Club/HS
March 2, 2025
The 2025 boys’ high school season should be exciting. Many states are sanctioned and have a rich history of boys’ volleyball. Some states like Minnesota are just becoming sanctioned, while states like Texas offer the sport and are working diligently on getting boys’ volleyball sanctioned. First Point continues to push for high school boys’ volleyball to grow. They are raising funds, awareness and even hosting a tournament in Texas.
We reached out to all the volleyball leaders in each state to make this article possible. This preview would not be possible without all the leaders submitting information. The leaders’ names are included with the state. Some states did not have the time to submit a write-up. Towards the end of May Volleyball Magazine will do recap of the 2025 season. Make sure to reach out to [email protected] to have your state or region be highlighted. In the recap article we will make sure to highlight New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin that offers boys’ volleyball in the fall.
Oregon:
(Patrick Gibson)
Oregon’s 2025 Spring Boys Volleyball season has students from more than 75 schools participating. The excitement and growth surrounding this sport is incredible and we’ve seen the number of schools offering teams triple in the past two years and we will very likely cross the 1000 participant threshold this year. Just because this sport is now in Oregon, doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of talent across the state. Portland Chaos 18-1 went undefeated and won the American division of the 2024 USAV Boys Junior National Championships.
Top Programs:
1 – Clackamas – 6A
2 – Summit – 5A
3 – St. Mary’s School, Medford – 3A
4 – Central Catholic – 6A
5 – Silverton – 5A
6 – Portland Adventist Academy – 3A
Players to Watch :
OPP/OH – Romel McCloud (Cascade HS)
OH – Elisha Short (Silverton HS)
OPP/OH – Ian Mylne (Summit HS)
OH – Finn Sathrum (Parkrose HS)
OH – Kent David (St. Mary’s School, Medford)
OH – Lukas Jordan (Adrienne C. Nelson HS)
Noteworthy : Clackamas are the defending 6A Champions after finishing the 2024 season with a 24-2 record. They’ll have to play through another season with a target in their backs. At the 5A level, the top two teams, Summit and Silverton return a ton of talent and expectations are very high for both schools. At the 3A/2A/1A level, St. Mary’s are keen on repeating and proudly represent Southern Oregon’s impressive volleyball acumen, but don’t look past Portland Adventist Academy to give them a run for their money…again.
Pennsylvania
(Brandin McDonough)
Defending Pennsylvania Class AA state champion Meadville returns all their key attackers from its 2024 squad. Led by USA Volleyball National U19 team member, KP’S Five Star Middle Hitter Recruit, and Penn State commit Luc Sorensen. Meadville finished a perfect 21-0 in 2024 defeating Manheim Central in the championship. Manheim Central returns All-State team members in seniors Reagan Miller and Dylan Musser. Both teams will be among a select few able to reach the championship in June in the highly competitive Class AA.
Central York looks to avenge a semi-final defeat at the hands of defending Class AAA champion Parkland. Central York is led by PIAA District 3 player of the year and Juniata College commit Lance Shaffer, but future Juniata College teammate Parkland senior outside hitter Josh Nation could stand in Central York’s way. Perennial power North Allegheny was notably eliminated from the 2024 state playoffs in the round of sixteen, but has retooled with a group of athletic attackers who are banking meaningful experience. State College and Pennsbury could both prove to be dark horse contenders in Class AAA once play commences in March.
Players to watch:
- Luc Soerensen, Junior, Meadville
- Kieran Shaw, Senior, Pennsbury
- Brodie Hershler, Junior, Central Dauphin
- John He, Senior, Central York
- Lance Shaffer, Senior Central York
- Will Robertson, Junior, North Allegheny
- Carter Weight, Senior, State College
Top 5 teams:
- Central York, AAA
- Meadville, AA
- Parkland, AAA
- North Allegheny, AAA
- Manheim Central, AA
Noteworthy: This season will mark Pennsylvania’s 89th state championship in boys’ volleyball with 239 high schools competing in 2025 – an increase of 15 programs over the past two seasons. While Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Philadelphia are boys’ volleyball mainstays, the northeast and northwest regions of the state are experiencing growth in participation with new schools entering competition each season.
Rhode Island
(Scott Reslow)
The Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) features three boys’ volleyball divisions amassing 36 teams in total. Divisions are based mainly on a competitiveness structure but also include population of school and location considerations. Playoff format is top eight from division get in based on record, followed by a standard tournament with quarterfinals, semifinals, and then the championship held on a college campus. Colleges that have hosted the finals, and sometimes the semifinals, in years past include the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, and Johnson & Wales University. Today, and for the last five years, Rhode Island College is the host. The 2025 season showcases a realignment of teams which should project an interesting campaign of volleyball. The champions of last year’s divisions, with the natural exception of Division 1, have all moved up…Barrington High School from Division 2 to Division 1, Tolman High School from Division 3 to Division 2. The top conference, also known as Division 1 or the State Championship Division, has three strong contenders in La Salle Academy, North Kingstown High School, and Cranston East High School. Division 2’s projected top spots are Lincoln High School, Central Falls High School, and Westerly High School. Lastly, Division 3’s race will include Portsmouth High School, Scituate High School, and Mt. Hope High School.
Top Programs:
- La Salle Academy
- North Kingstown
- Cranston East
- Bishop Hendricken
- East Providence
Top Five Players:
- OH – Ryan Harrington – North Kingstown
- OH – Cody Tow – North Kingstown
- OH – Charles Pincince – Cranston East
- S – Ben Warr – Bishop Hendricken
- Opp – Jahmir Evans – La Salle Academy
Noteworthy: La Salle Academy will be going for a three-peat this year as they won the D1 State Championship the prior two years. However, this may be one of North Kingstown’s most talented squads in a while. Cranston East is also built to do work this season…and both CE and NK have some scores to settle with La Salle Academy. Meanwhile, Tolman moves up a division after finally scaling the D3 mountain. It’ll be interesting to see if they can pick up where they left off and challenge the projected forces of D2 in Central Falls and Lincoln. Portsmouth and Scituate should battle for top spot all year in D3 continuing their rivalry that ended abruptly last season with Portsmouth stopping Scituate’s advancement in the quarters.
Quoteworthy: “This is an exciting season as we have some new teams in the divisions. Along with those new teams, we also have a stockpile of incredible players throughout the state. It’s going to make for some dramatic matches and some unreal highlight reel moments. As a volleyball fan, I’m excited to see these high level players on the court competing. This is going to be a great season for our sport and one that I’m privileged to be a part of.” — Brian Hesford, Head Coach of North Kingstown High School
California, Sac-Joaquin Section:
(Bill Brasher)
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section (SJS) includes approximately 160 teams competing in 24 conferences. The SJS extends north-south from Marysville to Merced and west-east from Fairfield to the Nevada border. This year, for the first time, schools will compete in five divisions (up from four), with five high schools ultimately being named CIF champions. Winners and runners-up in each of the top four divisions earn berths in the CIF Northern California Regional championships. Contenders for the Division 1 championship will be defending champion Pleasant Grove, along with Folsom, Oak Ridge, and Whitney. Some of the medium-sized schools that should compete for Section championships are Woodcreek, Christian Brothers, and Lathrop. Among the small schools, Ben Holt Academy in Stockton, last year’s runner-up, are considered the favorite for the championship in Division 4. There are a number of players among those teams who should go on to play in college.
Top programs
1 – Jesuit
2 – Rio Americano
3 – Whitney
4 – Granite Bay
5 – Woodcreek
6 – Pleasant Grove
Players to watch:
OH — Jack DeGraff (Folsom)
OH — Kale Cochran (Whitney)
OH — Dehryn Brown (Monterey Trail)
OH — Logan Delmundo (Pleasant Grove)
MB — Owen Altadonna (Sierra)
S – Joseph Tran (Vacaville Christian)
Noteworthy: Folsom and Jesuit high schools will compete in the Sanger Slam early in the season against some of the top teams throughout the State among the 32 teams expected to be there. The best of the Fresno/Clovis/Sanger area anchor the tournament. Later in the season, the Granite Bay tournament will feature most of the best teams from the Section, as well as a number of solid programs from both the Bay area and the Fresno area.
Quoteworthy: “I believe Vacaville Christian is going to have a great team this year. They pushed us to our limit last year…, and they return their entire team. Encina HS will be a force to be reckoned with, along with Westlake Charter HS, John Adams Academy of Roseville, Ripon HS, and more.” — Head Coach Eli Anderson of Ben Holt Academy.
California, San Diego:
(Charlie Jackson and David Savage)
The San Diego Section is always competitive with many of their athletes heading off to play at the college level. There are many high-level tournaments that attract teams from Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado. For the 2025 season Torrey Pines and Carlsbad come in with talented rosters. In the South Bay Eastlake and Otay Ranch always field good teams. The Bishop’s School and Francis Parker have a ton of young talent and can make a run to be in the Open San Diego CIF Playoffs.
Top Teams:
- Torrey Pines
- Carlsbad
- Classical
- Poway
- Cathedral
Top Players:
- Ryan Johnson, Poway
- Roman Payne, Carlsbad
- Oliver Doty, Carlsbad
- Declan Flanagan, Torrey Pines
- Will Bartelt, Del Norte
- Lathan Fry, Granite Hills
Noteworthy: The Best of the West has its most diverse field yet with teams from Hawaii, Arizona, and all over California. For the first time CIF Southern Section does not have a majority of the teams entered. Next year the tournament hopes to get teams from Colorado and Utah.
Quoteworthy: “There are a lot of competitive teams in San Diego. My league will be great with Torrey, Del Norte, LCC and Carlsbad. The competition level is going to be great with teams like; Classical, Canyon Crest, Saints, Cathedral, Parker, Bishop’s and many more,” – Charlie Jackson, Head Coach Poway.
Texas
(Travis Ferguson)
The big state of Texas offers high school volleyball club and there are many volleyball leaders trying to get the sport sanction. In the fall there is a private school league, and St. Mark’s took home the title. For the spring the public schools play. Although high school boys’ volleyball is not sanctioned there are many athletes that are signed to play NCAA men’s volleyball at the division one level.
Top Teams:
- Wylie
- Rockwall
- Allen
- Wylie East
- Spring Creek
Top Players that play in the spring:
- Hudson Whitehead
- Kyle Champan
- Max Philippe
- Myles Jordan
- Kyle Chapman
Noteworthy: Texas is making great strides to showcase boys’ and men’s volleyball in the state. In January UCLA, Stanford, Penn State and Ohio State competed in front of a large crowd in Austin. The college coaches and athletes put on a clinic for high school boys’ volleyball players. First Point is putting on a boys’ high school tournament in Austin from teams all over the country.
Tennessee
(Tracy Stevens and Tim Eidson)
As boys’ volleyball gains momentum across the United States, the current growth of the sport in Tennessee is particularly exciting. The future of boys volleyball in Tennessee is bright, with dedicated coaches, enthusiastic players, and a growing competitive spirit. The landscape of high school sports in the state is set to change dramatically. With each match, these young athletes are not only shaping their teams but also paving the way for the next generation of volleyball players in Tennessee.
Top Teams:
-Green Hill
-Brentwood
-Jonathan Edwards
– Concord
Top players:
-Mark Eidson, Jonathan Edwards
-Jeremiah Flores, Brentwood
– George Stevens, Green Hill
– Ian Young, Concord
-Mason Bryan, Green Hill
Noteworthy: In late March Coach Tracy Stevens will be taking her Green Hill squad down to Austin, Texas to play in the First Point Tournament. Teams are coming from all around the country to play and celebrate how boys’ volleyball is growing at a rapid rate. USA National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly will be putting on a clinic on the final day of competition. It is a great opportunity for Green Hill to be ambassadors of the great state of Tennessee.
Quoteworthy: “I am so excited seeing boys’ high school grow from seven to 35 teams in our state over the course of one year. None of this would have been possible without the leadership we have seen from C2 Attack athletes starting teams at their schools in the greater Nashville area, and all of the support from First Point Volleyball. I’m pumped for another amazing season ahead,” – Tracy Stevens, Head Coach Green Hill.
