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Three players who earned most valuable player and All-American honors in high school will join Princeton.
Princeton coach Sam Shweisky announced recently that high school graduates Niko Gjaja, Jess Hunt and Joe Kelly have committed to play for the Tigers beginning in the 2018 season.
Gjaja, a 6-foot-3 setter from Wilmette, Illinois, helped his team win two conference championships and reach the state finals during his high school career. Along with being the son of Princeton men’s volleyball’s first All-American, Gjaja was named to the AVCA High School All-American Watch List and was a 2017 all-state selection.
Hunt, a 6-foot-5 outside attacker from San Clemente, California, earned league co-most valuable player honors in his senior season as he helped his high school team win the conference championship. He also made the All-Tournament Team at both the 2016 Best of the West Tournament and the 2017 Redondo Tournament.
Kelly, a 6-foot-3 setter from El Segundo, California, led his high school team to a California state championship and garnered both league most valuable player and first-team all-state honors. In addition, Kelly was one of 23 players selected to the U.S. Boys Youth National Team training roster for the upcoming FIVB U19 World Championship.
Princeton returns a majority of starters from last year’s team that reached the EIVA Tournament semifinals, including All-EIVA middle attackers George Huhmann and Junior Oboh.