Pratte’s top players from AAU boys volleyball nationals, position by position

The AAU Boys National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, July 1-4 included more than 900 teams competing in multiple divisions ages 12 to 18.  These are the players who stood out as I watched the tournament. This is just my opinion and not scientific, but I wanted to recognize how many outstanding players there in […]

The post Pratte’s top players from AAU boys volleyball nationals, position by position appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.

The AAU Boys National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, July 1-4 included more than 900 teams competing in multiple divisions ages 12 to 18. 

These are the players who stood out as I watched the tournament. This is just my opinion and not scientific, but I wanted to recognize how many outstanding players there in the country:

Outsides/Opposites

Aidan Akkawi, 630 16s: A smooth outside hitter, a good passer, a valuable point scorer and can dial up a serve that gets his opponent out of system.

Lukas Anderson, MB Surf 18s (Loyola): He has a whip of an arm and throughout the tournament the right side did a tremendous job serving teams out of system.

Quinn Bishop, Ocean Bay18s (Harvard): An outside who flys and has good range as an attacker. He has great passing technique.

Kyle Chapman, Houston Volleyball Academy 16s: Has a live arm on the right side and is a high leaper and strong blocker.

John Clinton, Elevation 17s: Has a live arm as an attacker and on the service line.

Nate Clinton, Bay to Bay 18s (Stanford): He jumps well, has a nice selection of shots and has good passing fundamentals.

Vinny Coello, MVC 18 Greek (Pepperdine): As a 2024 high school graduate he is still one of the top outsides in the 18s division. Coello terminates and is a steady passer.

Quincy Cole-Stevens, Kaizen 15s: An athletic, high-flying opposite with a fast arm who is relatively new to the game and has a lot of upside.

Christian Connell, WAVE 17s (USC): An outside who passes well, can hit the BIC effectively, jump serves teams out of system and has a great vertical.

Luca Curci, Balboa Bay 18 (UCLA): An experienced outside hitter who has played in a ton of big club and high school matches. Curci passes at a high clip, has great range as an attacker and is a proven winner.

Will Denning, Coast 14s: He’s coming on the scene nicely at the outside hitter position and will only improve. During the tournament Denning showed that he has a powerful arm.

Jack Ebertin, Bay to Bay 18s outside (USC): The go-to outside hitter for Bay to Bay who hits the ball at its highest point and does a great job hitting the edges of the block for kills.

Ambrose Engling, MVC 17 (Princeton): Improved tremendously throughout this club season and is one of the top players in Wisconsin. Engling does a nice job attacking the block.

Declan Flanagan, WAVE 15s: An outside who jumps well, hits for a high percentage and is going to be highly recruited.

Sterling Foley, Balboa Bay 17s (USC): One of the top outside hitters in the 2024 class. He has a fabulous jump serve and reads the game well.

Harrison Girard, C2 17s: A gifted outside hitter who has a great overall game. He keeps C2 in system with his passing and has a great shot selection.

Greyson Goldberg, Coast 18 (Menlo College): Has made great strides as an outside hitter over the last year. His passing is steadily improving. Goldberg’s biggest strength is that he has a heavy arm and can terminate.

Cameron Gray, WPVC 18’s (Ball State): A high-flying outside hitter with good ball control. His jumping ability creates a big-hitting window.

Even Halleran, Kaizen 15s: An outside hitter who is not afraid to take the big swing in critical situations. He had a great shot selection and got kills from all six rotations in a win against Balboa Bay.

Cole Hartke, Sports Performance 18s (Pepperdine): He is a 6-foot-10 beast on the outside. Hartke has always been able to earn kills at a high rate in the front row. This past season his passing and back-row attacking made great improvements.

Ben Hutchinson, Academy 17s (Ohio State): Arguably the best club player in Indiana. He hits at at a high point, can terminate tin all six rotations and is a wonderful leader on the court.

Myles Jordan, Houston Volleyball Academy 16s: Has a cannon of an arm on the outside for HVA, plays gritty defense, and passes to target.

Sean Kelly, MB Surf 18s (Princeton): One of the best outside hitters in the 2024 class. Kelly is clutch when the game matters most with his attacking and jump-serving skills.

Grant Lamoureux, Twin City Volleyball 16s: He’s 6-foot-9 and gives opponents fits with as a blocker and his team’s go-to hitter.

Jakobi Lange, 630 18s: An outside named an AVCA first-team All American and does a nice job making himself available out of the back row.

Victor Loiola, MB Surf 18s (Long Beach State): A smooth outside who plays his role well. Loiola passes excellent, has a great shot selection and has played in a ton of high level matches.

Jack Loper, WAVE 16s: A big hitter, Loper is a big jumper who continues to get better at passing.

Jayden Mack, Team Rockstar 12s: One of the top 12s outsides in the tournament. Mack passed well, played strong back-row defense and was a big offense piece for Team Rockstar.

David Mansilla, Team Rockstar 18s (GCU): He has a whip of an arm and puts up a big block and scored regularly for his team.

Luke Morrison, Balboa 16s: One of the best opposites at the AAU Championships. The lefty led Balboa Bay to a title with a fast arm and epic blocks at critical times.

Liam Phinizy, Pulse 18s (Loyola): He fits the mold of a typical John Hawks recruit. Phinizy passes well, hits the edges of the block to generate kills,and can hit the BIC.

Sebastiano Sani, St James 18s: A physical outside hitter who is a scoring machine for St. James. This past year he has a played in a lot of high-level matches with St James and with the USA U19 team.

Charlie Savage, Coast 12s: He’s been playing since he was 3 years old and it shows. He has a solid jump serve, passes well and it a great asset for Coast with his backrow defense. He could dominate in club in years to come.

Jake Read, Balboa Bay 18s (Loyola): He grew up in Newport, California and fits the mold of strong outsides from that area. Read passes well, has a high volleyball IQ and has won a lot of high-level high school matches. During the AAU Championships Read hit well out of system and passed difficult serves to the target.

Gabe Repplinger, Elevation 17s: Gabe Repplinger continues to improve on his passing and attacking. He is a great route runner and creates good angles on his platform to get the ball to target in serve receive.

Kai Rodriguez, Outrigger 17 (Hawai’i): He moved to Hawai’i this year to get acclimated to the lifestyle. He’s a big leaper with good range as an attacker and found ways to get Outrigger some key wins during the AAU Championship tournament.

Tyler Tharpe, Ultimate 18s (Ohio State): A 6–foot-7 opposite who hits a heavy ball. Teams must always know where he is on the court because he can earn kills in all six rotations. He’s also a strong blocker.

Justin Todd, Outrigger 18 (Hawai’i): He is becoming one of the top outside hitters in the 2023 class and is capable of getting a kill in all six rotations.

Marek Turner, Rockstar 17s: One of the best jumpers in the nation, one of the top attackers, and is versatile. Can play both pins and middle.

Jameson Vaccaro, WAVE 18s (Princeton): Has a lot of range as an attacker, passes at a high clip and might be one of the top blockers in the 2023 class. His vision and hand placement on blocks are spot on.

Andrew Weigand, Cincinnati Attack 15s: A high flyer who hits with good pace and continues to make great strides in his passing.

Hudson Whitehead, C2 16s: An up-and-coming outside hitter who is grabbing the attention of college coaches. Whitehead has a solid passing platform, great range as an attacker and is starting to hit the BIC nicely.

David Wolff, MOD 17s: A 6-foot-8 middle who has good range as an attacker and makes his presence known while blocking.

Paxton Wright, Front Range 18s: A member of the ’24 recruiting class. Wright can play both outside and opposite effectively. He has an aggressive jump serve and as an attacker is a threat to score in all six rotations.

Hudson Yockey, Coast 14s: Hudson Yockey continues to develop nicely as an outside hitter. He can go on great service runs with his jump serve and Yockey terminates for a high percentage. Don’t be shocked if you see him setting soon. His beach skills might call for him to be a pin hitter in the front row and a setter in the back row.

Setters

Caleb Blanchette, C2 17s (USC): Has good net presence, nice tempo of his sets, puts up a solid block and Blanchette has proven that he can will his C2 team to victory.

Timothy Cho, Bay to Bay 16s: Can make all the sets and does a nice job incorporating the BIC and the D ball into his offense. When Bay to Bay is transitioning or out of system, Cho does a marvelous job squaring up and is capable of setting against the flow.

Aiden Dufour, Pulse 17s: A quick athlete who moves the ball around nicely, can set against the flow, and plays great back-row defense. Dufour was named the 2023 High School Inland Empire player of the year.

Logan Eaton, St. James 17s: Regardless of the pass, he can deliver the perfect tempo to his hitters and help maximize their efficiency.

Ryan Graves, A4 18s (Pepperdine): Does a awesome job finding Kaumana Carreira (Stanford). Plays excellent floor defense and has a jump serve that got opponents out of system during the AAU Championship tournament.

Tyler Gorman, St. James 14s: A team leader who directs the team’s offense all while being a standout blocker, server and even attacker.

Gavin Haggerty, Academy 17s: Continues to improve and his role as a setter has expanded in the last year. He now runs a 5-1 for Academy. He has a smooth release and his decision-making skills continue to improve.

Adam Hartung, Adversity 15s: Puts up a hittable ball and sets with good tempo. He can make all the sets and has a high volleyball IQ.

John Householder, Excel 16s: Has pinpoint accuracy as a setter and when Excel is a bit out of system, the middles better be up and ready because Householder can find them. Householder has a jump serve that puts teams out of system.

Bex Keller-Carroll, Coast 12s: Someone you are going to have to keep an eye on for the next five years. Keller-Carroll can set a nice tempo ball in system and plays excellent defense.

Taban Khare, Academy 18s: He runs a 5-1 that enacts a pace that keeps up with the competition and size of the 18 Open division. He is fundamentally sound as a setter, which makes him difficult to read for the other team.

Joseph Morris, St. James 18s (Belmont Abbey): His primary position is setter and his lanky 6-3 frame allows him to be a force in the team’s attack as well. While setting Morris does a good job getting the ball into the middle attacker Tristan Whitfield in transition. In the front row, if teams are not up on him he will score on the setter dump or hammer it over in two.

Will McElveen, WPVC 18s (Ohio State): One of the top recruits in the 2023 class. McElveen can make all the sets, has good decision-making skills, and is a huge reason why WPVC is so successful. When McElveen is in the front row WPVC sometimes uses him as an attacker. He hits at a high point and shows a lot of range.

Noah Pabarcus, Coast 14s: Can make all the sets and puts his teammates in great position by locating his sets well. Pabarcus has good tempo and is capable of setting against the flow.

Jake Pazanti, Pinnacle 17s (Long Beach State): Does a great job establishing the middles in his offense and can make all the necessary sets out to the pin. With Pazanti setting and competitive skills Pinnacle can win any match in the 17s division.

Jensen Pascua, Elevation 17s: Has continued to improve and has help put Elevation on the map. He can set against the flow, get his middles involved in transition, plays solid back-row defense, and has an effective jump serve.

Tullan Portock, SCVC 14s: An overall gifted player who made a big impact for his team at the AAU Championships by setting and attacking.

Tread Rosenthal, MB Surf 18s (Hawai’i): One of the most talented and experienced setters in the 18s division who has all the skills. Rosenthal sets with good tempo, has great decision-making skills, can set against the flow, and puts his attackers in good position. Recently Rosenthal has decided to skip his senior year of high school and enroll iat Hawai’i for fall ’23 where will likely compete for a starting spot right away.

Cole Schobel, Balboa Bay 18s (Loyola): Sets with good location, squares up to the ball nicely, and has a high volleyball IQ. When the match is on the line Schobel knows who to set to score.

Alex Smits, Setter Pulse 18s (UCSB): An extremely fun setter to watch. A lot of Pulse’s success is because Smits can move the ball all over the court, puts his attackers in position to thrive, and plays good defense.

Trent Taliaferro, Balboa 17s (UCLA): One of the top setters in the ’24 class with great decision-making skills, sends his teammates on great routs, sets with good tempo and has won a lot of big matches over the past year.

Jake Usher, Excel 18s (Maryville): Moves the ball around nicely, has a impressive jump serve and scores nicely in the front row with his setter dump.

Peter Zurawski, 630 18s: Posses all the skills that great setters have. However, his best asset might be his moxie. His confidence and connection with his teammates shows on the court. When Zurawski is playing well 630 is hard to beat.

Middle Blockers

Theodore Anderson, Coast 12s: Can put a beating on the ball out of the middle and has a float serve that can give the opponents fits. Anderson was a big reason why Coast had success at the AAU Championships.

Joshua Aruya, Baloboa 18s (UCSB): An explosive middle who gained a lot of experience this year playing for the U19 USA team. His leaping ability provides a big hitting window for setter Cole Schobel (Loyola) and Aruya has great range as an attacker.

Giles Beamer, Coast 15s: Improved a great deal and developed a cutback swing that generated a lot of kills during the AAU Championship tournament. Beamer is very capable of staying in the middle, but don’t be surprised next year if you see him on a pin playing six rotations.

Tristan Benbow, Sports Performance 17s: An athletic middle who jumps well, is an offensive threat, and puts up a big blocks. Benbow is a big reason Sports Performance made it to the gold bracket at the AAU Championships.

Brent Benson, Balboa Bay 15s: A springy middle that moves well. He hits for a high clip and has good range as an attacker.

Miguel Camacho, Torrimar 12s: Camacho was a threat with his attacking skills and he was a monster as a blocker.

Kaumana Carreira, A4 18s: Moves well blocking and in transition. Over the past couple of years he has played with team USA U19 team and his experience showed at the AAU Championship tournament.

Jackson Cryst, Pinnacle 17s: One of the top middles in the 17s division and is playing up (he is in the ’25 recruiting class). Cryst is long, has a good frame, hits at a high point and has excellent range as an attacker.

Aidan Curcuru, HP St. Louis High Performance: A huge reason why HPSTL made the gold bracket at the AAU Championships. Don’t let Curcuru’s size fool you. He is quick, has a fast arm and closes blocks nicely.

Spencer Graves, MB Surf 18s (UCLA): A fast middle with a quick arm. In transition Graves works hard and does a solid job closing the block.

Beckett Harvey, Balboa Bay15s: Has a good frame, fast arm and puts up a big block. Harvey runs hard routes and works his tail off to be available in transition and is one of the many reasons Balboa Bay had great success at the AAU Championships.

Trevell Jordan, Fear 17s: At the AAU tournament, Jordan would ofeten generate two or three blocks in a row to shift all the momentum. He has a fast arm and a lot of range as an attacker.

Ege Karagoz, Coast 13s: Has a big arm out of the middle and is an effective blocker.

Henry Kim, Coast 12s: A tall athletic middle who moves quickly and used his athleticism to work hard in transition to get set. Kim is getting reps on the outside and don’t be surprised to see him on a pin in the future.

Aidan Klein, MOD 18s (Loyola): A 6-foot-9 beast in the middle. He is a monster at the net blocking, has great hitting range and a big hitting window.

Grant Kreizenbeck, Fear 17s: A quick blocker who closes well. Kreizenbeck does a good job of being readily available on offense.

Jacob Lobdell, Houston Volleyball Academy 17s: Moves extremely quickly along the net when blocking and always seems to get good touches on the block. As an attacker he has a fast arm with good range.

Rhithav Murugesan, Bay to Bay 12s: A strong offensive middle.

Alec Niemczyk, MB Surf 18s (Sacred Heart): Improved a great deal since last season and became starter In his first season at MB Surf.

Gavin O’Brian, Sports Performance 18s (Loyola): A 6-foot-9 middle who terminates at a high clip, takes up a lot of court while blocking and works hard in transition.

Roman Payne, Coast 16s: A physical middle who penetrates over the net nicely while blocking, runs hard on his routes and can unload on a ball. His brother and sister are playing in college and he should follow suit.

Alex Riddick, Elevation 17s: College coaches noted that he is new to the game, but has a ton of potential. It will be fun to see how Riddick develops.

Eliel Salva, WPVC 18s: Fast with a quick arm. He jumps well and has good range as an attacker. 

Braydon Savitski-Lynde, 630 18s (Ball State): H has a great connection with 630 setter Peter Zurawaki (also going to Ball State). Savitski-Lynde always seems to find ways to be available in transition and he has good blocking technique.

Beckett Shewey, Absolute16s: Beckett Shewey is someone you are going to want to watch in the next few years. The 6-foot-6 middle is new to the game and planning on attending a few summer volleyball camps and clinics. Shewey has demonstrated that he can block terminate hitting wrist away out of the middle.

Luc Soerensen, C2 17s: A 6-foot-7 middle who made a huge impact for C2 during the AAU Championship tournament. He was set in critical times of the match and seemed to always deliver. Soerensen is playing up, since he is a 2026 high school graduate. This makes him one of the top middles in the 2026 class.

Parker Tomkinson, WAVE 17s (USC): Continues to improve at a fast rate. During the high school season Tomlkinson played a little at outside hitter and it improved his ball-control skills. Tomkinson puts up a wall as a blocker and terminates at a high percentage.

Tristan Whitfield, St. James 18s (Princeton): A quick middle with a fast arm. In the past year Whitfield has gained valuable experience playing in international tournaments with the U19 USA team. His athleticism is useful while working in transition and Whitfield is strong at closing blocks on the pins.

Reed Wainwright, Balboa 17s (Stanford): Another middle who gained international experience with the U19 USA squad, and it showed at the AAU Championships. Wainwright works hard to make himself available in transition and has good blocking technique.

Tanner Wesley, MB Surf 13s: A big middle who takes up a lot of court when he blocks. In transition he works hard to run 1 and 2 balls.

Logan Yockey, Coast 14s: Moves well as a middle by closing blocks and being readily available in transition. Don’t be surprised if you see Logan Yockey see playing time at the setter, opposite and outside hitter soon. His beach skills allow him to be able to play every position.

Thiago Zamprogno, Ocean Bay 18s (UCLA): Has good height, long arms and moves well. Zamprogno takes up a lot of court as a blocker and is an offensive scoring machine.

Liberos

Shane Aitken, A4 18s (UCI): Steady in serve receive, makes insane reads on defense to keep rallies alive and does a good job setting out of system.

Roan David Alviar, Bay to Bay (Princeton): A big reason why Bay to Bay is one of the top 17s teams in the country. Alvair gets to a lot of balls on defense, is steady in serve receive,and reads the game nicely.

Layton Bluth, AZ Fear 16s: An excellent passer who handles free balls with aplomb. 

Jackson Campbell, Academy 17s: Has made the transition from outside hitter to libero nicely and continues to improve at serve receive and had some impressive digs at the AAU Championship tournament.

Lucas Churchfield, A-10: Starting to get recognized by college coaches due to his effort, defensive skills and ability to keep A-10 in system.

Jonathan Dykstra, MB Surf 17s (USC): It’s clear he has been playing indoor and beach volleyball for a long time. Dyskstra reads the game extremely well, which allows him to make outstanding digs. Most teams do their best to keep serves away from Dykstra because anything that is sent his way is often times a perfect pass.

Drake Foley, Balboa Bay 15s: Some rocket jump serves were being sent to Drake Foley throughout the tournament and the fundamentally sound libero easily handled them.

Lincoln Geist, 630 17s: On defense he is fearless and will go after any ball and in serve receive his platform passing is outstanding.

Johnny Grosser, SCVC 14s: Outstanding at passing jump and float serves to target.

Evan Hessel, 630 18s: Hessel brings confidence and steadiness on the court. 

Kellen Larson, Balboa 18s (Long Beach State): A fundamentally sound libero who is a game changer. In serve receive Larson takes a lot of pressure off the outside hitters by taking a lot of court. On defense Larson makes reads that extends rallies.

Xavier Lawrie, Academy 15s: He moves well in the backrow and when he has to step in to make an out-of-system set he puts up a hittable ball. In serve receive he has a solid platform and passes well to target.

Charlie Ledford, WAVE 18s (Loyola): Simply makes WAVE better when he is on the floor. Ledford can seem to handle any serve that is thrown is way and does a great job setting out-of-system sets.

Andrew Mayer, Academy 18s (PFW): Mayer sees the game well and it is extremely difficult to get a kill past him.

Mikey Milikan, Academy 16s: The ball does not seem to hit the ground when he’s in. He makes great reads and has good instincts. In serve receive he passes lights outs.

Lesley Mcdaniel, C2 16s: He was in two-man serve receiving with outside Hudson Whitehead during the AAU Championship tournament. At the 16s level jump and float serves are coming at a fast pace. Mcdaniel handled it with ease and kept C2 in system. His passing was a big reason they made it to the championship division on day four.

Marty O’Brien, 630 15s: O’Brien can pass to target, runs the back-row defense for 630,and is clearly passionate about the sport.

Constantine Ononye, Excel 17s: Quick on defense, goes after every ball, and shuffles his feet well to the ball in serve receive. He reads the game well and Ononye’s passing kept Excel in system during the AAU Championship tournament.

Brad Pan, MVVC 18 (USC): He makes his presence known by running all kind of balls down, passing difficult serves to target and when he has to set out of system in transition Pan puts up a hittable ball.

Thomas Phung, C2 17s: Reads the game well and can take a lot of court in serve receive. Plenty of times he came up with clutch digs to help C2 score in transition.

Tucker Shearn, Elevation 17s (Vassar): Always seems to find the way to get the ball to target. In high school he set, so Elevation was in good hands when out of system.

Ryan Sears, Pinnacle 18s (Hawai’i): Plays with a lot of fire and seems to always get the best out of his teammates. Efficient in serve receive and he gives relentless effort on the defensive end.

Bennet Tchaikovsky, Pinnacle 17s: Passes well in serve receive and on defense gives effort and makes plays at a high level that separates him from average liberos.

Kevin Pratte is the boys varsity coach at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California, where is also a physical education teacher. Pratte, who lives in San Diego, played at the University of Pacific. He was a graduate assistant at Nebraska, an assistant at Pacific, and has coached at the junior college level. He also is a college recruiting coordinator who writes for vballrecruiter.com

The post Pratte’s top players from AAU boys volleyball nationals, position by position appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.