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Two of the top 25 nationally ranked high school prospects have committed to UCLA beginning in 2015.
UCLA coach John Speraw announced Tuesday that high school seniors and Volleyball Magazine Top 25 Players to Watch selections Jason Arnitz and John Hessenauer along with Eric Matheis have all signed national letters of intent to play for the Bruins.
“Our program has filled its needs for the next four years by signing this group of prospects,” Speraw said in a statement. “These players will represent our program well on and off the court, and we’re thrilled that they chose UCLA. I believe each one is the top player in the nation at his respective position. My lead assistant Brad Keller deserves much of the credit for recruiting them.”
This newest recruiting class comes after UCLA tied an all-time record with eight incoming recruits being named to the annual Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 list that was released during the summer.
Arnitz, a 6-foot-7 opposite from Yorba Linda, Calif., was an AVCA High School All-American and the conference most valuable player last season as he led Esperanza High School to the state playoffs. In club volleyball, Arnitz was a All-Tournament Team selection the last two season at the Junior Olympics.
Hessenauer, an outside attacker from Laguna Niguel, Calif., earned the league most valuable player honors the last two seasons and helped guide his high school team to back-to-back league titles. In addition, he was named to the all-state team last season and has been a three-time all-conference selection.
Mathies, a setter from Laguna Niguel, Calif., is a high school teammate of Hessenauer at Dana Hills High School and was named to the all-coference and all-county teams last season. He also earned a silver medal with Arnitz in club volleyball at the 2012 Junior Olympics.
UCLA finished last season in fourth place in the MPSF and advanced to the MPSF Tournament semifinals.