In the early 2000s, Megan Devlin Olt made her mark at Branford High School as an outstanding basketball and volleyball player, earning her local and state recognition. Like many dedicated athletes, she also excelled in the classroom. After high school, she earned degrees in biology and forensic science and is currently a forensic examiner for the state of Connecticut. Devlin grew up playing basketball and didn’t start playing volleyball until she entered Branford High School. However, she soon achieved as much success and recognition on the volleyball court as on the basketball hardwood. And it was volleyball she played after high school, starting at Colby College for four years and playing in a New England all-star game as a senior.
Devlin first grew to love basketball playing in her driveway with her older brother. From there she played organized basketball in town recreation and travel leagues. When she came to BHS, she immediately stepped into a starting varsity role. As a 9 th grader she was named to the New Haven Tap Off Club All-Freshman team in the 1998-99 season. As a junior she was named one of the team’s co-captains for Hall of Famer Ted Kaczynski’s squad. Throughout her career, she was a dominant force in the Hornet front court. During her senior year, the 5’ 10” forward led the Hornets to the SCC Hammonasset Division, the SCC championship game, and the quarter finals in the state basketball tournament. When she was done, she had scored 1,054 career points, only the third Hornet at the time to achieve such a milestone. She also finished her career with 567 rebounds, 136 steals and 116 assists.
At first, playing volleyball for Devlin was something to do in the basketball off-season. Her skills as a basketball player easily translated to the volleyball court where she was a solid outside hitter. “Basketball and volleyball have a lot of similarities,” she told the New Haven Register in 2000. I thought volleyball would be fun to play and it is. I picked things up really quick.” She certainly did. Like in basketball, she was a varsity starter as a freshman. By the time she was finished her BHS career, she had twice earned second team All State and had been named team MVP her junior and senior seasons. In both those years, she led the Hornets to the SCC Hammonasset division crown. In all, she tallied more than 670 kills and 661 digs over the course of her BHS career.
Her achievements were not limited to the court. She earned high honors throughout high school and was elected into the National Honor Society before graduating in 2003 in the top five of her class in 2002. She also earned a Connecticut Association of Schools Scholar Athlete Award in 2002. After Branford High School, she continued her volleyball career at Colby College, where she was a four-year varsity starter for the Mules. She was named a tri-
captain for Colby in 2005. As a senior, she was selected to play in the New England Women’s Volleyball Association Senior Classic All Star Game. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Colby and went on to the University of New Haven where she received a master’s degree in forensic science. She worked for two years for the City of Denver as a forensic examiner and is now employed by the state of Connecticut in the same role. She has two children, Shawn and Corey, with her husband, Chris.
