U.S. Men Sweep Puerto Rico at 2026 Men's Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 11, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team improved to 2-0 at the 2026 NORCECA Pan American Cup in Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico with a 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18) win over Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

The U.S. will continue pool play against Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT.

For the second time in as many Pan Am Cup matches, the U.S. controlled the middle with 11 blocks to just one for Puerto Rico. The U.S. led 41-30 in kills and served three of the four aces.

All six U.S. scorers totaled at least seven points. Setter Tread Rosenthal served all three of the team’s aces and recorded three blocks and three kills for nine points while leading the U.S. offense to an impressive .383 hitting efficiency percentage. Outside hitter Patrick Rogers led all scorers with 12 points on 11 kills and a block and also led all players with 11 excellent receptions. Libero Troy Gooch finished with 20 digs, nine more than the next-highest total, and added five successful receptions.

Outside Sean Kelly totaled 11 points on 10 kills and one block. Middle blocker Jackson Cryst (six kills, two blocks) and opposite Kainoa Wade (eight kills) each scored eight points. Cryst hit .750 for the match with his six kills without an error in eight attacks. Middle blocker Parker Tomkinson led the team in blocks again with four, giving him 12 in two matches, and added three kills for seven points.

Kelly scored on a back row attack to start a 3-0 stretch that gave the U.S. a 13-10 lead. A Tomkinson block made it 12-10 and Kelly followed with another kill, prompting a Puerto Rico timeout. Out of the timeout, Tomkinson recorded another block and Rosenthal scored on a setter dump after a strong Rogers serve forced Puerto Rico to put over a free ball. A great up by Rogers and a set from Gooch that resulted in an out-of-system kill from Wade gave the U.S. a four-point lead, 18-14. Puerto Rico scored five of the next seven points to pull within a point, 20-19, before a three-point run by the U.S. with a Rosenthal ace putting the lead back to four points. Puerto Rico took the set’s longest point of the set that featured great defense by the U.S., but Rogers pounded a ball into the backcourt for set point, which the U.S. converted two points later on a service error. Six players scored two or three points for the balanced U.S. attack.

Neither team led by more than a point in the second set until Puerto Rico used a five-point run to take a 11-7 lead. The only U.S. lead to that point was 6-5 when Cryst dug a ball that Rosenthal tried to set from the back row that ended up going over the net for a kill. The string of five points ended when Tomkinson put a ball down after two strong Puerto Rico digs on his earlier swings in the rally. A great up by Rogers on a tough serve and a strong dig from Wade led to a Tomkinson score to cut the deficit to four points, 13-9. A Kelly block brought the U.S. within three, 14-11.

After falling behind by five points, Cryst and Rogers scored and then another good Rosenthal serve forced a free ball that ended with Rogers scoring off the block to close the gap to two points, 16-14. Puerto Rico regrouped in its timeout and regained a four-point advantage, 18-14, that led the U.S. to call timeout. A Wade kill followed by consecutive blocks from Rogers and Rosenthal cut the lead to one, 19-18. The U.S. tied the set four times before finally taking the lead, 23-22, on a great Gooch dig and a backset from Rosenthal that Wade scored off. A Cryst block gave the U.S. set point 24-23. After Puerto Rico saved one set point, Kelly scored on a pipe attack and then Michael Wright floated a serve that played right into the block of Tomkinson to put the U.S. up two sets. Kelly, Rogers and Cryst combined for 12 kills and each recorded a block in the set.

A Rosenthal block put the U.S. ahead 9-5 in the third set. Kills by Rogers and Kelly gave the U.S. a 13-9 advantage that forced Puerto Rico to take a timeout. Rosenthal served another ace out of the timeout for a five-point margin. Kills by Cryst and Tomkinson in the middle put the U.S. up 17-12. A perfect setter dump by Rosenthal and a Puerto Rico hitting error restored a the five-point difference, 19-14, after Puerto Rico had pulled within three.

Puerto Rico scored three points in a row out of a timeout to cut the gap to two points, prompting a U.S. timeout. The U.S. returned the favor by scoring three in a row on a Cryst kill and two Puerto Rico errors. Wade tooled the block for a 23-18 lead and after a Puerto Rico hitting error, Rogers ended the match on a pipe attack, his fourth kill of the set. Rosenthal scored four points on a kill, a block and two aces.

U.S. Men’s Pan Am Cup Roster

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
2 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-9, Kailua, Hawai’i, Hawai’i, Aloha)
3 Michael Wright (S, 6-4, Richmond, Va., Ohio State, Old Dominion)
6 Jacob Reilly (L, 6-2. Cypress, Texas, Pepperdine, Lone Star)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State, Chesapeake)
8 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, Rutherford, N.J., Ball State, Garden Empire)
9 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Los Angeles, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
12 Micah Wong Diallo (MB, 6-9, Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California Southern Nevada)
16 Cameron Thorne (MB, 6-4, Hollywood, Calif., UCLA, Florida)
25 Troy Gooch (L, 6-0, Buffalo, N.Y., UCLA, Western Empire)
27 Parker Tomkinson (MB, 7-0, Carlsbad, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
28 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-9, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Univ. of Hawai’i, Southern California Southern Nevada)
30 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coach: David Lee
Assistant Coach: Reid Priddy
Performance Analyst/Team Manager:  Ethan Jenkins
Physiotherapist: Emma Stratmoen

2026 Pan Am Cup Schedule
(All times PDT)

Aug. 9: USA def. Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-14)
Aug. 11: USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18)
Aug. 12: USA vs. Trinidad Tobago, 1 p.m.
Aug. 13: USA vs. Canada, 3 p.m.
Aug. 14: Classification and Quarterfinals
Aug. 15: Classification and Semifinals
Aug. 16: Classification and Medal Matches