Off the Block, Springbak announce 2017 Freshmen All-American Team

A nationwide voting committee selected 11 players to the annual Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshmen All-American Team.

The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshmen All-American Team honors the top NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball freshmen players from the regular season. This is the fourth year Off the Block and Springbak, Inc. have presented the national honor, and it remains the only Freshmen All-American Team presented in college men’s volleyball.

Seven teams that advanced to their conference tournament semifinals — Ball State, Barton, Lewis Penn State, Princeton, St. Francis and UC Irvine — had one player make the Freshmen All-American Team. Barton, Lindenwood UC Santa Barbara and UCLA also each had one player selected for the national accolade.

Players eligible for the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshmen All-American Team had to be on an active roster of a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team and be listed as a freshman or redshirt freshman.

A player earning a spot on the Freshmen All-American Team had to be among the top 10 vote-getters and appear on at least one-third of all the fully submitted voting ballots. A tie in the voting resulted in an additional player making the Freshmen All-American Team this year.

The voting committee for the Freshmen All-American Team was comprised of more than 20 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.

Off the Block is a national-award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leaders in college men’s volleyball coverage.

Off the Block annually presents college men’s volleyball natuonal awards to recognize outstanding individual performances in the sport. Along with the Freshmen All-American Team, Off the Block and Springbak, Inc. during the regular season presented the National Freshman of the Week.

Springbak, Inc. is the official sponsor of the 2017 Freshmen All-American Team and produces high performance footwear used by professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and U.S. Olympic teams and the top college teams in the nation.

2017 OFF THE BLOCK/SPRINGBAK, INC. FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Setter: Luke Braswell, Penn State
Opposite: Angelos Mandilaris, Barton
Outside attacker: Ryan Coenen, Lewis
Outside attacker: Michael Fisher, St. Francis
Outside attacker: Isaac Lanier, Erskine
Outside attacker: Matt Szews, Ball State
Middle attacker: Daenan Gyimah, UCLA
Middle attacker: George Huhmann, Princeton
Middle attacker: Keenan Sanders, UC Santa Barbara
Middle attacker: Sam Schindler, Lindenwood
Middle attacker: Scott Stadick, UC Irvine

FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICAN TEAM PLAYER BIOS

Luke Braswell | Penn State | Setter
Braswell led all freshmen and was fourth in the nation with a 10.48 assists per game average. The setter also helped guide the Nittany Lions to a conference-best .285 attack percentage and the EIVA regular season championship.

Ryan Coenen | Lewis | Outside attacker
Coenen was among the nation’s leaders with a 3.20 kills per game average, including having 11 matches with at least 15 kills. He also was the recipient of the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week on March 20 after having a team-high 22 kills on a .500 attack percentage in a near upset five-game loss to No. 2/2 Ohio State.

Michael Fisher | St. Francis | Middle attacker
Fisher led all freshmen and was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.52 kills per game average, including having double-digit kills in all but one match he started during the regular season. He also was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 30 after having a match-high 22 kills in a four-game loss to No. 1/1 Long Beach State.

Daenan Gyimah | UCLA | Middle attacker
Gyimah was among the nation’s leaders with a .494 attack percentage before missing the final month of the regular season with an injury. The middle attacker also had seven matches with at least 10 kills and was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 16 after having a match-high 14 kills on a .737 attack percentage in a sweep against No. 5/5 UC Irvine.

George Huhmann | Princeton | Middle attacker
Huhmann ended the regular season in the nation’s top 20 with a 1.04 blocks per game average and had a conference-best .386 attack percentage. The middle attacker also had seven matches with double-digit kills.

Isaac Lanier | Erskine | Outside attacker
Lanier was in the nation’s top 20 averaging 3.46 kills per game and had 15 regular season matches with double-digit kills. He also was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week on March 6 after having back-to-back matches with at least 20 kills.

Angelos Mandilaris | Barton | Opposite
Mandilaris was among the Conference Carolinas leaders and in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.39 kills per game average. He also led all freshmen and was in the nation’s top 10 with a 0.51 aces per game average.

Keenan Sanders | UC Santa Barbara | Middle attacker
Sanders was in the nation’s top 15 with a .373 attack percentage and had double-digit kills in eight matches. The middle attacker also had at least three blocks in 11 matches during the regular season.

Sam Schindler | Lindenwood | Middle attacker
Schindler finished the regular season in the nation’s top 30 with both a 1.02 blocks per game average and a .326 attack percentage. He also earned Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 23 after having a combined 18 blocks in a two-match series against Grand Canyon.

Scott Stadick | UC Irvine | Middle attacker
Stadick ended the regular season leading all freshmaen and eighth overall in the nation with a .414 attack percentage. The middle attacker also was fifth in the nation with a 1.20 blocks per game average and was a three-time recipient of the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.

Matt Szews | Ball State | Outside attacker
Szews was in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.47 kills per game average and had double-digit kills in all but five regular season matches. He also was third among all freshmen in the nation with a 0.37 aces per game average and was selected three times as the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week.