By Megan Kaplon

A group of the most promising young volleyball players in the United State traveled to Costa Rica this week for the NORCECA U19 Boys’ Continental Championship. 

Watch NORCECA U19 Boys' Continental Championship live here.

The exclusive roster for the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team was announced on Friday and represents the top 12 performers to emerge over the course of a two-week training camp with 20 total athletes, hosted at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. 

Team USA will compete against Cuba, Guatemala, and Honduras in Pool B of the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship, while Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico make up Pool A. Play kicks off on Wednesday, June 6, and the medal-round matches will be played Sunday, June 10. The first- and second-place finishers earn a spot in the 2018 FIVB U19 World Championships next summer.

Two years ago, Team USA won a silver medal at the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship, but in the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championship, the team finished a disappointing 15th. 

Head coach Brad Keller praised the talent of this year’s group of young athletes. 

“This is the first time I have been a part of a program where all 20 could make this team,” Keller said.

Ten of the athletes on the final 12-man roster represent the Southern California region of USA Volleyball. The two East Coasters are outside hitter Joseph Deluzio, who hails from Orlando where he competes for Top Select, and outside hitter James Hartley, who plays for Carolina Union in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

Other notable players on the roster include Aidan Knipe, a 6-2 setter and son of Long Beach State and former U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Alan Knipe; Long Beach State-bound libero Mason Briggs; 6-8 opposite and Pepperdine commit Scott Solan; and versatile 6-6 outside/middle Alex Knight, who is committed to UCLA. 

We’re also looking forward to seeing 6-8 middle Nathaniel Gates in action. If he’s half as entertaining to watch as his sister Madeline Gates, a super athletic middle on UCLA’s women’s team, we’re in for a treat.

With a coaching staff that hails from some of the top men’s volleyball programs in the country—Keller, assistant coach at UCLA; Nick MacRae, associate head coach at Long Beach State; Colin McMillan, associate head coach at Penn State; and Kevin Burch, assistant coach at Ohio State—this squad is in capable hands and could be the age-group team that really makes a splash for the USA. 

Team USA takes on Guatemala in its first pool play match on Wednesday and Honduras on Thursday, but Friday’s match against Cuba will likely prove to be the most challenging. Cuba enters the tournament as the reigning NORCECA U19 Continental Championships gold medalist from 2016 and the only boys’ youth national team from the NORCECA region ever to medal at the FIVB U19 World Championships. (Cuba won bronze in 2011.)

The United States defeated Cuba in the 15th-place match of the 2017 U19 FIVB World Championship a year ago, so Cuba will be looking for redemption and to reestablish its hold on its regional dominance. 

See below for the complete Team USA roster and schedule of pool play matches.

U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team

Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, USAV Region)

Mason Briggs (L, 5-11, Valencia, Calif., So Cal)

Joseph Deluzio (OH, 6-6, Windermere, Fla., Florida)

Nathaniel Gates (MB, 6-8, La Jolla, Calif., So Cal)

Clarke Godbold (Opp, 6-5, San Pedro, Calif., So Cal)

James Hartley (OH, 6-6, Waxhaw, N.C., Carolina)

Ethan Hill (MB, 6-7, San Clemente, Calif., So Cal)

Joseph Karlous (S, 6-0, Costa Mesa, Calif., So Cal)

Alex Knight (OH, 6-6, Culver City, Calif., So Cal)

Aidan Knipe (S, 6-2, Huntington Beach, Calif., So Cal)

Ethan Smith (MB, 6-7, Laguna Niguel, Calif., So Cal)

Scott Solan (Opp, 6-8, Las Vegas, Nev., So Cal)

Akhil Tangutur (OH, 6-4, Pacific Palisades, Calif., So Cal)

Pool Play Schedule

Wednesday, June 6

4 PM CT Guatemala vs. United States

6 PM CT Cuba vs. Honduras

8 PM CT Puerto Rico vs. Nicaragua 

Thursday, June 7

4 PM CT Cuba vs. Guatemala

6 PM CT Honduras vs. United States

8 PM CT Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua

Friday, June 8

4 PM CT Honduras vs. Guatemala

6 PM CT United States vs. Cuba

8 PM CT Costa Rica vs. Puerto Rico 

Saturday, June 9

Semifinals

Sunday, June 10

Gold- and bronze-medal matches