Sep 24, TBD
Clark (MA) vs WPI
Sep 24, TBD
United States Coas vs M.I.T.
Sep 24, TBD
Wellesley College[ vs Salve Regina
Sep 24, TBD
Springfield vs Wheaton
Sep 24, TBD
Emerson College vs Babson College
Sep 24, TBD
Smith College vs Mount Holyoke Coll
Sep 28, TBD
Mount Holyoke Coll vs Salve Regina
Sep 28, TBD
Smith College vs Clark (MA)
Sep 28, TBD
Emerson College vs WPI
Sep 28, TBD
M.I.T. vs Springfield
Sep 28, TBD
Wellesley College[ vs Wheaton
Sep 28, TBD
Babson College vs United States Coas
Oct 1, TBD
Springfield vs Clark (MA)
Oct 1, TBD
Salve Regina vs M.I.T.
Oct 1, TBD
Wheaton vs United States Coas

25 Players To Watch This NCAA Men's Volleyball Season

25 Players To Watch This NCAA Men's Volleyball Season

Next week, the 2018 NCAA men’s volleyball season officially begins, and there are a ton of talented players worth following.

Dec 30, 2017 by Megan Kaplon
25 Players To Watch This NCAA Men's Volleyball Season

Next week, the 2018 NCAA men’s volleyball season officially begins, and there are a ton of talented players worth following.

Whether you like soul-crushing blocks, untouchable hits, sizzling serves, or epic saves, men’s volleyball and its star players have you covered.

Here are 25 of the best men’s college volleyball players to watch this season.

1. TJ DeFalco | Long Beach State | 6-foot-4 | Junior | Outside Hitter

In 2015, T.J. DeFalco was the youngest player on the U.S. men’s national team preliminary World League roster. The next summer, he played for the senior national team at the Pan American Games. And this year, after winning the American Volleyball Coaches National Player of the Year award and leading Long Beach State to the NCAA semifinals, DeFalco made the final World League roster, and helped Team USA advance to the semifinals of the month-long tournament. 

As a junior, he’s a leader on one of the top teams in the country, and before even playing a single set of the 2018 season must be considered a member of the short list for national player of the year.



2. Nicolas Szerszen | Ohio State | 6-4 | Senior | Outside Hitter

The AVCA named Szerszen its national player of the year in 2016 after the Frenchman led Ohio State to the national championship, tallying 516 kills and 614 points — which puts him in the top-five of the Ohio State record books. 

Last year, he broke the school record for aces in a season and aces per set that he had set the year before, in addition to being the team’s kills leader as the Buckeyes won their second-consecutive national championship.

Not only is Szerszen the Buckeyes’ top offensive option and best server, the 6-4 two-time first-team All-American is a rock on serve receive and ranked second on the team in digs.



3. Stijn van Tilburg | Hawaii | 6-8 | Junior | Opposite

Netherlands native van Tilburg earned first-team All-America honors after ranking third nationally with 4.25 kills per set in 2017, while maintaining a .370 hitting percentage. The two-year starting opposite made the NCAA all-tournament team as he led the Warriors with 20 kills versus Penn State in the play-in round and 13 in the semifinal match versus Ohio State. 



4. Larry Tuileta | Hawaii | 6-2 | Junior | Libero

Before transferring to Hawaii, Larry Tuileta played outside hitter at USC, and in 2015 he ranked third on the team with 173 kills, in addition to walking on to the Trojan football team — which should give you some idea of the incredible athleticism of the 6-2 Honolulu native.

After taking the 2016 season off and returning to his home state, Tuileta made a triumphant comeback to the college volleyball scene, earning the starting libero spot for Hawaii, leading the team with 250 digs, and being named a second-team All-American.



5. Josh Tuaniga | Long Beach State | 6-3 | Junior | Setter

Setter Tuaniga runs one of the smoothest and most creative offenses in the country. In 2017, Tuaniga led his Long Beach State team to the best hitting percentage in the country (.366), an MPSF title, and an appearance in the national semifinals. He led the nation with 11.06 assists per set.

This summer, Tuaniga played in the FIVB U21 World Championships, where he finished the competition as the fourth-ranked setter.



6. Jeff Jendryk | Loyola | 6-10 | Senior | Middle Blocker

As a freshman, Jendryk was a part of Loyola’s national championship season in which the Ramblers went 28-2 on their way to their second consecutive title. The three-time All-American middle made the Pan American Cup roster for Team USA in 2016 and this summer was one of 14 athletes named to the final World League roster.

Although Loyola was ranked fourth in the MIVA Preseason Poll and 13th in the AVCA’s national preseason poll, Jendryk could be a key player that helps the Ramblers outperform expectations.



7. Arvis Greene | Cal State Northridge | 6-7 | Opposite | Senior

CSUN opposite Greene has the perfect combination of height, reach, vertical jump, and athleticism, and he might just be one of the most entertaining players in the men’s college game this season.

With his trick-hammer of an arm swing, Greene led CSUN to upsets of then-No. 7 Stanford and then-No. 5 UCLA last season, with 26 and 25 kills, respectively. Look for Greene to be just as impressive — but perhaps a bit more consistent — this season.



8. Kyle Ensing | Long Beach State | 6-7 | Junior | Opposite/Outside Hitter

Ensing often gets overshadowed by T.J. DeFalco, but the 6-7 pin hitter is a huge threat to Long Beach State opponents. Early in the 2017 season, Ensing came up big for the 49ers, smashing 24 kills to help hand Hawaii its first loss of the season. The next night, in a rematch with the Warriors, Ensing had 11 kills with no errors to hit .579.

For the season, Ensing had 350 kills, hitting .335, and ranked third on the team with 162 digs and 85 total blocks.



9. Jake Arnitz | UCLA | 6-7 | Senior | Outside Hitter

As a junior in 2017, Arnitz had his most efficient offensive season to date by hitting .386, and he contributed double-digit kills in each the last eight matches of the season. With an entire season of eligibility remaining, Arnitz ranks ninth on the all-time school career kills list and sixth in total attacks.

This summer, Arnitz played with the U.S. men’s national team in the Pan-Am Cup, finishing fifth.



10. Ryan Coenen | Lewis | 6-9 | Redshirt Sophomore | Outside Hitter

In his redshirt freshman season, Coenen ranked second on his Lewis squad with 342 kills, hitting .288, and was third on the team with 121 digs and fourth with 71 total blocks. The AVCA picked Coenen as the national freshman of the year in 2017 and named him to the second-team All-America list.

Expectations are high for Coenen and his Lewis team this season, as the Flyers ranked second behind Ohio State in the MIVA Preseason Poll and Coenen was named Preseason All-MIVA.



11. Maxime Hervoir | Ohio State | 6-3 | Senior | Outside Hitter

Hervoir’s first season at Ohio State was last spring, and he made an immediate impact for the national champion Buckeyes. He ranked third on the team with 227 kills, hitting .309, and stepped his game up even further in the postseason, averaging a .444 hitting percentage in the Buckeyes’ last five matches of the year.



12. Scott Stadick | UC Irvine | 7-0 | Sophomore | Middle Blocker

The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2016, Stadick lived up to expectations in his freshman season, setting a UC Irvine single-season, rally-scoring-era record with 25 solo blocks. He also ranked fifth nationally with 1.19 blocks per set, and sixth in hitting percentage, averaging a .421 clip.

As a member of the U.S. junior national team, Stadick helped the team finish first at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in 2016 and qualify for the 2017 FIVB U21 World Championships, where he was the eighth-best blocker.



13. Leo Durkin | BYU | 6-4 | Senior | Setter

A redshirt season in 2012 followed by a two-year LDS mission in New York City gave BYU setter Leo Durkin plenty of time to mature from a walk-on from Vegas to a player equipped to lead on of the highest-powered offenses in men’s college volleyball. Earning the starting setter spot in 2016, Durkin has proven to be a key player for the Cougars, leading the team to the national championship match the past two years.



14. Jaylen Jasper | Stanford | 6-8 | Freshman | Stanford

Touching 12 feet, Stanford freshman Jasper is a two-year member of the U.S. boys youth national team, helping the team claim a silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA Boys Youth Continental Championships in Cuba and traveling to Bahrain for the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championships. Expect big things from this East Coast recruit as he makes his Stanford debut.



15. Matt Walsh | Ball State | 6-11 | Senior | Middle Blocker

Walsh has been one of the best blockers in the country since making his collegiate debut in 2015. As a junior in 2017, he made his mark as an offensive player, leading the nation with a .449 hitting percentage. With 1.19 blocks per set, he ranked sixth nationally. Heading into his senior season, Walsh was named Preseason All-MIVA.



16. Micah Ma’a | UCLA | 6-3 | Junior | Setter

He hits, he blocks, he makes diving saves, he sets, and he jump-bump sets. UCLA setter Micah Ma’a truly does it all, including collecting 27 aces in 2017, which moved him up to sixth on the all-time school career aces list. With the graduation of Hagen Smith — but the addition of top-ranked setter in the class of 2017 — we’re hoping we once again see Ma’a set and hit in UCLA’s much talked about 6-2 offense.



17. Mitch Perinar | Lewis | 6-6 | Redshirt Junior | Opposite

Preseason All-MIVA opposite Perinar was the 2016 MIVA Freshman of the Year, and in 2017 he led Lewis with 359 kills, hitting .301. One of five volleyball-playing Perinar siblings, Mitch earned honorable mention All-America honors last year, and will be a key member of the 2018 Lewis squad, ranked sixth in the AVCA Preseason Poll.



18. Evan Enriques | Stanford | 6-2 | Senior | Libero

Stanford libero Evan Enriques earned first-team All-America honors as a sophomore in 2016, something that is not easy to do in the most undervalued and seldom-recognized position in volleyball. As a junior in 2017, he led Stanford in digs for the third season in a row, and was named honorable mention All-America.



19. Joel Schneidmiller | UC Irvine | 6-6 | Freshman | Outside Hitter

Schneidmiller was a key player on the U.S. boys youth national team that traveled to Bahrain to compete in the FIVB U19 World Championships over the summer; he finished the event as the sixth-best scorer with 137 total points.

The two-time Central Coast Section champion with Saratoga High School will make his collegiate debut at UC Irvine this season, and with the graduation of Tamir Hershko he can even compete for a starting spot.



20. Brenden Sander | BYU | 6-4 | Senior | Outside Hitter

With Brenden Sander starting on the outside, BYU has made it to back-to-back national championship matches. An explosive hitter and aggressive server, Sander ranked second on the 2017 squad with 254 kills, despite struggling with injury.

Now a senior, Sander’s desire to bring home a national title will be even more intense, and he’ll have to carry a heavier load due to the graduation of Jake Langlois, who led the Cougars in kills last season.



21. Matt Yoshimoto | Lewis | 6-5 | Junior | Setter

A California kid who decided to spend his college years in the Midwest, Yoshimoto has already started the season on a high note as the only setter to be named to the Preseason All-MIVA team. 

As a sophomore in 2017, Yoshimoto set the Flyers to a .308 team hitting percentage, ninth-best in the country. In the offseason, Yoshimoto competed in the USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Championships with Lewis teammate Jake Walenga.



22. Kevin Rakestraw | Stanford | 7-0 | Redshirt Senior | Middle Blocker

Standing 7-foot, Rakestraw puts up a massive block. As a redshirt junior, he tallied 95 total blocks, in addition to contributing 197 kills at a .433 clip (good for third-best in the country) and was named honorable mention All-America and second-team All-MPSF.



23. Calvin Mende | Penn State | 6-11 | Redshirt Sophomore | Opposite

As a redshirt freshman, Mende led the 2017 Nittany Lions with 325 kills, hitting .294. Especially with the graduation of Chris Nugent, Penn State will rely heavily on the offense of second-team All-American Mende. The Redlands, California, native trained with the U.S. men’s junior national team over the summer.



24. David Wieczorek | Pepperdine | 6-8 | Redshirt Junior | Outside Hitter

After a summer in Anaheim training with the national team and competing in the Pan American Games, Pepperdine outside hitter Wieczorek is ready to get back at it in Malibu. A first-team All-MPSF and honorable mention All-America honoree, Wieczorek led the 2017 Waves with 328 kills, hitting .354, in addition to 18 aces, 94 digs, and 50 blocks.



25. Price Jarman | BYU | 6-9 | Senior | Middle Blocker

BYU’s most efficient hitter in 2017, Jarman put away 138 kills with 21 errors to hit .464. The Las Vegas native was also a key blocker for the Cougars, trailing only Joseph Grosh (by one block) to rank as the second-best blocker on the team with 90 blocks. 

Over the summer, the 6-9 middle blocker played for Team USA at the Pan-American Cup in Canada.


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