The 2018 Men’s Volleyball season is less than a week away, so it’s time to unveil the inaugural VolleyMob Men’s Power Rankings. Over the course of the season this set of data will go 20 deep and take into account a heavy portion of resume to go with eye test, statistics, etc.
We finish our journey into the preseason rankings with teams ranked in the top five in the opening rendition. Teams ranked 6th to 20th were released five at a time (seen below). The total cumulative sheet with teams on the cusp of being ranked can be seen tomorrow.
VolleyMob Men’s Top 20 Power Rankings (Preseason):
1. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
- 2017: NCAA National Champions, #1 in final Coaches Poll, 32-2 (16-0 MIVA, 1st)
- Returning Letterwinners/Starters (at least half of matches): 9/3
- Incoming Freshmen (AVCA All-Americans)/Redshirts/Transfers: 5 (1)/4/1
- Key Losses: RS Miles Johnson (2017 Two-time AVCA First-Team AA), S Christy Blough (Two-Time AVCA Second-Team AA), L Gabriel Domecus (Two-Time AVCA All-America HM), MB Driss Guessous (2017 AVCA All-America HM, 2014 AVCA Second-Team AA)
- Key Returners: OH Nicolas Szerszen (Two-time AVCA First-Team AA, 2016 AVCA National Player of the Year), OH Maxime Hervoir (2017 NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2017 All-MIVA HM), MB Blake Leeson (2017 NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2016 All-MIVA HM)
- Top Newcomers: OH Robbie Murphy (AVCA Second-Team HS AA), L Chase Moothart (Transfer from Orange Coast College)
- Other Notes: Aaron Samarin returns after sitting out 2017
- Bottom Line: Ohio State loses a ton of key pieces to the roster, but with three talented starters back led by Szerszen, it’s tough to unseat the back-to-back National Champions from the top spot to open up the season. How long they stay there will depend on the quick growth of new players, as five freshmen and a total of 10 who didn’t play last year will look to mix into the team’s core. Even the backups have plenty of talent at Ohio State though, so depth won’t be a question. They’ll need some of that questioned talent to turn into solid contributors though in their quest of a three-peat, especially with a few teams right on their heels.
2. LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
- 2017: NCAA Semifinalist, #3 in final Coaches Poll, 27-4 (16-2 MPSF, 1st)
- Returning Letterwinners/Starters (at least half of matches): 11/3
- Incoming Freshmen (AVCA All-Americans)/Redshirts/Transfers: 9 (1)/2/2
- Key Losses: L Andrew Sato (2017 AVCA First-Team AA), MB Amir Lugo-Rodriguez (2017 AVCA First-Team AA), MB Bryce Yould (2017 AVCA All-America HM)
- Key Returners: OH TJ DeFalco (2017 AVCA Player of the Year, Two-Time AVCA First-Team AA), S Josh Tuaniga (2017 AVCA First-Team AA, 2016 AVCA Second-Team AA), RS Kyle Ensing (2017 AVCA Second-Team AA)
- Top Newcomers: OH Spencer Olivier (AVCA Second-Team HS AA), L Jordan Molina (Redshirted at LBSU in 2015, CCCAA Men’s Volleyball State Championship MVP at Long Beach City College in 2016)
- Other Notes: Leaves the MPSF for the Big West this season
- Bottom Line: Just like some of the other teams at the top, Long Beach State loses several All-Americans and key pieces from previous years. Just like the other top three schools though, the 49ers also hold onto some star players. No star shines brighter though than outside hitter TJ DeFalco, who was the Player of the Year a season ago. With him, Tuaniga and Ensing up front, Long Beach State should post one of the best offenses in the country this season. The question will be the defense after they lose two middles and a libero, but if they can answer that question then there’s no reason that the 49ers can’t win the National Championship in 2018.
3. BYU COUGARS
- 2017: NCAA Runner-Up, #2 in final Coaches Poll, 26-5 (16-2 MPSF, 1st)
- Returning Letterwinners/Starters (at least half of matches): 12/3 + Libero
- Incoming Freshmen (AVCA All-Americans)/Redshirts/Transfers: 7 (2)/0/1
- Key Losses: OH Jake Langlois (2017 AVCA First-Team AA, 2016 AVCA Second-Team AA), RS Ben Patch (Two-Time All-American)
- Key Returners: S Leo Durkin (2017 AVCA All-America HM), OH Brenden Sander (2017 AVCA All-America HM), MB Price Jarman (2017 AVCA All-America HM)
- Top Newcomers: OH/RS Garrett Halsey (AVCA First-Team HS AA), RS/OH Charlie Siragusa (AVCA First-Team HS AA), S/OH Cyrus Fa’alogo (Transfer from Long Beach City College)
- Other Notes: None
- Bottom Line: BYU loses a couple big names headed into this season after they’ve won two straight MPSF titles. The most notable name is Ben Patch, who starred for Team USA in the FIVB World League this summer. Patch was injured at points through 2017 though, so although he played through it at times, he never could regain the play of his first two seasons. That may be beneficial to BYU this year, as they got extra experience for other players. Durkin, Sander and Jarman give the team plenty of starpower still too to go along with plenty of other highly recruited players ready to bust out. How quickly that happens could determine the final result of their season.
4. UCLA BRUINS
- 2017: MPSF Quarterfinalist, #6 in final Coaches Poll, 17-10 (10-8 MPSF, 5th)
- Returning Letterwinners/Starters (at least half of matches): 7/5*
- Incoming Freshmen (AVCA All-Americans)/Redshirts/Transfers: 7 (2)/3/1
- Key Losses: MB Mitch Stahl (AVCA All-America HM)
- Key Returners: OH Jake Arnitz (2017 AVCA Second-Team AA), S/RS Micah Ma’a (All-MPSF HM), OH JT Hatch (All-MPSF HM), MB Daenan Gyimah (All-MPSF HM, All-MPSF Freshman Team)
- Top Newcomers: MB Ian Parrish (AVCA First-Team HS AA), S Garland Peed (AVCA Second-Team HS AA), MB Chris Orem (Transfer from Orange Coast College)
- Other Notes: *Five starters are listed as returning by our ‘at least half of the matches’ requirement, but all started between just 15 and 19 of the team’s 27 matches.
- Bottom Line: The Bruins will have a lot of freshmen filling in to depth roles with so many true and redshirt freshmen. However, they are all very talented and should progress with time. The front end of things delays their need too with five starters back, including a top option in Arnitz. One player who didn’t garner awards but could in 2018 is Dylan Missry, who earned a starting spot toward the end of the season and showed his international experience. Beyond the two freshmen All-Americans, watch out for Adam Parks, who comes in as a top-tier recruit for UCLA.
5. LEWIS FLYERS
- 2017: MIVA Semifinalist, #7 in final Coaches Poll, 23-7 (13-3 MIVA, 2nd)
- Returning Letterwinners/Starters (at least half of matches): 13/4 + Libero
- Incoming Freshmen (AVCA All-Americans)/Redshirts/Transfers: 3 (1)/4/0
- Key Losses: RS Jacob Schmeigelt (AVCA All-America HM), OH Trevor Weiskircher (2017 All-MIVA HM)
- Key Returners: OH Ryan Coenen (2017 AVCA Second-Team AA, 2017 AVCA Newcomer of the Year), RS Mitch Perinar (2017 AVCA All-America HM), S Matt Yoshimoto (2017 AVCA All-America HM), L Michael Simmons (2017 AVCA All-America HM), OH Kyle Bugee (2017 All-MIVA Freshman Team)
- Top Newcomers: MB Joe Kenzinger (AVCA Second-Team HS AA)
- Other Notes: None
- Bottom Line: Lewis continued its strong run in recent history with their sixth 20-plus win season in seven years. They should be on track to make it seven in eight years with four players who earned some sort of AVCA All-America mention returning to the fold. They also have a small but solid recruiting class to go with four redshirts and 13 letterwinners back to provide depth. The biggest question will be can they unseat two-time defending National Champion Ohio State as the Buckeyes stand in their way to an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
