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A nationwide voting committee selected 22 players to the 2021 Off the Block Preseason All-American Team.
The annual Off the Block Preseason All-American Teams recognizes the players projected to be the best in the nation during the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball season.
Four of the teams in the top five of the national rankings were the nation’s leaders for Preseason All-American selections. No. 2 Hawai’i led all schools with four players making the Preseason All-American Team, while No. 1 BYU, No. 3 UC Santa Barbara and No. 5 Lewis each had three players named Preseason All-Americans.
Along with these schools, No. 6 UC Irvine had multiple players named to the Preseason All-American Team. No. 7 UC San Diego, No. 11 Penn State, No. 15 Stanford, Ball State, NJIT and Purdue Fort Wayne each also had a Preseason All-American selection.
Players eligible for the Preseason All-American Teams had to be on an active roster of a Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
The voting committee for this preseason award was comprised of 20 NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball head coaches and men’s volleyball media members from around the nation.
The 10 players receiving the most votes were named Preseason First-Team All-Americans, while the next top 10 vote-getters were selected as Preseason Second-Team All-Americans. A tie in the voting resulted in two additional players making the second team.
Voters were required to place at least one setter, one opposite, one outside attacker, one middle attacker, and one libero on each of their ballots.
BYU opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez, Hawai’i opposite Rado Parapunov and Lewis middle attacker Tyler Mitchem finished in a three-way tie for the most votes in the Preseason All-American voting. All three players were First-Team All-Americans last season, and Fernandez was the 2020 National Player of the Year.
The majority of college men’s volleyball teams will begin their regular seasons in the upcoming weeks. The 2021 season is slated to conclude with the seven-team NCAA Tournament in May.
Off the Block Preseason First-Team All-Americans
Setter: Casey McGarry, UC Santa Barbara
Setter: Wil Stanley, BYU
Opposite: Gabi Garcia Fernadez, BYU
Opposite: Rado Parapunov, Hawai’i
Outside attacker: Ryan Coenen, Lewis
Outside attacker:Davide Gardini, BYU
Outside attacker: Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego
Middle attacker: Tyler Mitchem, Lewis
Middle attacker: Scott Stadick, UC Irvine
Libero: Gage Worsley, Hawai’i
Off the Block Preseason Second-Team All-Americans
Setter: Kevin Kauling, Lewis
Opposite: Jaylen Jasper, Stanford
Opposite: Angelos Mandilaris, Ball State
Outside attacker: Colton Cowell, Hawai’i
Outside attacker: Randy DeWeese, UC Santa Barbara
Outside attacker: Alvaro Gimeno, NJIT
Outside attacker: Joel Schneidmiller, UC Irvine
Outside attacker: Pelegrin Vargas, Purdue Fort Wayne
Outside attacker: Brett Wildman, Penn State
Middle attacker: Patrick Gasman, Hawai’i
Middle attacker: Keenan Sanders, UC Santa Barbara
Libero: Mason Briggs, Long Beach State