christ that I began to receive strength to endure my trials. As my testimony grew, so did my desire to share my testimony with as many people as I could."
During Hales' senior year of high school, he started to make decisions to come closer to God through small steps of faith. This was also the moment when he started to realize the blessings he had and what matters most.
"I really dove into the scriptures and started taking church more seriously. My life was really transformed in a way that I didn't think was possible," Hales said. "When that happened, I came to the realization that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing, and considering that, the best thing I can do about it is dedicate two years of my life to share it with as many people as I possibly can."
Turning to and trusting Jesus Christ helped Hales as he was going through a tough period of life with anxiety and depression. A scripture passage that helped him, and that he believes could help others who are going through similar challenges, is in Alma 36, where it testifies of the great joy one can experience when they turn to God in hopes of turning their lives around.
"In the Book of Mormon, you read about opposition in all things, understanding that as bad as you feel, there's an equivalent joy, and if you turn to Jesus Christ, all the trials that you're going through will be for your benefit in some way," Hales said. "I really like in Alma when it talks about how bitter was my pain and, on the other hand, how sweet was my joy. Just as far as you descend, if you turn to Jesus Christ, he will help you ascend equally, and in fact, even higher, you'll be able to experience greater joy because of the mental trials that you've gone through."
Hales received strength during this moment and realized that having a relationship with Jesus Christ was the first step in understanding that he wasn't meant to go through his trials alone.
"He will actually help you; he will give you real strength and will do miracles in your life," Hales said. "You won't have to walk the path alone if you turn to Jesus Christ. Once I understood that, everything kind of began to change."
While Hales is looking forward to his chance to serve a mission, he understands that these next two years are going to be a sacrifice and plans to be fully dedicated to his calling as a missionary.
When serving a mission, missionaries have only an hour each morning for exercise, as the rest of the day is dedicated to studying scriptures, planning lessons, finding people to teach and serving others. In addition, they have a preparation day once a week to call home, enjoy sports and other activities, and take care of personal matters.
"I'm going to do my best with the time I have in the mornings to work out, and on P-Days, if I could play volleyball, that would be great," Hales said. "It is a sacrifice, realistically, I'm not going to be able to stay in perfect volleyball shape, so I'm committing the next two years to make the mission the highest priority, but a big portion of that will be working hard when I get back to the facilities and our strength coaches."
With so much on his plate with preparing for games, being on the road, school, and now preparing for a mission, Hales has had to learn to prioritize. He's grateful for the patience and instruction from his professors, MTC tutor, and teammates, some who have been able to help him with his Spanish during this busy period.
"It's definitely been a lot, and it's been very beneficial for me learning how to organize myself, plan ahead, and learning to prioritize, like what's most important in my life," Hales said. "First and foremost, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ."
Something that has helped Hales is making sure to plan on accomplishing the most important things first, such as finding time to study from the scriptures and attend the temple.
"After that come my other responsibilities: I'm a son, I'm a brother, I'm a teammate, I'm a friend," Hales said. "Making sure my priorities are in the right place and that I'm doing the best I can in all those areas of my life. That's really what it comes down to."
While most of the volleyball team are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Hales has had the chance to teach and learn from his teammates who are of other faiths. He speaks of how spiritual diversity has built a unique brotherhood on the team.
"We have people from different denominations and different faiths on our team, and we'll have honest discussions about religion, God, and Jesus Christ. We've definitely come closer because of it," Hales said. "We start every game with a prayer, which has been a super cool experience for us."
While it's far down the road, Hales isn't ruling out the idea of playing volleyball professionally after his time at BYU. Hales admitted that he's already had discussions with his mom about the potential of continuing to play volleyball in Spain if the opportunity allows.
So far, the 6-foot-8 middle-blocker has made his presence known on the defensive side of the ball with 64 blocks this season, which is second on the team, as well as leading the Cougars with 1.12 blocks per set.
Hales has been an anchor on the Cougars' front line as they enter their final stretch of the season.
Their next games will be this weekend in Phoenix to play a series against Grand Canyon University before returning home for games against Stanford on April 3 and 4.