For many of volleyball’s top athletes, being named to the Volleyball magazine Fab 50 list was a harbinger of great things to come. National team stars Matt Anderson, Kawika Shoji, Micah Christenson, and Taylor Sander all made appearances on the list, as did top beach volleyball athletes Tri Bourne, Brad Keenan, and Jeremy Casebeer. And this summer, T.J. DeFalco, the No. 1 recruit in the newest installment of this respected ranking, will begin his career with the senior national team as a member of the World League roster. The No. 2-ranked recruit, Jordan Ewert, first picked up a volleyball in eighth grade but in the five years since has rocketed to the top of his class. Ranked third in the group, Virginia native Brett Rosenmeier will take his talents to Hawaii come fallwith experience both indoors and on the beach, hell have his pick of which path to take after spending four years in paradise.
There’s no way to know which of these outstanding senior athletes will someday play in the Olympics or tour with the AVP or perhaps even coach a team to an NCAA national championship, but with their extraordinary high school careers coming to an end, we can guarantee that you will be seeing many of these names in headlines for years to come.
James Anastassiades
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Club: The HBC
College: Hawaii
Matt August
Height: 6’4″
Position: MB/Opp.
High School: San Clemente (Calif.)
Club: 949
College: UC Irvine
Avery Aylsworth
Height: 6’0″
Position: L
High School: St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.)
Club: Pacific Rim
College: Loyola
Kyle Barnes
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Club: Coastal
College: George Mason
Ryne Benson
Height: 6’2″
Position: S/Opp.
High School: Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Club: Spiral
College: Cal Baptist
Luke Braswell
Height: 6’5″
Position: S
High School: Northeastern (Manchester, Pa.)
Club: NA
College: Penn State
Ryan Coenen
Height: 6’8″
Position: OH
High School: Franklin (Wis.)
Club: Milwaukee
College: Lewis
Jack Cole
Height: 6’4″
Position: MB
High School: Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.)
Club: Diablo
College: Pepperdine
Woody Cook
Height: 6’3″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Oak Park (Calif.)
Club: Southern California Volleyball Club
College: USC
T.J. DeFalco
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Club: The HBC
College: Long Beach State
>> Read more about Fab 50 headliner T.J. DeFalco
Alex Dickmann
Height: 6’4″
Position: Opp.
High School: Addison Trail (Addison, Ill.)
Club: Sports Performance
College: IPFW
Jason Donorovich
Height: 6’8″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Lockport (N.Y.)
Club: Eden
College: Penn State
Matt Douglas
Height: 5’9″
Position: L
High School: Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Club: Southern California Volleyball Club
College: USC
Will Eichel
Height: 6’5″
Position: S
High School: St. Charles Prep (Bexley, Ohio)
Club: Vanguard
College: Ohio State
Bryant Ekstein
Height: 6’5″
Position: MB
High School: Landstown (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Club: Coastal
College: George Mason
Kyle Ensing
Height: 6’6″
Position: S/Opp.
High School: Valencia (Calif.)
Club: Bones
College: Long Beach State
Jordan Ewert
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.)
Club: Pacific Rim
College: Stanford
Michael Fisher
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg, Pa.)
Club: Yorktowne
College: Pepperdine
Grant Friedman
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.)
Club: Balboa Bay
College: UC Irvine
Patrick Gasman
Height: 6’9″
Position: MB/Opp.
High School: Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.)
Club: Pacific Rim
College: Hawaii
Jonah Kay
Height: 6’6″
Position: MB
High School: Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, Calif.)
Club: Coast
College: UCLA
Matt Klassen
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Brookfield East (Wis.)
Club: Milwaukee
College: Stanford
Dane Leclair
Height: 6’4″
Position: S
High School: McQuaid Jesuit (Rochester, N.Y.)
Club: Pace Bootlegger
College: Loyola
Kimball Leituala
Height: 6’6″
Position: MB
High School: Long Beach Poly (Calif.)
Club: The HBC
College: Long Beach State
Schylar Lillethorup
Height: 6’4″
Position: S
High School: Apopka (Fla.)
Club: Ocean Bay
College: Northridge
Micah Maa
Height: 6’1″
Position: S
High School: Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Club: Kuikahi
College: UCLA
Collin Mahan
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Victor (N.Y.)
Club: Pace Bootlegger
College: Loyola
Parker Maki
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Newbury Park (Calif.)
Club: Bones
College: Northridge
Blake Markland
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Club: The HBC
College: USC
Markus Melbardis
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Leigh (San Jose, Calif.)
Club: Bay to Bay
College: Loyola
Frank Melvin
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Schuylkill Valley (Leesport, Pa.)
Club: Yorktowne
College: Penn State
Calvin Mende
Height: 6’11”
Position: Opp.
High School: Redlands (Calif.)
Club: Oasis
College: Penn State
Augie Miller
Height: 6’4″
Position: MB
High School: Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Club: Balboa Bay
College: Pepperdine
Dylan Missry
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Sachem North (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.)
Club: Long Island
College: UCLA
Ryan Moss
Height: 6’8″
Position: OH
High School: Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Club: Balboa Bay
College: USC
Paul Narup
Height: 6’7″
Position: MB
High School: De Smet Jesuit (St. Louis, Mo.)
Club: High Performance STL
College: Loyola
Branden Oberender
Height: 6’7″
Position: MB
High School: Royal (Simi Valley, Calif.)
Club: Bones
College: BYU
Kysen Olsen
Height: 6’3″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Scripps Ranch (San Diego, Calif.)
Club: Coast
College: Long Beach State
Brandon Rattray
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Bernardo (San Diego, Calif.)
Club: San Diego Volleyball Club Seaside
College: Hawaii
Tyler Resnick
Height: 6’8″
Position: MB
High School: Newbury Park (Calif.)
Club: Bones
College: USC
Brett Rosenmeier
Height: 6’5″
Position: OH
High School: Frank W. Cox (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Club: Coastal
College: Hawaii
Corry Short
Height: 6’4″
Position: OH
High School: Cardinal Gibbons (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
Club: Ocean Bay
College: Princeton
Ryan Smith
Height: 6’7″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.)
Club: Pacific Rim
College: Stanford
Dalton Solbrig
Height: 6’6″
Position: OH
High School: Lakes (Lake Villa, Ill.)
Club: Adversity
College: Hawaii
Joshua Tuaniga
Height: 6’4″
Position: S
High School: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
Club: The HBC
College: Long Beach State
Aaron Turner
Height: 6’3″
Position: OH/Opp.
High School: Waukesha West (Wis.)
Club: Milwaukee
College: Lewis
William Tischler
Height: 6’7″
Position: OH
High School: Downers Grove South (Ill.)
Club: Sports Performance
College: Cal Baptist
Michael Wexter
Height: 6’4″
Position: S
High School: Lincoln-Way West (New Lenox, Ill.)
Club: Ultimate
College: Pepperdine
Joe Worsley
Height: 6’0″
Position: S
High School: Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.)
Club: Pacific Rim
College: Hawaii
Matt Younggren
Height: 6’9″
Position: MB/Opp.
High School: Mount Carmel (San Diego, Calif.)
Club: San Diego Volleyball Club Seaside
College: UC Irvine
25 Underclassmen to Watch
Name | Height | Position | Year | High School | Club
Eric Beatty | 6’7″ | OH | Jr. | Huntington Beach (Calif.) | The HBC
Paul Bischoff | 6’4″ | S | Jr. | Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) | Sports Performance
Brad Creamer | 6’5″ | MB | Jr. | Frank W. Cox (Virginia Beach, Va.) | Coastal
Matt Ctvrtlik | 6’4″ | S | Jr. | Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) | Balboa Bay
Reese Devilbiss | 6’1″ | OH | Jr. | Northeastern (Manchester, Pa.) | Yorktowne
Randy Deweese | 6’6″ | S | Jr. | Natomas Prep (Sacramento, Calif.) | Northern California Volleyball Club
Noah Dyer | 6’5″ | S/Opp. | Jr. | Saddleback Valley (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) | Balboa Bay
Shawn Hughes | 6’3″ | OH | Jr. | University (St. Louis, Mo.) | High Performance STL-VBC
George Huhmann | 6’11” | MB | Jr. | University (St. Louis, Mo.) | High Performance STL-VBC
Jaylen Jasper | 6’6″ | OH/Opp. | Soph. | Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) | Annapolis
Sam Kobrine | 6’3″ | S/OH | Jr. | Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) | 949
Kyler Kotsakis | 6’4″ | Opp. | Jr. | Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) | Sports Performance
Samuel Lewis | 6’3″ | MB | Soph. | Long Beach Poly (Calif.) | High Line
Lucas Lossone | 6’8″ | MB | Jr. | Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) | SCVC
Austin Matautia | 6’4″ | OH | Jr. | Moanalua (Honolulu, Hawaii) | Hawaii Elite Southside
Casey McGarry | 6’1″ | S/Opp. | Jr. | Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) | Southern California Volleyball Club
Zach Meyer | 6’4″ | OH | Jr. | Wheaton Warrenville South (Ill.) | Sports Performance
Adam Parks | 6’4″ | S | Soph. | Oak Park (Calif.) | Spectrum
Kyler Presho-Hartung | 6’7″ | MB | Soph. | San Clemente (Calif.) | San Clemente
Griffin Schmit | 6’5″ | Opp. | Soph. | Canisius (Buffalo, N.Y.) | Eden
Scott Skarzynski | 6’1″ | S/Opp. | Jr. | Webster Schroeder (N.Y.) | Pace Bootlegger
Scott Stadick | 6’10” | MB | Jr. | Watertown (Wis.) | Milwaukee Sting
Matt Szews | 6’6″ | Opp. | Jr. | Brookfield East (Wis.) | Milwaukee Sting
Bobby Wilden | 6’7″ | MB | Jr. | Briar Woods (Ashburn, Va.) | Northern Virginia Volleyball Association
Kelsey Yogi | 5’6″ | L | Jr. | Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii) | Hawaii Elite Southside
