A career-best season for Yadiel Diaz is ending with the top individual honor for a libero in college men’s volleyball.
Off the Block announced Tuesday that a nationwide voting committee selected the McKendree libero as the winner of the 2025 Erik Shoji Award.
The Erik Shoji Award, which is named after the former Stanford All-American and U.S. Olympian libero, is presented to the nation’s best libero in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
Diaz was third in the MIVA and in the nation’s top 20 with a 2.22 digs per game average, including a match-high 18 digs in a victory against Loyola in February. The setter also had 460 service receptions and a 96.3 percent successful pass rating to help the Bearcats win the MIVA regular season championship.
The voting committee for the Erik Shoji Award was comprised of more than 20 college men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation. The top three vote-getters were named finalists for the Erik Shoji Award.
Diaz received 23 votes to edge out the runner-up Hawai’i libero ‘Eleu Choy by three votes. Pepperdine libero Jacob Reilly finished in third place with 18 votes.
This is the 10th year that Off the Block has presented the Erik Shoji Award.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
2025 Erik Shoji Award voting results
1. Yadiel Diaz, McKendree – 23 votes
2. ‘Eleu Choy, Hawai’i – 20 votes
3. Jacob Reilly, Pepperdine – 18 votes
T-4. Johnny Dykstra, USC – 14 votes
T-4. Ryan Merk, Penn State – 14 votes
6. Nico Paula, Lewis – 11 votes
7. Kellen Larson, Long Beach State – 8 votes
8. Shane Aitken, UC Irvine – 5 votes
9. Luca Colombo, Mount Olive – 4 votes
T-10. Zac Clark, Maryville – 3 votes
T-10. Tate Colebaugh, Lincoln Memorial – 3 votes
T-12. Keegan Cook, UC San Diego – 1 vote
T-12. Chris Karnezis, CSUN – 1 vote
T-12. Evan Porter, Stanford – 1 vote