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A nationwide voting committee selected 22 players to the 2022 Off the Block Preseason All-American Team.
Off the Block announced on Monday the annual Preseason All-American Teams that recognize the players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball season.
Pepperdine after reaching the NCAA Tournament last season led the nation with four Preseason All-American selections.
The Waves were one of six teams that had multiple players making a Preseason All-American Team. The defending EIVA champions Penn State had three Preseason All-Americans, while the defending MIVA champions Lewis, Long Beach State, Loyola and UCLA each had two players named Preseason All-Americans.
Seven schools – the defending NCAA champions Hawai’i, BYU, Grand Canyon, Mount Olive, Ohio State, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara – all were represented with a player on a Preseason All-American Team.
Players eligible for the Preseason All-American Teams had to be on an active roster of a Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
The voting committee for this preseason award was comprised of about 20 NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball head coaches and men’s volleyball media members from around the nation.
The 10 players receiving the most votes were named Preseason First-Team All-Americans, while the next top 10 vote-getters were selected as Preseason Second-Team All-Americans. Two additional players made the second team as a result of a tie in the voting and a requirement to have at least two players from each position represented on the Preseason All-American Teams.
Voters were required to place at least one setter, one opposite, one outside attacker, one middle attacker, and one libero on each of their ballots.
Lewis middle attacker Tyler Mitchem garnered the most Preseason All-American votes. In addition, BYU outside attacker Davide Gardini finished with the second-most votes, and Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs had the third-most votes.
The NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball will begin the opening week of January and conclude with the seven-team NCAA Tournament in May at UCLA.
Off the Block Preseason First-Team All-Americans
Setter: Cole Bogner, Penn State
Setter: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Opposite: Cal Fisher, Penn State
Opposite: Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA
Outside attacker: Davide Gardini, BYU
Outside attacker: Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon
Outside attacker: Brett Wildman, Penn State
Middle attacker: Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
Middle attacker: Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine
Libero: Mason Briggs, Long Beach State
Off the Block Preseason Second-Team All-Americans
Setter: Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i
Setter: Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Setter: Garrett Zolg, Loyola
Outside attacker: Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive
Outside attacker: Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego
Outside attacker: Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State
Outside attacker: Cole Schlothauer, Loyola
Outside attacker: Spencer Wickens, Pepperdine
Outside attacker: Ryan Wilcox, UC Santa Barbara
Middle attacker: Merrick McHenry, UCLA
Libero: Trey Cole, Pepperdine
Others receiving votes on multiple ballots: Sam Kobrine, USC; Clarke Godbold, Long Beach State; Daniel Wetter, CSUN; Jaylen Jasper, Pepperdine; Troy Gooch, Purdue Fort Wayne, Will Bantle, Penn State; Cole Pender, UCLA; Michal Podgorzak, Quincy; Quinn Isaacson, Ball State; Francesco Sani, UC Irvine; Guilherme Voss, Hawai’i; Joshua Kim, King; Julian Meissner, NJIT; Kaleb Jenness, Ball State; Noah Melendez, King; Shane Holdaway, Long Beach State
Preseason First-Team All-Americans player bios
Cole Bogner, Penn State
Bogner was among the national leaders averaging 9.71 assists per game and guided the Penn State offense to the fourth-best attack percentage at .331 last season. The setter also was named the 2021 EIVA Player of the Year and helped the Nittany Lions win the EIVA championship.
Mason Briggs, Long Beach State
Briggs led the Big West and was fourth in the nation with a 2.64 digs per game average last season. The libero had double-digit digs in eight matches and was named a finalist for the 2021 Erik Shoji Award.
Cal Fisher, Penn State
Fisher was second in the nation with a 0.75 aces per game average and was selected as the 2021 National Server of the Year. The opposite also was in the nation’s top 30 averaging 3.52 kills per game on a career-best .354 attack percentage as Penn State won the EIVA championship and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Davide Gardini, BYU
Gardini, a two-time All-American selection, was among the national leaders last season with a 3.05 kills per game average and a .327 attack percentage. The outside attacker also helped BYU advance to the 2021 NCAA Tournament finals and spent the offseason playing for Italy at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon
Gianni finished last season leading the MPSF and third in the nation with a 0.70 aces per game average, including having seven aces in the MPSF Tournament. The outside attacker also was in the nation’s top 15 averaging a 4.00 kills per game and became the conference’s first repeat winner of the MPSF Freshman of the Year.
Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Kauling was second in the nation with a 10.84 assists per game average and guided the Lewis offense to the third-best attack percentage in the nation at .360. The All-American setter and finalist for the 2021 Lloy Ball Award also helped lead the Flyers to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Cole Ketrzynski, UCLA
Ketrzynski ended last season in the nation’s top 15 averaging 3.98 kills per game on a career-best .345 attack percentage. The All-MPSF opposite also was seventh in the nation with a 0.49 aces per game average as the Bruins finished in second place in the MPSF.
Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
Mitchem was second in the nation with a .490 attack percentage en route to earn All-American honors last season. The finalist for the 2021 Ryan Millar Award as the nation’s top middle attacker also was third in the nation averaging 1.30 blocks per game and helped Lewis advance to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Brett Wildman, Penn State
Wildman was in the nation’s top 15 with a 0.46 aces per game average last season. The All-American outside attacker also was among the national leaders with a 3.25 kills per game average on a career-best .322 attack percentage as Penn State won the EIVA championship.
Austin Wilmot, Pepperdine
Wilmot was in the nation’s top 15 averaging 1.10 blocks per game last season, including having six blocks in a NCAA Tournament opening-round loss to UC Santa Barbara. The All-American middle attacker also was in the nation’s top 15 with a career-best .434 attack percentage.
Preseason Second-Team All-Americans player bios
Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive
Azeez had a nation-best 4.58 kills per game average last season, including having at least 20 kills in eight matches. Along with winning the ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year and helping Mount Olive win a conference regular season title, Azeez was in the nation’s top 15 with a 2.19 digs per game average. The outside attacker also spent the offseason playing with Australia in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Trey Cole, Pepperdine
Cole had at least five digs in 12 matches during last season, including a season-high 18 digs in a season-opening victory against Concordia-Irvine. The Freshman All-American libero also had seven digs in Pepperdine’s loss to UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA Tournament opening round.
Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine
Dvorak was in the nation’s top 25 with a 9.25 assists per game average and guided the offense to the ninth-best attack percentage in the nation at .303. The AVCA National Newcomeber of the Year also helped the Waves earn one of the two at-large bids to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego
McCauley finished last season in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.63 kills per game average, including having a combined 49 kills in the Big West Tournament. The All-Big West outside attacker also was in the nation’s top 20 with a 0.43 aces per game average.
Merrick McHenry, UCLA
McHenry as a freshman finished 2021 in the nation’s top 20 with both a .423 attack percentage and a 1.02 blocks per game average. The middle attacker also had double-digit kills in eight matches as UCLA ended the season at No. 6 in the nation coaches poll and national media poll.
Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State
Olivier ended last season in the nation’s top 10 with a 4.02 kills per game average, including having a combined 38 kills and more than a .400 attack percentage in the Big West Tournament. The All-Big West outside attacker that season also hit .303 – the second consecutive year Olivier had more than a .300 attack percentage.
Cole Schlothauer, Loyola
Schlothauer ended last season in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.81 kills per game average. The outside attacker also had at least 15 kills in 10 matches to help the Ramblers advance to the MIVA Tournament finals.
Sotiris Siapanis, Ohio State
Siapanis as a freshman last season was eighth in the nation with a 4.12 kills per game average and was in the nation’s top 15 hitting .356. The Freshman All-American outside attacker had double-digit kills in every match, including a season-high 25 kills on a .308 attack percentage against Ball State in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals.
Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i
Thelle last season guided the Hawai’i offense to a nation-best .360 attack percentage and was fifth in the nation with a 10.69 assists per game average. The setter also was named a finalist for the Lloy Ball Award and helped the Rainbow Warriors win their first national championship in 19 years.
Spencer Wickens, Pepperdine
Wickens was among the national leaders with a 3.24 kills per game average on a .317 attack percentage last season. The All-American outside attacker had double-digit kills in seven consecutive matches to close out the season and helped Pepperdine earn the final at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Ryan Wilcox, UC Santa Barbara
Wilcox was in the nation’s top 10 with a 0.47 aces per game average and added a 2.81 kills per game average last season. The outside attacker defensively was in the nation’s top 20 averaging 2.14 digs per game as UC Santa Barbara advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Garrett Zolg, Loyola
Zolg was in the nation’s top 10 with a 10.18 assists per game average and guided the Ramblers offense to a .274 attack percentage last season. The All-MIVA setter also was in the nation’s top 15 with a 0.45 aces per game average and helped Loyola reach the MIVA Tournament finals.