High School Boys’ Volleyball ’25 Recap Colorado Through Nebraska

I know!  I am a little late, but better late than never.  Here is a recap of the 2025 boys’ high school season.  The 2025 boys’ high school season was a success.  Mira Costa out of California, Winter Park in Florida and Marist in Illinois all had phenomenal seasons.  Each team has multiple athletes moving on to play college volleyball. In Wisconsin, Virginia and New York sanctioned boys’ volleyball is offered in the fall.  Oregon, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Nebraska and others are still working diligently in getting states to sanction boys’ volleyball.  

Thank you to all the state ambassadors who wrote about their region.  We reached out to each region by e-mail and social media.  Many states did not get back to us. The first article highlights the states alphabetically from Colorado to Nebraska. The second article will come out later from New Mexico to Wisconsin.  We will be running a preview article for the 2026 season in early February.  Make sure you contact kevinpratte6@gmail.com if you want your state to be included.

Colorado

By David Zimmerman

It was exciting to see boys volleyball continue  to grow in the state of Colorado expanding High school into 5A and 4A Classes. 43 teams for 5A and 40 Teams for 4A. 83 High school teams in Colorado, a significant jump from around 72 teams in 2024. The split into two divisions (5A and 4A) allowed 16 teams (previously only 8) to battle it out at state for 2 – coveted championship spots. The tournament took place at the Trojan Arena at Fountain Fort Carson, a beautiful new facility. 

Besides the split into two divisions there was also a stark change in the field of top teams as the Northern 5A league, who had 5 teams make it to regionals, sent two teams to the State playoffs (Legacy and Niwot). While this may seem minor on paper, this is showing that powerhouses of boys’ volleyball may start to see some more parody from leagues that historically had not been a factor in the state tournament. 

The Centennial League produced four of the eight teams in the state tournament, Littleton, Grandview, Valor, and Eaglecrest. The Continental league produced 1, team defending state champion Mountain Vista. The Pikes Peak 5A league also produced 1 team, Discovery Canyon.

The top seed, Littleton Public Schools, who entered the tournament with an impressive 27-1 record was upset by 3rd-seeded Eaglecrest. Eaglecrest won their first State Championship, led by 2025 Colorado coach of the year Chad Bond. On the court Eaglecrest’s senior outside hitter Jackson Shaw (1st team all-state) and Dominican University commit led the team with 24 kills in the championship match. 

Regis Groff also made history winning their first State Championship at the 4A level defeating Pueblo South.

The All STATE list 

Boys Volleyball: All-State Teams Released for 2025 Season

Illinois

By Kristopher Fiore

Illinois had 235 teams participate in their state series this year, with still only a one class system. Apparently, the IHSA is considering moving to a 2-class system in a few years with more schools beginning programs. 

Marist repeated as state champions this year defeating Glenbard West who finished third a year ago. The Redhawks won in straight sets 25-20, 25-20. Illinois still remains as one of the only states to play best of three in their state playoffs.

The state finals saw a team from Chicago Public Schools win a trophy for the first time in IHSA history. Lane Tech defeated O’Fallon in straight sets to take home a 3^rd place trophy.

1^st Team All-State (Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association)

Jeremiah Aro        Sandburg

Aiden Akkawi        Downers Grove North

Charlie Clifford          Glenbard West

Ben Boron          Grayslake Central

Carter Gibbons      Lake Park

Wyatt Jones         Lake Zurich

Nate Knight         Libertyville

Matt Muehlnickel    Lincoln-Way East

Christian Teresi      Marist

Griffin McElroy          Marist

Chase Marston          Neuqua Valley

Trayce Chrusfield    Oak Park River Forest

Krystian Paluch         Reavis

Aidan Syswerda        Wheaton North

Simon Bratt           Wheaton South  

Top 8 Teams (according to MaxPreps)

Marist

Glenbard West

Downers Grove North

Lincoln-Way East

Oak Park River-Forest

Wheaton Warrenville South

Sandburg

Lane Tech

Indiana

By Andrew Fuller

After 30 seasons operating under the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association (IBVCA), Indiana boys’ volleyball officially graduated to IHSAA governance this spring. In its inaugural IHSAA-sanctioned season, 132 teams competed in the state tournament, culminating at Mackey Arena, home of Purdue University basketball for an unforgettable championship weekend.

This year marked a significant shift in tournament structure. Instead of the seeded format that began in 1994, the new IHSAA system featured geographically based sectionals, leading to some dramatic early-round matchups. One of the tournament’s biggest surprises came when fourth-ranked Westfield, led by Purdue Fort Wayne commit Carlo Huisden, was eliminated by Fishers in the second round, missing out on a deep tournament run due to the geographic tournament.

Fishers High School (ranked #2) powered through a gauntlet of top-ranked teams, defeating #16 Hamilton Southeastern, #4 Westfield, #6 Zionsville, and #8 Homestead before meeting top-seeded Roncalli in the semifinals. Fishers even held match point at 14-12 in the decisive fifth set, but Roncalli staged a comeback to advance to their first-ever IHSAA State Championship match. Roncalli ultimately won the thrilling semifinal: 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, 17-25, 16-14.

On the opposite side of the bracket, third-ranked Cathedral faced a smoother path. They swept past #13 Lake Central 25-11, 25-10, 25-13. Lake Central, notably, returns all but one starter for the 2026 season, making them a team to watch.

Cathedral, featuring Northern Kentucky commits Ryan Peterson and Nick Whitley, entered the final determined to avenge their 2024 five-set championship loss. However, Roncalli proved unstoppable, completing an unprecedented four-peat by claiming the first-ever IHSAA State Championship in straight sets: 25-14, 25-22, 25-23. Roncalli’s run was fueled by standout performances from Eli Berger and IHSAA Mental Attitude Award recipient Matthew Dial.

Top Ten Teams Per Max Preps

1 – Roncalli

2 – Fishers

3 – Cathedral

4 – Westfield

5- Perry Meridian

6 – Zionsville

7 – Center Grove

8 – Homestead

9 – Franklin Central

10 – Franklin Community

Kentucky

By Brad Wilson

55 varsity teams competed in the first ever KHSAA varsity season.

St. Xavier High School in Louisville was crowned the first-ever KHSAA State Champions after sweeping Henry Clay High School 25-10, 25-12, 25-15 in the KHSAA final.  St. Xavier junior outside hitter, Briley Codey, was named KHSAA Championship MVP.

St. Xavier and Henry Clay reached the championship after defeating DeSales High School and South Warren High School in the KHSAA State Semifinals.

KVCA Awards

KVCA Mr. Kentucky Volleyball – Briley Codey, St. Xavier
KVCA Defensive Player of the Year – Dalton Lutes, St. Xavier
KVCA Coach of the Year – Josh Mullin, St. Xavier

All-State First Team
L – Alex Brey, Trinity (Louisville)
OH – Briley Codey, St. Xavier
S – Derek Dees, Oldham County
OH/S – Konnor Farnsworth, Ryle
OH/S – Tyler Harrington, DeSales
OH – Will Hernandez, Trinity (Whitesville)
S – Zan Hinkle, Tates Creek
OH – Zach Jarboe, Trinity (Louisville)
L/DS – Dalton Lutes, St. Xavier
MB – Isaac McKinney, St. Xavier
OH – Gray Millar, Henry Clay
MB/RS – William Naehr, Dunbar
RS/S – Ian Paris, Southwestern
OH – Gavin Peech, Ohio County
OH/DS – Josh Stowe, West Jessamine
RS/S – Carson Wallace, Western Hills

Top 8 Teams

1 — ​St. Xavier
2 — Trinity (Louisville)
3 — Henry Clay
4 — DeSales
5 — Ryle
6 — South Warren
7 — West Jessamine
8 — Lafayette

Michigan

By Aaron Samka

There were about 100 Varsity teams this season.  We had 15 conferences this season and split into two divisions for State Championships.  

Next season we will be a sanctioned sport in the Michigan High School Athletic Association and believe we will have 130-140 teams.  

Hudsonville won the Division 1 State Championship against Grand Haven for the 4th consecutive season in a 5 set thriller 22-25, 25=21, 18-25, 25-23, 16-14.

Lowell defeated Holland Christian for the Division 2 State Championship 25-21, 25-17, 25-18.  

Michigan D1 All-State

Michigan D2 All-State

Missouri

By Dr. Ken Corum

MSHSAA sanctioned boys’ volleyball completed its second season ever on Wed., May 28 when DeSmet Jesuit defeated St. Louis University High, 25-14, 25-19, 25-19 to win the single class state championship.  Rockhurst defeated Fort Zumalt South in five sets to place third in the state.

DeSmet was in the USA Today regional rankings all season and finished with a 34-1 record.  Riley Massey pounded 20 kills and Cole Esparza had 14 in the championship match.  Ryker Whittle had 33 assists, and Rory Luina dug 11 balls.  Coach Tim Haffner won his 200^th match at the school and became the first coach in Missouri history to guide a boys’ and a girls’ team (Cor Jesu Academy in 2021) to a state title.

103 schools (up from 83 in year one in 2024) registered to play sanctioned boys’ volleyball in 2025.  The big news is that with anticipated growth, there is a strong likelihood that Missouri will have two classes in 2026.

As of the May 31 deadline for this article, voting was taking place for All-State selections. However, here are the first team All-District players from the top eight teams in the state:

1^st place – DeSmet Jesuit:  Cole Esparza, Evan Strahlendorf, Riley Massey, Roryn Luina

2^nd place – St. Louis University High:  Anthony Bene, David Justice, Luke Schall, Tanner Zippay, Jack Spowall

3^rd place – Rockhurst:  Gabe Moore, Henry Olson, Mason Kastel, Will Campbell

4^th place – Fort Zumwalt South:  Caden Smith, Connor James, Sam Morrison

5^th place – Lindbergh:  Gabe Sheve, Cohen Boehm, John Dobbs

5^th place – Staley:  Aiden Cuellar, Cody Treadway, Jaiden Phung

5^th place – Francis Howell Central:  Braden Harton, Chase Williams, Jason Campbell

5^th place – Lee’s Summit North:  Carter Harrington, Marshall Mosier, Quentin Huhman

Nebraska

By Lindsey Smith 

55 athletes represented on 6 league teams from 32 different high schools throughout the Omaha-Lincoln Metro area.

Lincoln Elite won the first-ever Nebraska High School Boys Volleyball State Championships against Omaha Grasshoppers in a 5-set thriller.

“Trying to describe this season in just a couple of sentences is pretty hard so I’ll try and sum it up to one word, unexpected. This season was one of the most fun and memorable I’ve ever had. The environments were great and everything came together so well. Ending as a state champion also was very unexpected. As a group that had never played together before, including two new players, we were able to come together and make ourselves a team. This season ultimately reinstated my love for volleyball and was very unexpected.”
Russel Feess (All-State Selection of Lincoln Elite)

“The boys were so much fun to work with! I loved seeing their improvement over the season and I was impressed with how quickly some of them picked it up and joined right in. They were always so excited and ready to play and this team made my job look easy. Their growth and ability to work as a team over the season is what I think ultimately delivered us the state title!” Liam Kreikemeier (Head Coach of Lincoln Elite)

“The goals of this year’s league were to give boys the same opportunities that the girls do in our state: local playing opportunities, being able to compete in front of friends and family in large venues, receive high-level training and competition experience with a low-financial commitment, and of course, work to get it sanctioned by the NSAA. After seeing the growth of excitement for the sport in the athletes and talent level rise over the short 8-week season, I believe we are on the right path to establishing boys’ volleyball as a high school sport in the state of Nebraska. The future is bright and we could not be more proud of the athletes, coaches and families who are helping to pave the path for the future boys’ volleyball.” Lindsey Smith (Great Plains Region / NBVL Co-Director)

Nebraska All-State

S / OH – Russel Feess

S – Kale Burkey

MB – Caleb Dickey

MB – Bo Faimon

OH – Josh Morgan

OH – Gaven Rames

Team Finishes

1 — Lincoln Elite (State Champions)
2 — Omaha Grasshoppers (State Runner-Ups)
3 — Lincoln Team Mambas
4 — Omaha Knights
5 — Omaha Ligers
6 — Omaha Titans

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, 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.

Foundation website 

KP HERE Podcast

Middle Hitter