Inaugural First Point Tournament Lives Up To The Hype
Kevin Pratte
Over a year ago Kenny Rogers, the Windward High School assistant coach sent a text over to fellow First Point Board Member and Weddington High School Boys’ Head Coach Sarah Conklin that expressed his interest in running an Inaugural First Point Boys’ High School Tournament. The two got to work and on Friday, March 28th their dream became a reality. “We wanted to put on this event because there has never been a truly national volleyball tournament for boys’ high school teams, like there is for club players. First Point has helped grow the sport over the last eight years, it has become clear that bringing people from different sates together to connect and share best practices helps states still pursuing sanctioning to move closer to the goal,” said Rogers.
Conklin and Rogers used their First Point connections to determine what high school teams would be good fits for the tournament. They created two brackets; the Pioneer Bracket was designed for non-sanctioned high school teams that are still in the process of getting their state to sanction boys’ volleyball and the Legacy Bracket was filled up with all the high schools that have sanctioned volleyball.
The site was determined because Austin, Texas is centrally located and First Point board member Glen Lietzke provided access to his gym. The facility had multiple courts, plenty of room for spectators and an accommodating event staff.
Pioneer Bracket
Austin Spartans, Texas.
Elberta, Alabama
Green Hill, Tennessee
Jenks, Oklahoma
Southside Slam, Georgia
Texas All Stars, Texas
Weddington, North Carolina
Valcano Vista, New Mexico
Legacy Bracket
Arizona College Prep, Arizona
Arvada West, CO
Maple Mountain, UT
Marquette, Mo
Oak Park, Mo
Salesianum, DE
Silverton, Oregon
Windward, CA
Friday, March 28th
The doors opened at 9 am for a few of the teams to conduct a serve and pass. By 1 pm tournament play started, and four matches took place. The four schools that got matches in on Friday were Windward, Maple Mountain, Arvada West and Silverton.
It was clear that both Windward and Maple Mountain were going to contend to win the Legacy Championship Bracket. Both have multiple athletes that play club volleyball and members of their teams are headed to play at the college level.
Arvada West played with grit and passion. A few years ago Colorado sanctioned the sport and many athletes in their state are playing in college. Setter Kei Martin ran an effective offense all tournament for Arvada West. “The inaugural First Point High School tournament exceeded my expectations. From all the special events, activities, and level of play, I am not sure I could have asked for more. The whole weekend had such a positive vibe and I would encourage all schools to attend if the future if they are lucky enough to get invited,” said Arvad West Head Coach David Zimmerman.
Silverton High School represented Oregon. By the end of the year Oregon First Point rep Patrick Gibson is extremely optimistic that the vote will be passed to sanction the sport in the Northwest Region.
At 6 pm all the teams gathered for an opening ceremony. Each team was recognized, and celebrity Will Ferrell was a surprise guest for the ceremony. The comedian provided laughter to the crowd while hyping up each team that made the trip to Austin.
The ceremony was an incredible opportunity to recognize boys’ high school volleyball as one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Each team lined up alphabetically with the host state Texas going first to be introduced in front of fans and family. The teams walked into theme music that represented their state, holding their state flag and every member of the team was waiving mini flags to show pride of where they were from. Rogers and Conklin did a fine job creating an Olympic like setting for the First Point opening ceremonies.
To add to the excitement Molten and Slunks sponsored the event. Molten provided 300 volleyballs that were used throughout the tournament. Slunks donated uniforms for each team. The uniforms were color themed with the state that the high school was representing. “It was thoughtful that Slunks gave us super cool uniforms. It shows that they are willing to support the athletes and invest into the future of high school boys’ volleyball,” said Mattias Ferrell, senior opposite from Windward.
The Kevin Pratte Foundation awarded two scholarships to athletes to help pay for their club volleyball fees. Dr. Anititra Brockman was at the tournament the whole time to support First Point and recruit for the UMES NCAA Division I program that will be starting up for the 2026 season.
Saturday, March 29th
Pool play began at 8 am and the final match was done around 11 pm. Throughout the day teams were competing, and every match was live streamed. I had the pleasure of calling play by play for some of the pool play, the playoffs and championship matches. Dr. Brockman joined one of the matches to help with the commentating, show her appreciation of First Point, discuss her new college program and let the listeners know about the documentary that is coming out about her program in January of 2026.
The day was celebrated that Alabama brought their first ever high school team to the tournament. Programs from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Oregon, North Carolina, New Mexico and Georgia showed that they had talented athletes who competed at a high level.
Through pool play it was clear that the teams from Georgia, Arizona, Missouri, Delaware, California, Texas and Utah were going to make a push to win the championship trophy in their respected divisions. Delaware came into the tournament as the 2024 state champs on a 20 game winning streak. Maple Mountain from Utah, led by BYU commitment Trey Thorton had not lost a match for over a year heading into the tournament. In 2024 Arizona College Prep was the 4A state champs.
After the teams battled for hours, Georgia advanced to the Pioneer Bracket finals to take on the Austin Spartans from Texas. The Spartans had full control of the match by winning the serve and pass battle. They had tremendous performances from their pin hitters Parfait Mugabo, Joshua Mugo and Trey Landord. Georgia showed a lot of fight and were led by their setter Kai James-David Morgan and outside Sammy Haggerty. The Austin Spartans came out on top beating Georgia in a clean sweep to win the Pioneer Championship Bracket.
The Legacy Bracket Championship finals was a three set thriller. Trey Thorton and his Maple Mountain squad came out in set one physically dominating net play and provided service pressure on Windward. Maple Mountain beat Windward in pool play on Friday and it appeared they were going to cruise to a 2-0 sweep to win the championship. After set one Windward regrouped. Setter, Maxwell Stotsky connected well with his pin attackers Mattias Ferrell, Jack Phelps and Rafa Milchan. In sets two and three Windward did a much better job limiting their errors and containing the highly talented Trey Thorton. Set three went back and forth. “We served tougher in the last two sets of the finals and took Maple Mountain out of system,” said Coach Rogers. Windward ultimately made the clutch plays at the end to earn the tournament win.
For the first point of the tournament on Friday, March 28th Windward’s Stotsky blasted a serve that created an overpass. Ferrell was anxiously waiting at the net and put down an overpass kill. It was only fitting that Ferrell finished the championship match with a kill to award the Wildcats the Inaugural First Point Championship Trophy.
Sunday, March 30th
The final day of the tournament started with an award ceremony. The top teams from each bracket were recognized and given medals. An all-tournament team was named and to finish off the day each athlete was provided the opportunity to take part in a training session with USA Head Coach Karch Kiraly and Assistant Coach Luka Slabe. Coach Kiraly was able to show the athletes his gold medals and field some questions from the athletes before they head home.
First Point seized the opportunity to celebrate high school boys’ volleyball growing in the United States. Rogers and Conklin pulled out the red carpet for all the teams that attended. There was reason to celebrate during this fantastic tournament, but there is still more work to be done. The First Point foundation continues to work diligently on starting up men’s collegiate and boys’ high school teams. Over the past couple of years, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, and Missouri sanctioned boys’ volleyball. Texas, Alabama, Nebraska, Tennessee, Georgia and many more are currently in the process of trying to get the sport sanctioned.
There is no doubt that the Inaugural First Point Tournament was a smashing success. Parents, fans, coaches and athletes are already looking forward to the second annual tournament. Plans are underway to invite more teams from more states. I know I will be at the tournament next year. I encourage college volleyball coaches and fans to checkout this incredible tournament.
Pioneer Bracket All Tournament Team:
Owen Conklin, Wedington, North Carolina
Joaquin Corrales, Valcano Vista, New Mexico
Samuel Haggerty, Southside Slam, Georgia
Hudson Heathrick, Jenks, Oklahoma
Parfait Mugabo, Austin Spartans, Texas (MVP)
Jonathan Ranger, Austin Spartans, Texas
George Stevens, Green Hill, Tennessee
William Wied, Texas All Stars, Texas
Legacy Bracket All Tournament Team:
Mattias Ferrell, Windward, CA
Ethan Huynh, Oak Park, Mo
Noah Landewe, Marquette, Mo
Kei Marrin, Arvada West, CO
Reid Maas, Salesianum, DE
Kaden Sander, Arizona College Prep, Arizona
Elisha Short, Silverton, Oregon
Maxwell Stotsky, Windward, CA (MVP)
Trey Thornton, Maple Mountain, UT
Facts gathered at the tournament:
Arizona, Maple Mountain and Delaware all came in as the reigning state champions. Maple Mountain had not lost a match for over a year going into the First Point tournament. The Delaware Salesianum Sallies went undefeated last season.
Some of the teams (Alabama, Georgia, Texas) had to create all-star teams that represented athletes from multiple high schools for this tournament. The hope is these states will eventually have sanctioned volleyball. Getting these athletes playing at this tournament was a giant step in the right direction.
On Saturday, March 29th the first match started at 8 am and finals ended around 11 pm. 15 hours of exciting volleyball!
North Carolina, Nebraska, and Tennessee are making big moves to get the sport sanctioned.
Comments on the weekend:
After the final match the Windward athletes and fans were going nuts. Windward assistant coach and First Point Board Member Kenny Rogers was running around the gym with a smile as big as the state of Texas. He ran over to me and said, “This is a bucket list moment!”
“What an incredible display of the growth and talent in boys’ volleyball. Seeing so many high school athletes competing at a high level with passion, energy, and camaraderie was inspiring. Events like this are vital for expanding opportunities in the sport and reinforce why programs like UMES Men’s Volleyball are important in creating new opportunities. This event showed how bright the future of the game is,” Dr. Anitra Brockman, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Men’s Volleyball Head Coach.
“It was such a great opportunity to meet Karch Kiraly, a long time ideal of mine and an all time great for our sport. First Point did an amazing job with the Inaugural First Point Boys’ High School Tournament. My teammates and I will never forget this experience,” said George Stevens, Green Hill Captain and committed to play at Lincoln Memorial.
“One of the most meaningful things about the event was seeing how the boys’ volleyball community shows up for each other. From First Point board members, to parents, coaches and legends of the game. Karch Kiraly spent time watching matches and gave the athletes an inspirational talk on Sunday. That type of personal and genuine support is what makes the movement so powerful. We’re not just growing the sport, we are showing that our community believes in the next generation of athletes,” Coach Sarah Conklin of Wedington and First Point Board Member.
“Green Hill was honored to take part in this event. We loved that there were non-sanction and sanctioned brackets at the tournament. First Point continues to grow the game and we look forward to the day when all 50 states are sanctioning this great sport. Thanks to First Point for the beautiful opening ceremonies, Slunks for providing uniforms, Molten donating balls and Karch with his USA staff putting on a clinic for the final day,” Coach Tracy Stevens, Green Hill Head Coach.
#growthegame
Kevin Pratte has enthusiastically been involved in volleyball for over 23 years. Pratte started playing in middle school and was fortunate enough to play NCAA Division 1 volleyball at The University of the Pacific. After his playing career Pratte got involved in coaching volleyball. In 2009 Pratte was the graduate assistant coach for the University of Nebraska women’s volleyball program. Later in his career Pratte made coaching stops at University of the Pacific, multiple community colleges and coached at WAVE Volleyball Club for seven years. Currently Pratte is a physical education teacher in the San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary member, a college volleyball recruiting coordinator, hosts a volleyball podcast show, the owner of the Middle Hitter website and runs a non-profit organization to help raise funds to give boys’ high school volleyball students scholarships to play club volleyball. He is excited to continue writing for Volleyball Magazine and is eager to cover the game.
Foundation website: www.kevinprattefoundation.com
Middle Hitter Website: www.middlehitter.com
KP HERE Podcast: Spotify
