Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía Announces Retirement from Professional Volleyball
Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía has officially closed the book on a storied professional volleyball career that spanned across multiple continents, leagues, championship campaigns, and countless records.
The Dominican Republic National Team star announced her retirement following her final match with Jakarta Popsivo Polwan Volleyball Club in Indonesia’s Proliga, ending a two-season stint with the club and bookending a career that took her across the globe.
“Today I play my last game as a professional player here in Proliga Indonesia,” De La Cruz-Mejía wrote on Instagram. “A moment I want to live and feel complete. I enter the court with gratitude for every process and every fire that formed me.”
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De La Cruz-Mejía’s final chapter came months after she bid farewell to Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball in November 2025, where she finished as the league’s all-time leader in total leaderboard points (17,357), stat points, win points, and MVP points. The 2022 AU champion and two-time runner-up closed her five-season AU career with 68 matches, 914 kills, and a 31-15 record as a team captain.
Her professional career extended far beyond AU, with stops in Puerto Rico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Thailand. She was a member of the 2014 Criollas de Caguas championship team in Puerto Rico and won the 2015 Polish Cup. She also claimed the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation title with the Omaha Supernovas in 2024, tallying 271 kills and 227 digs during that season.
Internationally, De La Cruz-Mejía represented the Dominican Republic, earning eight gold medals, nine silver medals, and six bronze medals throughout her career. She competed at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, totaling 12 kills and 11 digs in four matches and helping the Dominican Republic win Pool A at the 2023 FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier.
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In her retirement statement from AU in the fall, De La Cruz-Mejía reflected on what the league meant to her beyond the records and accolades.
“AU gave me courage, confidence and community,” she wrote. “[AU] Reminded me that volleyball is more than points and victories–it’s connection, inspiration, and legacy. This is my last chapter in the league, and I close it with love, effort, and gratitude.”
Now, that gratitude extends to an entire career that shaped the sport and left an undeniable mark on the volleyball world.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
