Michigan to Utah: National boys high school volleyball preview, part 2

This is the second of our two-part preview of boys high school volleyball season.

Monday, we featured Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawai’i, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky:

Michigan

Michigan expanded its playoffs to two divisions last year. In Division 1, Hudsonville made it back to back, beating Grand Haven for the second straight year. In Division 2, Lowell defeated South Christian. 
Top Programs 
1 — Grand Haven
2 — Hudsonville
3 — Lowell
4 — Northville
5 — Saline
Players 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 yet to sanction boys volleyball, but it continues to grow. There were four teams when it started in 2018 and there were 60 last spring.
Quoteworthy: “As our programs gain more experience, the level of play continues to improve at a very fast rate. Hudsonville and Grand Haven have established themselves as top programs in the state and there are a number of programs who will challenge them this year, including Lowell, Saline, Northville and Forest Hills Eastern. West Michigan has been the hub volleyball, however the east side of the state is key in our growth of our sport and looks ready to explode with new teams.” — Grand Haven coach Aaron Smaka.

Minnesota

Last May, Minnesota got the votes it needed to have the first sanctioned high school season in 2025. For the 2024 season the state has recognized boys volleyball with emerging sport status.
Top Programs
1 — Andover
2 — Bloomington Jefferson
3 — Eden Prairie
4 — Rogers
5 — St Michael Albertville
Players 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 teams, including 1,974 boys, competed in the 2023 high school club season. 
Quoteworthy: “The competition just keeps improving. So many teams are at higher levels overall this year which will make for some great competition.  I am incredibly proud of the efforts put forth in all our participating communities to make boys volleyball happen in MN.” – Krista Flemming, MN Boys High School Volleyball Association

Nevada

Shadow Ridge is the two-time defending state champion in 5A but needs to fill some big vacancies to key positions. This season could one of the most competitive in several years with at least four of the top five schools legitimately having an opportunity to win in 5A. 
Top Programs
1 — Palo Verde
2 — Arbor View
3 — Coronado
4 — Shadow Ridge
5 – Centennial
Players 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 top five programs each year for the past decade seem to be the same schools reshuffled only by the strength of each year’s personnel. This season could one of the most competitive seasons in several years with at least four of the top five schools legitimately having an opportunity to win the coveted 5A state title.” — Vegas United director Rob Rios

Ohio

Archbishop Moeller won the last three Division I state championships, but has a new coach in Casey Pieper, the former Ohio State player who has coached the freshmen the past three years. The Crusaders’s key returnees include setter Ben Marcum, opposite Tyler Geselbracht and libero Tyler Wong. Olentangy Liberty, which lost in last year’s final, returns nearly the entire starting lineup and appear to be the early favorite, led by outside Caden Whiteside, libero Austin Mallory and middle blocker Jake Koch. St. Xavier, which plays in the same league as Moeller is led by the middle blocker duo of Brady Jones and Noah Boyett, setter/opposite Aidan Berkemeier and outside Andrew Berkemeier.
Top Programs
1 — Olentangy Liberty 
2 — Archbishop Moeller 
3 — St. Xavier 
4 – Archbishop McNicholas 
5 — Mt. Vernon 
Players 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 starts its second year of sanctioned play within the OHSAA after more than 30 years of club sports history. 
Quoteworthy: “Boys high school volleyball in Ohio has exploded in recent years, particularly with the formal recognition of the OHSAA a year or so back, and with that, the number of very good players and teams has jumped as well. We’ve also seen many more opportunities for boys to play beyond high school, and those opportunities are being filled by players from all around the state, not just the traditional powerhouse schools. Whereas the center of power in boys volleyball has historically been Cincinnati, we now see multiple teams and great players from both inside and outside of Cincinnati challenging for titles each year. The future is very bright for men’s volleyball in Ohio.” — St. Xavier coach Bill Ferris

Oklahoma

Boys high school volleyball returns to Oklahoma after a 36-year hiatus with the support of the Oklahoma Boys Volleyball Association (OKBVA), a non-profit organization established in 2020 to promote and assist Oklahoma high schools in establishing teams through grassroots efforts. The goal is to become a sanctioned sport by the Oklahoma Secondary schools Activities Association (OSSAA).

Top Programs
1 — OKC Storm (Oklahoma City)
2 — Casady School (Oklahoma City)
3 –Jenks High School (Tulsa)
4 — Edmond-North High School (Oklahoma City)
5 — Broken Arrow High School (Broken Arrow)
Players to Watch
S — Krish Vasan (Casady School)
S — Hudson Headrick (Jenks High School)
OH — Gabriel Becerra (OKC Storm)
OH — Billy Harms (Broken Arrow)
OH — Evan Halleran (Casady School)
Noteworthy: The sport has grown from one high school team in 2020 to at least 16 teams participating in the 2024 OKBVA spring season with eight more on the horizon. The Oklahoma State tournament is May 10-11.
Quoteworthy: “I’ve seen steady growth in Oklahoma boys volleyball over the past 16 years of coaching. The sport has been alive at Casady School in Oklahoma City since 1978, and clubs have been steadily adding more and more boys at all age levels over the past several years … It is a very exciting time for the growth of boys volleyball in Oklahoma,”  — Casady coach Jay Gallegly

Pennsylvania

Lower Dauphin  (Hummelstown) has won three straight state championships in Class AA, but coach David Machamer will need meaningful contributions from several fresh faces for the streak to continue. The Falcons graduated all-state  setter Will Sierer (Juniata College), but all-state first-team outside Arun Gopinath and junior opposite Kyler Holland. In-district foe Exeter (Reading), led by Penn State commit Gaige Gabriel and first-team all-state libero Chase Nugent present a huge challenge.
In class AAA, North Allegheny (Wexford) has won four out of the last five state championships, but upstart Shaler High School (Pittsburgh) bested North Allegheny for the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championship, claiming a top seed in the state-championship bracket. Shaler lost to AAA champion Parkland (Allentown), but returns every contributing player, including Pittsburgh Post Gazette player of the year Logan Peterson and fellow two-time all-state middle blocker Dante Polumbo. Foes from Pennsylvania’s south-central District 3 include Central York (York), Warwick (Lititz), and Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg).
While the Pennsylvania boys’ volleyball landscape is traditionally dominated by the Pittsburgh and Harrisburg metro areas, teams from northeast, northwest, and Philadelphia suburbs have had an increasing impact on the state playoff brackets. Newcomer Mercyhurst Prep (Erie) shocked the Pennsylvania landscape as it advanced to the AA state semifinals in its first year of competition in 2023.
Top Programs
1 – Shaler (AAA)
2 – Parkland (AAA)
3 – North Allegheny (AAA)
4 – Exeter (AA)
5 – Lower Dauphin (AA)
Players to Watch 
S/OPP – Kyle Charles (Warwick)
OH/OPP – Logan Peterson (Shaler)
MB – Gaige Gaibriel (Exeter)
OPP – Nathan Knapp (Pennsbury)
MB – Carter Weight (State College)
Noteworthy: Boys volleyball has been an officially sanctioned hampionship since 1936. In 2007, Pennsylvania began awarding state championships in two classifications (AAA and AAA). North Allegheny and Northeastern (York) have won nine titles each. There were 224 playing in 2023 and Pennsylvania also offers a cooperative program where many schools allow boys from neighboring school districts to compete as part of their teams.
Quoteworthy: “More students are getting involved at younger ages — credited to the creation of middle school programs and competitive club opportunities — leading to an improved level of play. Beyond high school, the number of Division III colleges offering men’s volleyball in Pennsylvaniua has grown to 24, the second-most in the country. We’re proud to see Pennsylvania schools compete at all levels with rosters made up of local talent.” —Parkland coach Scott Trumbauer
“The history of boys’ volleyball in Pennsylvania made the sport very attractive to a lot of incredible young athletes. Combine that with a wealth of great high school volleyball coaches helped ignite a talent bloom in the state. For us, we will always work to make sure best players stay in state to play collegiately, however the export of Pennsylvania boys volleyball nationally to other college programs across all levels has allowed the state—and its caliber of play— to receive the recognition it deserves.” —Penn State coach Mark Pavlik

South Carolina

The first SCHL sanctioned boys volleyball state tournament was held this past November in two divisions. In AAAAA, Dorman defeated Carolina Forest. In A/AA/AAA/AAAA (a combined division due to number of teams), Bishop England beat Catawba Ridge.
Top Programs
1 — Dorman 
2 — Carolina Forest 
3 — Bishop 
4 — Catawba Ridge 
Players 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

Last season, Texas had 38 high school teams in the Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston areas. For the 2024 season, Texas will have high school teams from Austin and San Antonio as well as several private schools that previously played in the fall only. The hope is the growth leads to the UIL sanctioning the sport. In 2023, the UIL denied a proposal to become a sanctioned sport, but did classify it as an emerging sport. Boys volleyball supporters generated a petition that has 10,213 signatures to date in favor of adding it as an official high school sport. Prominent college volleyball players from the state, including Nathan Lietzke of Stanford and Merrick McHenry of UCLA have lent their support.
2023 Private School Results
1 – Episcopal Houston
2 – St. Mark’s
3 – Greenhill
4 – AWTY International
5 – Trinity Valley 
2023 Top Private School Players
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 Top Programs
1 — Allen High School 
2 – Rockwall
3 — Jesuit
4 – Woodrow Wilson
5 — Plano East 
Players to Watch
S — Leighton Bruscato (Woodrow Wilson)
OPP — Kyle Chapman (Austin)
S — Brock Harvick (Allen)
OH — Myles Jordan (Ridge Point)
M — Marnix Van Megesen (Allen)
OH — Hudson Whitehead (Woodrow)
Noteworthy: The First Point Collegiate Challenge last month brought Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA, Stanford, Ball State,and USC to Austin. First Point and the teams put on a clinic in conjunction with the Southwest Boys Classic, the only boys national qualifier in the southwest region.
Quoteworthy: “I look forward to this season to compete against new teams from the state that have joined our high school league. We want to showcase how exciting boys volleyball can be with its speed and power to grow the game.” — Woodrow’s Hudson Whitehead.

Utah

Boys volleyball has had a presence in Utah for over 30 years. In 2014 there were 104 registered boys players. In 2023 there were 1,162 registered players. In 2022, a third attempt at getting sanctioned was successful. It is estimated that 94 high schools will field teams in this inaugural 2024 season.
Top Programs
1 — Olympus
2 — West Lake
3 — Copper Hills
4 — Farmington
5 — Riverton
Players 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 High School and Club GSL is headed to national power BYU.
Quoteworthy: “Utah volleyball is in an exciting place going into our first officially sanctioned season. The state is now consistently producing athletes capable of playing at the next level, and the number of teams and boys playing the sport has absolutely exploded over the last several years. While a small number of high school teams have established themselves as perennial powerhouses in the ‘high school club’ era and will likely carry that momentum forward, it will be incredibly interesting to watch how the rest of the field stacks up in what is certain to be the most competitive year yet for Utah boys volleyball.” — Warren Van Schalkwyk, president of Utah Boys Volleyball Association.

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