That is the second of our two-part preview of boys highschool volleyball season.
Monday, we featured Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawai’i, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky:
Michigan
Michigan expanded its playoffs to 2 divisions final 12 months. In Division 1, Hudsonville made it again to again, beating Grand Haven for the second straight 12 months. In Division 2, Lowell defeated South Christian.
High Applications
1 — Grand Haven
2 — Hudsonville
3 — Lowell
4 — Northville
5 — Saline
Gamers to Watch
OH — Gavin Barber (Lowell)
OH — Brendan Buntley (Grand Haven)
OH — Troy Jones (Sparta)
OH — Ryder Roberts (Hudsonville)
OH/S — TQ Setla (Northville)
Noteworthy: Michigan has but to sanction boys volleyball, however it continues to develop. There have been 4 groups when it began in 2018 and there have been 60 final spring.
Quoteworthy: “As our packages achieve extra expertise, the extent of play continues to enhance at a very quick charge. Hudsonville and Grand Haven have established themselves as high packages within the state and there are a variety of packages who will problem them this 12 months, together with Lowell, Saline, Northville and Forest Hills Japanese. West Michigan has been the hub volleyball, nevertheless the east aspect of the state is essential in our progress of our sport and appears able to explode with new groups.” — Grand Haven coach Aaron Smaka.
Minnesota
Final Might, Minnesota obtained the votes it wanted to have the primary sanctioned highschool season in 2025. For the 2024 season the state has acknowledged boys volleyball with rising sport standing.
High Applications
1 — Andover
2 — Bloomington Jefferson
3 — Eden Prairie
4 — Rogers
5 — St Michael Albertville
Gamers to Watch
MH – Parker Butterfass (Shakopee)
OH – Reed Johnson (Bemidji)
S — London Kassulke (Maple Grove)
S – Trevor McClenahan (Lakeville South)
L – Will Schneiderman (Mound Westonka)
Noteworthy: It was reported that 183 groups, together with 1,974 boys, competed within the 2023 highschool membership season.
Quoteworthy: “The competitors simply retains bettering. So many groups are at increased ranges total this 12 months which will make for some nice competitors. I’m extremely happy with the efforts put forth in all our taking part communities to make boys volleyball occur in MN.” – Krista Flemming, MN Boys Excessive College Volleyball Affiliation
Nevada
Shadow Ridge is the two-time defending state champion in 5A however must fill some massive vacancies to key positions. This season might one of the crucial aggressive in a number of years with a minimum of 4 of the highest 5 colleges legitimately having a possibility to win in 5A.
High Applications
1 — Palo Verde
2 — Arbor View
3 — Coronado
4 — Shadow Ridge
5 – Centennial
Gamers to Watch
MB — Jayden Bell (Coronado)
OH — Reece Brenner (Arbor View)
OH — Dylan Ho (Palo Verde)
OH — Jaxon Leavitt (Arbor View)
S — Braxton Rowley (Coronado)
Quoteworthy: “The highest 5 packages every year for the previous decade appear to be the identical colleges reshuffled solely by the energy of every 12 months’s personnel. This season might one of the crucial aggressive seasons in a number of years with a minimum of 4 of the highest 5 colleges legitimately having a possibility to win the coveted 5A state title.” — Vegas United director Rob Rios
Ohio
Archbishop Moeller received the final three Division I state championships, however has a brand new coach in Casey Pieper, the previous Ohio State participant who has coached the freshmen the previous three years. The Crusaders’s key returnees embrace setter Ben Marcum, reverse Tyler Geselbracht and libero Tyler Wong. Olentangy Liberty, which misplaced in final 12 months’s ultimate, returns almost the complete beginning lineup and seem like the early favourite, led by exterior Caden Whiteside, libero Austin Mallory and center blocker Jake Koch. St. Xavier, which performs in the identical league as Moeller is led by the center blocker duo of Brady Jones and Noah Boyett, setter/reverse Aidan Berkemeier and outdoors Andrew Berkemeier.
High Applications
1 — Olentangy Liberty
2 — Archbishop Moeller
3 — St. Xavier
4 – Archbishop McNicholas
5 — Mt. Vernon
Gamers to Watch
OH — Parker Gantt (Mt. Vernon)
MB — Brady Jones (St. Xavier)
L — Aidan Kolb (Hilliard Darby)
L — Austin Mallory (Olentangy Liberty)
OH — Caden Whiteside (Olentangy Liberty)
Noteworthy: Ohio begins its second 12 months of sanctioned play throughout the OHSAA after greater than 30 years of membership sports activities historical past.
Quoteworthy: “Boys highschool volleyball in Ohio has exploded in recent times, significantly with the formal recognition of the OHSAA a 12 months or so again, and with that, the variety of excellent gamers and groups has jumped as properly. We’ve additionally seen many extra alternatives for boys to play past highschool, and people alternatives are being stuffed by gamers from throughout the state, not simply the standard powerhouse colleges. Whereas the middle of energy in boys volleyball has traditionally been Cincinnati, we now see a number of groups and nice gamers from each inside and outdoors of Cincinnati difficult for titles every year. The longer term may be very shiny for males’s volleyball in Ohio.” — St. Xavier coach Invoice Ferris
Oklahoma
Boys highschool volleyball returns to Oklahoma after a 36-year hiatus with the assist of the Oklahoma Boys Volleyball Affiliation (OKBVA), a non-profit group established in 2020 to advertise and help Oklahoma excessive colleges in establishing groups by means of grassroots efforts. The purpose is to grow to be a sanctioned sport by the Oklahoma Secondary colleges Actions Affiliation (OSSAA).
High Applications
1 — OKC Storm (Oklahoma Metropolis)
2 — Casady College (Oklahoma Metropolis)
3 –Jenks Excessive College (Tulsa)
4 — Edmond-North Excessive College (Oklahoma Metropolis)
5 — Damaged Arrow Excessive College (Damaged Arrow)
Gamers to Watch
S — Krish Vasan (Casady College)
S — Hudson Headrick (Jenks Excessive College)
OH — Gabriel Becerra (OKC Storm)
OH — Billy Harms (Damaged Arrow)
OH — Evan Halleran (Casady College)
Noteworthy: The game has grown from one highschool group in 2020 to a minimum of 16 groups taking part within the 2024 OKBVA spring season with eight extra on the horizon. The Oklahoma State event is Might 10-11.
Quoteworthy: “I’ve seen regular progress in Oklahoma boys volleyball over the previous 16 years of teaching. The game has been alive at Casady College in Oklahoma Metropolis since 1978, and golf equipment have been steadily including increasingly more boys in any respect age ranges over the previous a number of years … It’s a very thrilling time for the expansion of boys volleyball in Oklahoma,” — Casady coach Jay Gallegly
Pennsylvania
Decrease Dauphin (Hummelstown) has received three straight state championships in Class AA, however coach David Machamer will want significant contributions from a number of recent faces for the streak to proceed. The Falcons graduated all-state setter Will Sierer (Juniata Faculty), however all-state first-team exterior Arun Gopinath and junior reverse Kyler Holland. In-district foe Exeter (Studying), led by Penn State commit Gaige Gabriel and first-team all-state libero Chase Nugent current an enormous problem.
At school AAA, North Allegheny (Wexford) has received 4 out of the final 5 state championships, however upstart Shaler Excessive College (Pittsburgh) bested North Allegheny for the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championship, claiming a high seed within the state-championship bracket. Shaler misplaced to AAA champion Parkland (Allentown), however returns each contributing participant, together with Pittsburgh Put up Gazette participant of the 12 months Logan Peterson and fellow two-time all-state center blocker Dante Polumbo. Foes from Pennsylvania’s south-central District 3 embrace Central York (York), Warwick (Lititz), and Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg).
Whereas the Pennsylvania boys’ volleyball panorama is historically dominated by the Pittsburgh and Harrisburg metro areas, groups from northeast, northwest, and Philadelphia suburbs have had an growing affect on the state playoff brackets. Newcomer Mercyhurst Prep (Erie) shocked the Pennsylvania panorama because it superior to the AA state semifinals in its first 12 months of competitors in 2023.
High Applications
1 – Shaler (AAA)
2 – Parkland (AAA)
3 – North Allegheny (AAA)
4 – Exeter (AA)
5 – Decrease Dauphin (AA)
Gamers to Watch
S/OPP – Kyle Charles (Warwick)
OH/OPP – Logan Peterson (Shaler)
MB – Gaige Gaibriel (Exeter)
OPP – Nathan Knapp (Pennsbury)
MB – Carter Weight (State Faculty)
Noteworthy: Boys volleyball has been an formally sanctioned hampionship since 1936. In 2007, Pennsylvania started awarding state championships in two classifications (AAA and AAA). North Allegheny and Northeastern (York) have received 9 titles every. There have been 224 enjoying in 2023 and Pennsylvania additionally affords a cooperative program the place many colleges enable boys from neighboring college districts to compete as a part of their groups.
Quoteworthy: “Extra college students are getting concerned at youthful ages — credited to the creation of center college packages and aggressive membership alternatives — resulting in an improved stage of play. Past highschool, the variety of Division III faculties providing males’s volleyball in Pennsylvaniua has grown to 24, the second-most within the nation. We’re proud to see Pennsylvania colleges compete in any respect ranges with rosters made up of native expertise.” —Parkland coach Scott Trumbauer
“The historical past of boys’ volleyball in Pennsylvania made the game very enticing to plenty of unbelievable younger athletes. Mix that with a wealth of nice highschool volleyball coaches helped ignite a expertise bloom within the state. For us, we are going to all the time work to ensure finest gamers keep in state to play collegiately, nevertheless the export of Pennsylvania boys volleyball nationally to different faculty packages throughout all ranges has allowed the state—and its caliber of play— to obtain the popularity it deserves.” —Penn State coach Mark Pavlik
South Carolina
The primary SCHL sanctioned boys volleyball state event was held this previous November in two divisions. In AAAAA, Dorman defeated Carolina Forest. In A/AA/AAA/AAAA (a mixed division because of variety of groups), Bishop England beat Catawba Ridge.
High Applications
1 — Dorman
2 — Carolina Forest
3 — Bishop
4 — Catawba Ridge
Gamers to Watch
OH/S — Lucas Helle (Dorman)
S — Dang Tran (Cane Bay)
OH — Parker Owens (Hanahan)
MH — Tarean “TJ” Neville (Summerville)
S — Bradley Hinson (Socastee)
Texas
Final season, Texas had 38 highschool groups within the Dallas, Fort Value and Houston areas. For the 2024 season, Texas can have highschool groups from Austin and San Antonio in addition to a number of personal colleges that beforehand performed within the fall solely. The hope is the expansion results in the UIL sanctioning the game. In 2023, the UIL denied a proposal to grow to be a sanctioned sport, however did classify it as an rising sport. Boys volleyball supporters generated a petition that has 10,213 signatures to this point in favor of including it as an official highschool sport. Outstanding faculty volleyball gamers from the state, together with Nathan Lietzke of Stanford and Merrick McHenry of UCLA have lent their assist.
2023 Personal College Outcomes
1 – Episcopal Houston
2 – St. Mark’s
3 – Greenhill
4 – AWTY Worldwide
5 – Trinity Valley
2023 High Personal College Gamers
S – Nathaniel Black (AWTY)
S – John H (St. Mark’s)
MB – Jacob Lobdell (St. Mark’s)
OH – Dhruv Prathipati (AWTY)
OH – Ethan Romero (Episcopal Houston)
Spring 2024 High Applications
1 — Allen Excessive College
2 – Rockwall
3 — Jesuit
4 – Woodrow Wilson
5 — Plano East
Gamers to Watch
S — Leighton Bruscato (Woodrow Wilson)
OPP — Kyle Chapman (Austin)
S — Brock Harvick (Allen)
OH — Myles Jordan (Ridge Level)
M — Marnix Van Megesen (Allen)
OH — Hudson Whitehead (Woodrow)
Noteworthy: The First Level Collegiate Problem final month introduced Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA, Stanford, Ball State,and USC to Austin. First Level and the groups placed on a clinic at the side of the Southwest Boys Traditional, the one boys nationwide qualifier within the southwest area.
Quoteworthy: “I look ahead to this season to compete in opposition to new groups from the state which have joined our highschool league. We wish to showcase how thrilling boys volleyball will be with its pace and energy to develop the sport.” — Woodrow’s Hudson Whitehead.
Utah
Boys volleyball has had a presence in Utah for over 30 years. In 2014 there have been 104 registered boys gamers. In 2023 there have been 1,162 registered gamers. In 2022, a 3rd try at getting sanctioned was profitable. It’s estimated that 94 excessive colleges will discipline groups on this inaugural 2024 season.
High Applications
1 — Olympus
2 — West Lake
3 — Copper Hills
4 — Farmington
5 — Riverton
Gamers to Watch
OH/L — Franky Fainga (Skyridge)
MB — Soren Jeppson (Olympus)
S — Kai Sorenson (Skyline)
OH — Kalika Tafa (West Lake)
OPP — Trey Thornton (Maple Mountain)
Noteworthy: Olympus is the defending state champion. Tennison Lighthall of Weber Excessive College and Membership GSL is headed to nationwide energy BYU.
Quoteworthy: “Utah volleyball is in an thrilling place going into our first formally sanctioned season. The state is now constantly producing athletes able to enjoying on the subsequent stage, and the variety of groups and boys enjoying the game has completely exploded during the last a number of years. Whereas a small quantity of highschool groups have established themselves as perennial powerhouses within the ‘highschool membership’ period and can doubtless carry that momentum ahead, it will likely be extremely fascinating to look at how the remainder of the sector stacks up in what is definite to be probably the most aggressive 12 months but for Utah boys volleyball.” — Warren Van Schalkwyk, president of Utah Boys Volleyball Affiliation.
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