COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 26, 2016) – USA Volleyball is happy to announce the 24 players who have been named to the 2016 Boys Youth National Training Team (BYNTT).
The Training Team will produce the 12-player roster of boys under 19 who will compete at the NORCECA (North America, Central America Caribbean) Continental Championship on June 22-29 in Cuba. That event is a qualifier for the 2017 FIVB Under-19 World Championship.
Players from USAV’s Southern California Region dominate the Training Team with 12. There are four from Northern California, three from Western Empire and one each from Chesapeake, Florida, Ohio, Great Lakes and Keystone.
“With such a deep and talented pool of athletes to select from, the coaching staff worked hard to compare and contrast so many athletes,” said Sam Shweisky, who will serve as head coach of the Boys’ Youth National Team. “It was an exciting process that was grounded in the USA High Performance tryouts held across the nation these past few months.”
Outside hitters on the training team are Brandon Browning (Corona Del Mar, Calif.), Max Cajuste (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Devin Joslyn (Angola, N.Y.), Christopher McBee (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), Spencer Olivier (Tustin, Calif.), Cole Pender (Costa Mesa, Calif.), John Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Sean Ryan (Countryside, Ill.) and Joel Schneidmiller (Saratoga, Calif.).
Opposite hitters are Jaylen Jasper (Arnold, Md.) and Griffin Schmit (Clarence Center, N.Y.).
Middle blockers on the roster are Samuel Lewis (Long Beach, Calif.), James Martin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Jack Mathews (Tustin, Calif.), Kyler Presho (San Clemente, Calif.) and Canyon Tuman (Sewickley, Pa.).
Setters on the training team are Christopher Hall (Alhambra, Calif.), Eli Irizarry (Moraga, Calif.), Kyle Merchen (Clovis, Calif.) and Patrick Paragas (Newport Beach, Calif.).
Liberos are Parker Mikesch (Xenia, Ohio), Thomas Nelson (San Ramon, Calif.), Cole Paxson (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Spencer Wickens (Rochester, N.Y.).
“In the end, we chose the 24 young men we felt would give us the best mix of athleticism, ball control and volleyball IQ,” Shweisky said. “It is an impressive list with so much talent at every position, picking the final 12 will be extremely difficult.”
Head Coach Shweisky, who is also Princeton’s men’s volleyball coach, will serve alongside UCLA assistant men’s coach Brad Keller, who will be the BYNTT’s associate head coach. Theo Edwards, the assistant men’s coach at Cal State Northridge, will be an assistant for Shweisky and Keller. Kevin Burch, an assistant coach at Ohio State, will serve as technical coordinator.
Players for the Boys’ Youth National Training Team were selected from tryouts held around the country in January through March.
Name (Position, City, State, Region)
Brandon Browning (Outside Hitter, Corona Del Mar, California, Southern California)
Max Cajuste (Outside Hitter, Manhattan Beach, California, SCVA)
Christopher Hall (Setter, Alhambra, California, SCVA)
Eli Irizarry (Setter, Moraga, California, Northern California)
Jaylen Jasper (Opposite, Arnold, Maryland, Chesapeake)
Devin Joslyn (Outside Hitter, Angola, New York, Western Empire)
Samuel Lewis (Middle Blocker, Long Beach, California, SCVA)
James Martin (Middle Blocker, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Florida)
Jack Mathews (Middle Blocker, Tustin, California, SCVA)
Christopher McBee (Outside Hitter, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, SCVA)
Kyle Merchen (Setter, Clovis, California, NCVA)
Parker Mikesch (Libero, Xenia, Ohio, Ohio Valley Region)
Thomas Nelson (Libero, San Ramon, California, NCVA)
Spencer Olivier (Outside Hitter, Tustin, California, SCVA)
Patrick Paragas (Setter, Newport Beach, California, SCVA)
Cole Paxson (Libero, Laguna Beach, California, SCVA)
Cole Pender (Outside Hitter, Costa Mesa, California, SCVA)
Kyler Presho (Middle Blocker, San Clemente, California, SCVA)
John Reilly (Outside Hitter, Manhattan Beach, California, SCVA)
Sean Ryan (Outside Hitter, Countryside, Illinois, Great Lakes)
Griffin Schmit (Opposite, Clarence Center, New York, WEVA)
Joel Schneidmiller (Outside Hitter, Saratoga, California, NCVA)
Canyon Dean (Tuman, Middle Blocker, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Keystone)
Spencer Wickens (Libero, Rochester, New York, WEVA)
Staff
Head Coach Sam Shweisky (Princeton)
Associate Head Coach Brad Keller (UCLA)
Assistant Coach Theo Edwards (Cal State Northridge)
Technical Coordinator Kevin Burch (Ohio State)