Men’s U21 Takes Bronze, Makes History at 2025 World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 31, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team defeated Czechia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) in the bronze medal match of the 2025 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship on Sunday in Jiangmen, China. The team became the first U.S. U21 team, men or women, to medal at the World Championship.

“Last night was our first loss in two years together, so it was difficult for the guys to process, but we had a bigger goal in mind and that was getting on that stand. I’m so happy for the guys that they accomplished that,” said head coach John Hawks, who guided the Men’s U21 team to its previous best fourth-place finish in 2011. “The Chinese people have been so welcoming to us (he said as the players were signing autographs). The season has been great; the tournament has been well-rounded and professional. We made U.S. history. I am proud of the staff and everybody here, including Dono (team lead Donovan Martinez).”

The U.S. finished with advantages in kills (42-36), blocks (8-5) and aces (4-3). The U.S. made only 13 errors in the match, eight fewer than Czechia.

Captain and outside hitter Sean Kelly led all players with 19 points on match-bests of 14 kills and three blocks. He shared match-high honors with a pair of aces and led the U.S. with seven successful receptions. Setter Tread Rosenthal ran the U.S. offense that hit an incredible .467 as a team with just seven errors to go with 42 kills in 75 attacks.

Opposite Cole Hartke reached double digits with 12 points on 10 kills and two blocks. He hit .500 for the match with just one error in 18 total attacks. Middle blocker Tre Jordan took nine swings and produced kills on eight of them, hitting an astounding .889 for the match.

Outside Sterling Foley contributed seven points on five kills, a block and an ace, while middle Jackson Cryst used four kills, two blocks and an ace to also score seven points. Libero Kellen Larson had five digs.

With the score even 7-7 in the first, the U.S. went on an 8-2 run. Kills by Jordan, Foley (push off the block) and Hartke made it 13-8 and after Czechia scored once, kills from Hartke and Kelly capped the run and put the U.S. out in front 15-9. Czechia chipped away and ran off three consecutive points to cut the deficit to three, but another Hartke kill ended the run.

Czechia pulled within three points on two more occasions, lastly at 22-19, but a Jordan kill set up by an incredible up by Foley off a tough serve gave the U.S. a four-point lead. Kelly ended the set with his fifth point and sixth kill. Hartke (four) and Jordan (three) combined for seven kills, while Foley added three points on two kills and a block.

Consecutive aces, the second dribbling off the tape, gave Czechia a 10-7 lead in the second set. After calling timeout, the U.S. responded with a 9-3 run to take a 16-13 lead. After Czechia scored the next two points, Kelly scored and Cryst delivered a kill off the block to put the lead back to three.

The lead was still three points, 21-18, before the U.S. finished the set with a 4-1 stretch. Kelly scored off the block for a 23-18 lead and a diving dig by Larson led to a Jordan kill to give the U.S. set point. After a rare U.S. service error in the match, the U.S. closed out the set on another Jordan kill. Kelly led all players with five kills, two blocks and seven points. Hartke scored five points on four kills and a block.

The third set was tied at 11 when the U.S. took the lead for good with five consecutive points. Hartke started the run with a kill off a set from Cryst. Kelly served an ace, Hartke recorded a block and Kelly served another ace for a 15-11 lead. A Czechia hitting error concluded the run and put the U.S. up by five.

After Czechia scored a point, the U.S. scored the next two points with a great up by Larson on a tough serve leading to a Cryst kill and Foley scoring off a bump set from Kelly for an 18-12 lead. Kelly scored the final three U.S. points over the last four points of the match to seal the bronze medal and the team’s place in history. Kelly finished the set with six points, adding four kills to his two aces. Hartke scored four points on three kills and a block and Jordan added three kills.

Men’s U21 National Team World Championship Roster

Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School/Club, USAV Region)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-9, Irvine, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
3 Cole Hartke (OPP, 6-11, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
9 Tre Jordan (MB, 6-10, Mesa, Ariz., Univ. of Hawaii, Arizona)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Los Angeles, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
13 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
16 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
17 Riggs Guy (OH, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
18 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-10, Kailua, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha Region)
21 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
22 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, Aliso Viejo, Calif., UC San Diego, Chesapeake)
23 Micah Goss (MB, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California/Southern Nevada)

Coaches
Head Coach: John Hawks (UCLA)
Assistant Coach: Donan Cruz
Assistant Coach: Matthew Pollock (Pepperdine)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt (The Volleyball institute)
Athletic Trainer: Rachel Menze (Pepperdine)
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (NTDP)

Schedule

All times PT
Aug. 20: USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
Aug. 21: USA def. Türkiye, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7)
Aug. 22: USA def. Egypt, 3-2 (26-24, 31-33, 37-35, 23-25, 15-10)
Aug. 24: USA def. China, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18)
Aug. 25: USA def. Morocco, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-23)
Aug. 26: Round of 16: USA def. Bulgaria, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20)
Aug. 29: Quarterfinals: USA def. France, 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Aug. 30: Semifinals: Iran def. USA, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20)
Aug. 31: Bronze Medal Match: USA def. Czechia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18)