COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (September 2, 2021) – For the second tournament in a row, a young team comprised of mostly collegiate players will represent USA Volleyball at the 2021 Men’s Pan American Cup Sept. 3-9 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
- Outside Hitters: Ethan Champlin, Cole Gillis, Kyle McCauley, Francesco Sani, Grant Sloan
- Middle Blockers: Shane Holdaway, Merrick McHenry, Tyler Mitchem, Daniel Wetter
- Opposite: Jacob Pasteur
- Setters: Kevin Kauling, Nathan Lietzke
- Liberos: Kyle Dagostino, Cole Power
“Representing USA is a new experience for 11 of our 14 guys,” head coach Andy Read said. “We’ve had seven days in the gym to train with some very talented college guys who are looking forward to their first taste of international volleyball. Many of the teams we will face were at NORCECA Championships last week. Like us, they are probably sending different players also.”
Three players have previous Men’s National Team experience. Tyler Mitchem and Merrick McHenry recently played at the 2021 NORCECA Continental Championship, and Kyle Dagostino made his MNT debut at the 2018 Pan Am Cup. In 2019, he earned a spot on a couple Volleyball Nations League rosters and helped the U.S. win silver at the Continental Championship.
Dagostino is the only graduated member of the team, the other 13 players are still in college. Two – Mitchem and Nathan Lietzke – earned spots on last year’s Men’s Collegiate National Team. Mitchem also represented the U.S. at the 2019 World University Games.
“We have a lot of guys who are hungry to experience international volleyball as well as wear red, white and blue,” Mitchem, the team captain, said. “I’m confident that this group of guys will perform to uphold USA Volleyball and continue to grow together as a unit. We are all happy to be here and have a lot of talent to show. Go USA!”
Five other teams will compete in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Suriname. The five-match round robin starts Friday, September 3. The top four teams will play in the semifinal on Wednesday, September 8, while Nos. 5 and 6 will play for fifth.
The U.S. has seven medals at the annual event, five of them gold. Cuba won in 2019 but will not compete this year.
U.S. Roster
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Shane Holdaway (Middle Blocker, 6-8, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Long Beach State, Southern California)
3 Kevin Kauling (Setter, 6-8, Naperville, Ill.; Lewis, Great Lakes)
4 Cole Gillis (Outside Hitter, 6-5, San Jose, Calif.; UC Irvine, Northern California)
5 Jacob Pasteur (Opposite, 6-4, Westminster, Md.; Ohio State, Chesapeake)
8* Tyler Mitchem (Middle Blocker, 6-11, Bolingbrook, Ill.; Lewis, Great Lakes)
9 Nathan Lietzke (Setter, 6-6, Austin, Texas; Stanford, Lone Star)
11 Francesco Sani (Outside Hitter, 6-6, Bethesda, Md.; UC Irvine, Chesapeake)
13 Merrick McHenry (Middle Blocker, 6-7, Bedford, Texas; UCLA, North Texas)
14 Ethan Champlin (Outside Hitter, 6-2, Oceanside, Calif.; UCLA, Southern California)
15 Daniel Wetter (Middle Blocker, 6-5, Camarillo, Calif.; CSUN, Southern California)
18 Grant Sloane (Outside Hitter, 6-7, Irvine, Calif.; UCLA, Southern California)
19 Kyle McCauley (Outside Hitter, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif.; UC San Diego, Southern California)
23 Cole Power (Libero, 5-11, Huntington Beach, Calif.; UC Irvine, Southern California)
24 Kyle Dagostino (Libero, 5-9, Tampa, Fla.; Stanford ‘19, Florida)
U.S. Schedule
September 3: vs. Mexico, 5 p.m. Eastern/2 Pacific
September 4: vs. Puerto Rico, 5 p.m. Eastern/2 Pacific
September 5: vs. Dominican Republic, 7 p.m. Eastern/4 Pacific
September 6: vs. Suriname, 3 p.m. Eastern/Noon Pacific
September 7: vs. Canada, 5 p.m. Eastern/2 Pacific
September 8: Semifinals
September 9: Finals