COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the NORCECA Men’s U21 Continental Championship just two weeks away in Havana, Cuba, the United States has announced its initial 17 player Men’s Junior National Team training roster.
The 17-member squad will begin training in Vernon Hills, Illinois, on August 15. The team will be cut to 12 on August 24 and head to Cuba the following day.
“The reality is that over the past couple years, the USAV High Performance pipeline has increased the level of volleyball,” U.S. head coach Jonah Carson said. “There was still a lot of depth and quality to choose from.”
Four of the players have previous U.S. National Team experience as opposite Jaylen Jasper, outside hitter Devin Joslyn and middle blockers Kyler Presho and Sam Lewis were part of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team which competed at the FIVB U19 Championships in 2017.
Ten of the 17 players are current collegiate players, representing Stanford (3), BYU, Princeton, Lewis, Long Beach State, Loyola Chicago, USC, UCLA. Of the remaining seven players, three are future Pepperdine Waves: setter Brendin Chandler, middle blocker James Martin and outside Jacob Steele.
The training team includes three setters, three opposites, five outside hitters, four middle blockers and two liberos.
“The players in the gym will determine the style and system of play,” Carson said. “USAV has been successful running a precise system, but there is flexibility within the system. We’ve got some good size, especially in the middle and on the right side. And we have returning players who have been in the pipeline and who have had success internationally.”
Joining Carson on the coaching staff are Kris Berzins and Princeton assistant Sam Shweisky, while Olympian Aldis Berzins will be the head of the delegation in Cuba.
U.S. Men’s Junior National Team Training Roster
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
Brendin Chandler (S, 6-5, Agoura Hills, Calif., Signed to Pepperdine)
Blake Crisp (S, 6-3, Westlake Village, Calif., Signed to UC San Diego)
Luke Denton (Opp, 6-6, Mesa, Ariz., Signed to Loyola Chicago)
Zach Hendrickson (L, 6-0, Louisville, Ky., BYU)
Jaylen Jasper (Opp, 6-8, Annapolis, Md., Stanford)
Devin Joslyn (OH, 6-6, Angola, N.Y., Loyola Chicago)
Joe Kelly (S, 6-2, El Segundo, Calif., Princeton)
Joe Kenzinger (MB, 6-6, Chicago, Ill., Lewis)
Kevin Lamp (OH, 6-4, Lake Bluff, Ill., Committed to Stanford)
Sam Lewis (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., USC)
James Martin (MB, 6-8, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Signed to Pepperdine)
Merrick McHenry (Opp, 6-6, Colleyville, Texas, Committed to UCLA)
Spencer Olivier (OH, 6-6, Tustin, Calif., Long Beach State)
Garland Peed V (L, 6-2, San Diego, Calif., UCLA)
Kyler Presho (MB, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford)
J.P. Reilly (OH, 6-5, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Stanford)
Jacob Steele (OH, 6-8, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Signed to Pepperdine)
Head Coach: Jonah Carson (USAV High Performance and Mountain View Volleyball Club)
Assistant Coach: Kris Berzins (USAV High Performance and D1 Volleyball Club)
Assistant Coach: Sam Shweisky (Princeton University men’s volleyball_
Head of Delegation: Aldis Berzins (Stevenson University Men’s Volleyball)
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