Boys’ Volleyball AAU Nationals Contenders

Nationals will take place in Orlando, Florida, from June 30th to July 7th.  The boys’ volleyball game continues to grow at a fast rate at the youth level with efforts from First Point, AVCA, AAU, USA Volleyball, and many more.  All club teams have been competing since September.  They have gone to major tournaments in Las Vegas, Chicago, Florida, the Upper East Coast, and Los Angeles. 

The AAU Nationals is the granddaddy of them all.  Below you will find the contenders to make the gold bracket in each age group, 12-18, in the open divisions.  There is a lot of parity throughout the country, so don’t be surprised if teams not listed make some noise and compete for a medal in Orlando. 

Our USA NTDP teams will be traveling during nationals.  This could impact some of the teams listed below.  Especially the 18’s and 17’s division.  Still get your popcorn ready because all the divisions listed below are going to play exciting volleyball. 

Remember that on July 1st and 5th the AVCA is hosting a free recruiting seminar at 2 pm in OCCC North 330. July 1st; Taylor Hammond (Stanford), Jeff Lipton (Culver Stockton), Nickie Sanlin (Mckendree), and Rory Prager (USC).  July 5th; Anitra Brockman (UMES), Taylor Hammond (Stanford), Corey Marks (Rockhurst) and Tyler Zowaski (Bard).

We were able to include some details with the 18’s and 17’s Open.  Predictions of who will make the gold bracket for 16’s, 15’s and 14’s Open were highlighted.  The premier and club levels will be fun to watch.  There is great volleyball at all levels.

Make sure you head to Spotify to check out the KP HERE Podcast.  The latest episode breaks down the 18’s – 14’s Open for Nationals.  Big shoutout to Cooper Aron, the owner of Rotation.Vb, who lent a helping hand in writing this article. 

18’s Open:

Academy 18O Under Armour:  Club Director Fuller’s Academy team made a deep run at nationals last year in the 17’s division, and don’t be surprised if they are competing for a medal on July 3rd.  Nick Whitley (Northern Kentucky) has a good command of the offense and provides great leadership for Academy. The core of this team has been together for years, and they have not finished less than fifth in the tournaments they have entered.  This group with Whitley, Carlo Huisden (Purdue Fort Wayne), Ryan Peterson (Northern Kentucky), and Chase Alyea (Northern Kentucky) has the talent and experience to make a deep run.

Adversity South: This group has been one of the top Midwest 18’s teams all year.  There is a good amount of talent throughout this team.  If their core four play how they are capable, look for Adversity South to make the gold bracket on day four and contend for a medal.  Leading the charge for Adversity are Christian Teresi (Ohio State), Devlin Biggs (Northern Kentucky), Matthew Muhlnickel (Lindenwood), and Oisin Walsh (Lincoln Memorial).

Balboa Bay:  This squad is loaded with talent! Outside hitters Jack Loper (Stanford) and Kieran Dumain (UCSD), alongside standout libero Brody Glenn (UCLA), keep Balboa in system with their precise passing.  Jackson Cryst (Long Beach State) is an attacking force from anywhere on the court, and Luke Morris (Stanford) can terminate from the right side. Coach Andy Read is a veteran coach who consistently gets the most out of his athletes at nationals.  Balboa Bay is always a contender and expect them to make a deep run at nationals with a loaded roster that has consistently been a top finisher.

Bay to Bay: The team from the Bay Area is in good hands with Rafa Urbina (UCLA) running the offense. Bay to Bay also boasts 4 players on the USA U19 roster, Urbina, libero Layton Bluth (BYU), setter Peter Chriss (Penn State), and opposite William Dryden (UCSB). Coach Arielle Houlihan has been with this squad for a while, and this team has more experience than any in this environment. This team is defending AAU 17’s Open Champs and has won some big tournaments this season.

Coast: Throughout the year, Coast has consistently made it to the gold bracket in major tournaments.  Can they get over the hump and medal?  Their strength is in their four pin hitters, and they have one of the best middles in Roman Payne (Hawaii) in the 2025 class.  If the pins pass well, and if Payne plays like he is capable, Coast is a matchup nightmare. Don’t be surprised to see them taking down top names and making a run for a medal.

MB Surf: One could argue that MB Surf comes in as the favorite to win in Orlando. This year, they have won the SoCal Cup Pacific Classic and are coming off a SoCal Cup Showcase first-place finish. This squad is stacked with talent and size that can take home an AAU National Championship with Grayson Bradford (UCLA, AVCA HS Player Of The Year), Blake Fahlbusch (USC), Andrew Chapin (USC), Matt Kelley (Loyola), Cooper Keane (USC), and the Pilkvist Twins (UCSB).  Surf has the depth, physicality, and volleyball IQ to win any match.  Director Michael Boehle has years of coaching high-level volleyball, and all his MB Surf teams will be in contention to medal. 

Team Rockstar: This Southern California team has an all-star cast that can play with the best of them. Marek Turner (UCLA), Thatcher Fahlbusch (Hawaii), Alex Heins (NJIT), Bobby Bennett (Princeton), and Kai Gan (Harvard).  This group has guys who have played in big matches and expect them to be in the gold bracket come day four of the tournament. 

Winter Park Volleyball Club: The Winter Park 18s group might be the most creative and entertaining team to watch. Their elite first contact and discipline allow setter Jacob Little-Phillips (Stanford) to run a dynamic offense in the 18s group with high-flying bics to Tyler Windt (Ball State). The creative middle routes with Dante Cayaban (Ball State) and Brady Ruth (George Mason) are exciting and effective. Winter Park’s discipline in serve, receive, and defense allows their offense to run at a high level. This is a team that can make a deep run towards and compete for a medal at nationals.

Players To Watch

Layton Bluth, Bay to Bay and Libero (BYU)

Grayson Bradford, MB Surf and Opposite (UCLA

Kale Cochran, MVVC and Outside (USC)

Greyson Covay, Sports Performance and Setter (USC)

Jackson Cryst, Balboa Bay and MB/OPP (LBSU)

Noah Douphner, Legacy and Outside (CSUN)

William Dryden, Bay to Bay and Opposite (UCSB)

Blake Fahlbusch, MB Surf and Outside (USC)

Brogan Glenn, Balboa Bay and Libero (UCLA)

Lucas Helle, Stars and Setter (LBSU)

Cooper Keane, MB Surf and Outside (USC)

Jacob Little-Phillips, WPVC and Setter (Stanford)

Jack Loper, Balboa Bay and Outside (Stanford)

Noah Meabon, PaceBootlegger and Pin (USC)

Aleksey Mikhailenko, MVC and Outside (Stanford)

Luke Morrison, Balboa Bay and Opposite (Stanford)

Roman Payne, Coast and Middle (Hawaii)

Beckett Shewey, Bay to Bay and Middle (Uncommitted)

Christian Teresi, Adversity and Setter (Ohio State)

Marek Turner, Rockstar and Outside (UCLA)

Rafa Urbina, Bay to Bay and Setter (UCLA)

Oisin Walsh, Adversity South, and (Lincoln Memorial)

Nick Whitley, Academy and Setter (Northern Kentucky)

Tyler Windt, Winter Park and Outside (Ball State)

17 Open 

By Cooper Aron 

Balboa Bay 17 Blue: One of the most consistent teams in the tournament, both in their tournament finishes and their gameplay. A well-rounded group with stars like JP Wardy (Stanford), Drake Foley, this Balboa Bay team looks to make its first championship match appearance of the season. Their discipline and ball-control make them a tough team to beat. This team certainly will not  beat themselves for their opponent. Pair that with a high-powered offense spread across the court, and that is why this team is one of the favorites to medal at nationals.

C2 Attack 17-1 Elite: The club from Tennessee seems to be peaking at the right time. In their first AAU qualifier tournament of the year, the SoCal Cup Open Showcase, they came in as the two seed in their Day 1 pool and left as champions with one of the toughest schedules en route. Coming from Tennessee, they have an advantage of bringing a different style of volleyball that can catch the best California teams off guard. They have a fantastic pin play from outsides Trevor Whittmore (Penn State) and Ryder Barrett, and a terminating force on the right in Brock Harvick. Keep your eyes on this team throughout Nationals and expect them to stay hot throughout the tournament.

MVVC B17 Red: One of the most accomplished in 17’s thus far this season hails from Northern California. Boasting two championships at SoCal Cup events. Led by outside hitter Elan Taylor (UCLA) and opposite hitter Matthew Delgado. Their pin scoring is arguably the best in the division.  The team’s net presence from players like Taylor, Delgado, Kannan (UCSD), and Sun limits the opponents’ ability to score. This team is elite in every aspect of the game and has the size and skill to take home the trophy.

949 B17 Black: 949’s 17s have had a strong season full of consistent top finishes, highlighted by winning the SoCal Cup Winter Formal, and medaling at both the Pacific Classic and Showcase. 949 has a high-powered offense, run at a high level by setter Chase Wallin, that is difficult to slow down with high-powered swings coming from outside Will Spalding and middle Gavin Wojtkiewicz. The 949s 17s group has been a consistently elite team through this season and even dating back to their 16s season. The experience of being a top team for so long gives them an advantage shared by not many in this tight 17s race, so expect this 949 team to be in the gold bracket and making a run in it.

WPVC Boys 17 Armour Black: A home team for Nationals, located just outside of Orlando, Winter Park’s 17-1s group is a well-oiled machine that can be a tough matchup late in the tournament. Headlined by middle blockers Isaiah McCoy and Phillip Hanna, this team has one of the most dominant middle cores in the nation. They can run the middles effectively and consistently thanks to phenomenal passing from Libero Nick Baker and quality setting from Zach Crandell. Their middle dominance and effective offense make this team a tough match for many ball-control teams, and quality blocking from everyone allows them to slow down top offenses. This team is talented and experienced, primed for a great tournament in Orlando.

Coast 17-Pat: Coast’s 17s group has consistently been a top team in their division, even dating back to 16s with their 2nd place finish at AAU Nationals. They have continued that success this year, having high finishes throughout the year in SoCal Cup events, finishing 3rd at the Winter Formal, 2nd at the Open Championship, and 5th at the showcase. Their pin group is one of the best in the class, with Declan Flanagan (Stanford), Sean Fleming, and Miles Custer. However, they also have a quality setting from Benjamin Sauerwire, which allows their pins to terminate at a high percentage. This is one of the most experienced groups in 17 Open, and that quality could help them win some tight games in the close race for gold.

Team Rockstar 17 Rockstar: Despite having no trophies and only 1 top-3 finish this season, Team Rockstar 17  is a team that can make a deep run at Nationals. Headlined by arguably the best setter in the class, Malakai Tuakoi (CSUN), this Rockstar offense is dynamic and electric, especially from outside Mateo Fuerbinger, son of legendary Matt Fuerbinger. This team also gets quality from libero Carter Mirabal and outside Bennett Smith. 

MKE Sting 17-1: Sting, one of the top contenders from the Midwest, will come into nationals with eyes on them. They have earned success throughout the year with a great roster that is primed to compete deep in Orlando. This sting team has an awesome offense highlighted by middle/opposite Lincoln Myers (Stanford) and outside Caden Van Buren (Loyola), younger brother of recently graduated All-American Parker Van Buren. They also have a standout libero and outside Ben Bayer (LBSU), who brings a high-level first contact to the team. This team has been great throughout the entire season, but will have a difficult task competing without one of their top players. However, their well-rounded roster and team experience should help them on a competitive run at Nationals.

Players to Watch

Ben Bayer, MKE Sting and Libero

Nicholas Baker, Winter Park and Libero

Miles Custer, Coast and Pin
Matthew Delgado, MVVC and Opposite

Cole Esparza, High Performance and Outside

Cash Essert, MB Surf and Outside
Declan Flanagan, Coast and Outside (Stanford)
Sean Fleming, Coast and Pin
Drake Foley, Balboa Bay and Libero
Mateo Fuerbringer, Rockstar and Outside

Derby Gilkerson, Academy and Outside
Logan Gray, AZ Fear and Outside
Brock Harvick, C2 Attack and Opposite

Braden Harton, High Performance and Libero
Isaiah McCoy, Winter Park and Middle
Lincoln Myers, Sting and Middle (Stanford)
Lucas Posell, MB Surf and Opposite (Princeton)
Arkaidiy Rivkin, Sportime and Outside
Will Spalding, 949 and Outside
Elan Taylor, MVVC and Outside (UCLA)
Joe Taggart, Cincinnati Attack and Outside (Ohio State)
Malakai Tuakoi, Rockstar and Setter (CSUN)
Caden Van Buren, Sting and Outside (Loyola)
Chase Wallin, 949 and Setter

JP Wardy, Balboa Bay and Outside (Pepperdine)
Trevor Whittmore, C2 Attack and Outside (Penn State)
Gavin Wojtkiewicz, 949 and Middle

16 Open

15 Open

14 Open

Bay to Bay

Coast

HPSTL

MB Surf

Sports Performance

Team Rockstar

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About The Author

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 and is head boys’ high school volleyball coach.  Along with coaching, Pratte is a college volleyball recruiting coordinator.  He has helped numerous athletes earn roster spots at multiple universities.  “I am extremely passionate about volleyball.  I got into coaching and teaching because my parents instilled in me at a young age to give back.  My parents and coaches helped shape my life through the sport of volleyball.  I am grateful that my parents are board members of The Kevin Pratte Foundation.  We are on a mission to help raise funds to help high school boys all across our country to help pay for club volleyball fees,” said Kevin Pratte

Foundation website 

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