California leads, Midwest well represented in 2022 VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50

The key takeaway from this year’s VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50 list?

The sport is alive and well in the Midwest — particularly in Illinois and Wisconsin.

While California, as it usually does in this annual much-anticipated feature, dominated the rankings, a total of 11 players from either the Land of Lincoln or the Badger State made the prestigious list.

The VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50 ranks the top 50 senior-age players in the nation (Class of 2022). The longest-running boys volleyball list in the country, the Boys Fab 50 is voted on by an elite panel of NCAA Division I-II men’s coaches. The list takes into consideration a player’s overall skill level and is not exclusive to his high school, club or USA Volleyball prowess.

California leads the way with 22 Fab 50 selections with Illinois next with seven. Wisconsin had four Fab 50s, tied with Arizona and Florida.

On the college front, Lewis, out of Romeoville, Illinois, is the leader of the back this time with six Fab 50 selections. Pepperdine, Loyola-Chicago, Stanford, UCLA and Ohio State each had four. A total of 19 universities are represented in this list.

MB Surf takes home the top Fab 50 club for 2022 with six selections. Bay to Bay, out of Northern California, has 5, while Arizona Fear and Milwaukee VBC each have four. Loyola High School out of Los Angeles has four of its 2022 rostered players on this list, including outside hitter Dillon Klein, who was voted the top player in the Class of 2022 by the voting panel. Klein, inbound to USC, beat out AZ Fear’s Zach Rama (UCLA signee) for the top positions.

The rest of the top five features UCLA recruit Andrew Rowan (OCVC), Florida product Shane Wetzel (Ohio State) and Bay Area resident Theo Snoey (Stanford).

As is custom, we also present our 25 Underclassmen to Watch list. Keep in mind, this is not a listing of the top 25 non-seniors in the country, but rather 25 players, as the name of the list suggests, that we should keep an eye on in the future. Historically, almost all of this particular list will graduate to the Fab 50 list when it comes time for their senior years.

What is not custom with the this year’s 25 Underclassmen list is the preponderance of freshmen and sophomores. Of the 25 positions, 11 were either ninth- or 10th-graders this past school year.

Some names that drew heavy amounts of eyeballs on the voting panel include San Diego-area standout Wesley Smith (committed to USC), Florida product Thiago Zamprogno (UCLA commit), as well as sophomore Tread Rosenthal (MB Surf) and fellow 10^th graders Cole Hartke, a 6-10 outside hitter out of the Northwest Chicago suburbs and 6-6 outside hitter Sean Kelly (MB Surf).

Top 5 Players in the Class
1. Dillon Klein (USC)
2. Zach Rama (UCLA)
3. Andrew Rowan (UCLA)
4. Shane Wetzel (Ohio State)
5. Theo Snoey (Stanford)

2022 VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50
Name, Height, Position, High School, Club, College
Shawn Baggs, 6-7, MB, Casteel (Gilbert, AZ), AZ Fear, Lewis
Mick Bakos,, 6-3, Libero, Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, CA), MB Surf, Pepperdine
Ryan Bartz, 6-4, OH, Muskego (Wisconsin),  Milwaukee, Ball State
Bradley Bell 6-7, MB, Westosha Central (Salem, Wisconsin), Milwaukee, Loyola-Chicago
Derek Bradford, 6-7, RS, Royal (Simi Valley, CA), MB Surf, Hawai’i
Christopher Connelly,5-11, Libero, Naples (FL), 352 Elite, Long Beach State
Mason Connor, 6-0, Libero, Germantown (Wisconsin), Milwaukee, Ball State
Caden Day, 6-5, OH, Cardinal Gibbons (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Ocean Bay, Penn State
Nathan De Graaf, 6-6, RS, Seneca Valley (Harmony, Pennsylvania), Vanguard, Lewis
Island Doty, 6-3, S-OH, Doherty Green (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Front Range, Long Beach State
Ryan DuRoss, 6-3, OH, Christopher (Gilroy, CA), Bay to Bay, Stanford
James Eadie, 6-7, MB, Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, CA), Balboa Bay, Pepperdine
Josh Ewert, 6-3, OH, Campolindo (Moraga, CA), Pac Rim, UC San Diego
Daniel Haber, 6-5, OH,  Westhampton Beach (New York), Academy, Lewis
Callahan Hefner, 6-5, OH, Westlake (Austin, Texas), OCVC, Pepperdine
Nico Hersh, 6-9, MB-RS, St. Francis (Mountain View, CA), Bay to Bay, UCLA
Asa Holmes, 6-6, OH, Paloma Valley (Lake Elsinore, CA), Balboa Bay, Concordia Irvine
Dan Hurley, 6-8, OH-RS, Cox (Virginia Beach, Virginia), Coastal Virginia, Ohio State
Owen Loncar, 6-3, OH, Loyola (Los Angeles, CA), MB Surf, UC Santa Barbara
Jordan Lucas, 6-2, OH, Upland (CA), Pulse, Grand Canyon
Blaine Jones, 6-3, OH, South Fayette Township (Bridgeville, Pa.), Yorktowne, Penn State
Patrick Kane,  6-3, OH, Mountain View (CA), MVVC, UCSB
Filip Kierzkowski, 6-7, MB, Rolling Meadows (Illinois), Pipeline, Purdue Ft. Wayne
Dillon Klein, 6-4, OH, Loyola (Los Angeles, CA), MB Surf, USC
Coleman McDonough,  5-11, Libero, Seneca Valley (Cranberry Township, Pa.), Vanguard, UCLA
Jack O’Riordan, 6-7, RS, Barrington (Illinois), Adversity, Ohio State
Nico Paula, 6-2, OH, Berkeley Prep (Tampa, FL), 352 Elite, Lewis
Zach Rama, 6-8, OH, O’Connor (Phoenix, AZ), AZ Fear, UCLA
Bryce Robbins, 6-3, OH, O’Connor (Phoenix, AZ), AZ Fear, Loyola-Chicago
Noah Roberts, 6-7, OH, Los Alamitos (CA), Team Rockstar, USC
Alex Rottman, 6-6, OH, Santa Barbara (CA),Santa Barbara Coast, Stanford
Andrew Rowan, 6-6, S, J Serra (San Juan Capistrano, CA), OCVC, UCLA
Jaidin Russell, 6-5, OH, Newton South (Newton, Mass.), SMASH, UCLA
Evan Snodgrass, 6-8, MB, Tabb (Yorktown, Virginia), 352 Elite, George Mason

Theo Snoey, 6-8, OH, Head-Royce (Oakland, CA), Bay to Bay, Stanford
JJ Sowa, 5-10, Libero, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA), Pulse, Loyola-Chicago
Ryan Sprague, 6-3, S, Loyola (Los Angeles, CA), MB Surf, USC
Ryan Steponaitis, 6-7, MB, Woodstock (Illinois), MOD, Purdue-Ft. Wayne
Cole Sweitzer, 6-4, OH-RS, Middleton (Wisconsin), Milwaukee, Lewis
Kai Taylor, 6-3, OH, Capistrano Valley Christian (CA), Balboa Bay, Hawai’i
Brian Thomas, 6-10, MB, Campolindo (Moraga, CA), Bay to Bay, Harvard
Aidan Tune, 6-0, OH, Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii), Spike and Serve, Pepperdine
Miller Trubey, 6-9, RS, St. Mark’s School of Texas (Dallas, Texas), StepUp, Loyola-Chicago
Ryan Vena, 6-6, MB, Loyola (Los Angeles, CA), MB Surf, Princeton
AJ Vuksinic, 6-6, MB, Wheaton Academy (West Chicago, Ill.), Sports Performance, Ball State
Moses Wagner, 6-5, RS, Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, CA), Bay to Bay, Stanford
Andrew Werner, 6-6, OH, Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, AZ), AZ Fear, Princeton
Shane Wetzel, 6-6, RS, Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs, FL), Winter Park, Ohio State
Josh Weyerhaeuser, 6-7, MB, Warren (Gurnee, Illinois), Adversity, Long Beach State
Niko Williams,  6-6, S, Poway (CA), Coast, Ohio State
Pitor Wymoczyl, 6-6, MB, Buffalo Grove (Illinois), Adversity, Lewis
Paul Wyszyinski, 5-7, OH, Glenbrook North (Northbrook, Illinois), Sports Perf., George Mason
Note: 52 players are listed. There was a three-way tie for the 50^th and final spot.

25 Underclassmen to watch
Name, Height, Position, Year, High School, Club, College (if known)
Caleb Blanchette, 6-5, S-RS, Soph., Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee), C2, Unknown
George Bruening, 6-9, RS, Jr., Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, CA), Balboa Bay, Pepperdine
Kaumana Carreira, 6-7, OH, Soph., Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA),  A4, Unknown
Christian Connell, 6-5. OH., Soph., Torrey Pines (San Diego, CA), Wave, Unknown
Jackson Cryst, 6-8, S-RS, Fresh., Millikan (Long Beach, CA), Pinnacle, Unknown
Luca Curci, 6-3, OH, Jr., Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, CA), Balboa Bay, UCLA
David Decker, 6-8, RS, Jr., Cardinal Gibbons (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Ocean Bay, UCLA
Jack Ebertin, 6-5, OH, Jr., St. Francis (Mountain View, CA), Bay to Bay, USC
Sterling Foley, 6-4, OH, Soph., Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, CA), Balboa Bay, Unknown
Cole Hartke, 6-10, OH, Soph., Barrington (Illinois), Pinnacle, Unknown
Finn Kearney, 6-5, RS-OH, Soph., O’Connor (Phoenix, AZ), AZ Fear, Unknown
Sean Kelly, 6-6, OH, Soph., Loyola (Los Angeles, CA), MB Surf, Unknown
Jakobi Lang, 6-4, OH, Jr., Hinsdale (Illinois) Central,  630, USC
Kellen Larson, 5-7, Libero, Soph., Woodbridge (Irvine, CA) Balboa Bay, Unknown
Victor Loiola, 6-2, OH, Soph., Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, CA), MB Surf, Unknown
David Mansilla, 6-8, OH, Jr., Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA), Rockstar, Unknown
Will McElveen, 6-5, S-RS, Jr., Olympia (Orlando, FL), 352, Ohio State
Kai Rodriguez, 6-3, OH, Jr., Christopher (Gilroy, CA), Bay to Bay, Hawai’i
Tread Rosenthal, 6-7, S-RS, Soph., Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, CA), MB Surf, Unknown
Ryan Sears, 5-11, Libero, Jr., Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA), SCVC, Hawai’i
Wesley Smith, 6-9, MB, Jr. (La Costa Canyon CA), Wave, USC
Alex Smits-Van Oyen, 6-5, S-RS, Jr., Coronado (Henderson, Nevada), Vegas United, UCSB
Jameson Vaccaro, 6-4, OH, Jr., Bishop’s (La Jolla, CA), Wave, Princeton
Tristan Whitfield, 6-7, MB-RS, Jr., Cape Henry (Virginia Beach, VA),  Coastal Virginia, Princeton
Thiago Zamprogno, 6-6, MB, Jr., Cardinal Gibbons (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Ocean Bay,  UCLA

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