Twenty Athletes Training for Men's U21 Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2023) – Twenty current and future college volleyball players have been selected for the 2023 Men’s U21 NORCECA Pan American Cup roster.

Twelve players from the roster will be selected to compete at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup on June 5-10 in Havana, Cuba. The team will train May 28-June 2 in Anaheim, California.

Seven players on the roster return from the team that won gold at the 2022 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup in Havana and qualified for the 2023 World Championship: middle blocker Nyherowo Omene, libero Christopher Connelly, outside hitters Dane Hillis, Trent Moser and Kyle Teune, opposite Shane Wetzel and setter Tyler Morgan.

Other outside hitters on the roster are Ben Putman, Patrick Rogers, Alex Rottman and Theo Snoey. The middles are Nicodemus Meyer, Owen Rose and Micah Wong Diallo. The setters are Island Doty and Gabe Dyer. The liberos are Ryan Merk and Jacob Reilly.

Andy Read, who led the 2022 Men’s U21 Team to Pan Am Cup gold, will serve as head coach. His assistants will be Rory Prager and Taylor Hammond.

“The U.S. team heading to Cuba will see a mix of some players from last year’s team, but also some new players getting their first exposure to international competition,” Read said. “The talent level of the group for this summer’s competitions has taken a significant step up with almost every player coming off a highly successful collegiate season. Several of these young men have the potential to represent the United States in upcoming Olympics Games.”

The roster for the 2023 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship on July 7-16 in Manama, Bahrain, will be announced later this summer.

• No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
  1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
  2 Christopher Connelly (L, 5-10, 2003, Naples, Fla., Long Beach State, Florida)
  3 Jacob Reilly (L, 6-0, 2003, Cypress, Texas, Concordia University-Irvine, Aloha)
  4 Dane Hillis (OH, 6-2, 2003, San Clemente, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
  6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
  7 Gabe Dyer (S, 6-5, 2003, San Clemente, Calif., UC San Diego, Southern California)
  8 Kyle Teune (OH, 6-6, 2003, Downers Grove, Ill., Ohio State, Great Lakes)
  9 Ben Putnam (OH, 6-5, 2004, Needham, Mass., Ohio State, New England)
  10 Tyler Morgan (S, 6-7, 2003, Dike, Iowa, Lewis, Iowa)
  13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
  14 Nicodemus Meyer (MB, 6-10, 2003, Franklin, Wis., Loyola of Chicago, Badger)
  15 Markus Olsson (MB, 6-8, 2003, Cupertino, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California
  16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
  17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
  18 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, 2004, Rutherford, N.J., St. Francis College, Garden Empire)
  19 George Bruening (Opp, 6-10, 2004. Newport Beach, Calif., UCSB, Southern California)
  22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
  23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
  24 Micah Wong Diallo (MB, 6-9, 2004, Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
  25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager
Assistant Coach: Taylor Hammond
Performance Analyst: AJ Ruttenberg
ATC: Cherryl Bueno
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez