18 states, led by California, represented in 2024 VolleyballMag Boys Fab 50

Variety is the main talking point when it comes to the 2024 VolleyballMag Boys Fab 50 list that honors the top 50 senior-age players in the country.

This year, a record 18 states (including Rhode Island, which is likely making its first Fab 50 appearance) are represented in a sport that continues to grow in leaps and bounds in this country. California, as is custom, leads the way with 25 entries, comprising nearly half the list.

There are more than 50 players listed due to a tie for the final spot (ties are not broken). Illinois held its usual top-three position, finishing second this time around with eight entries, while Arizona was third with four.

A total of 31 clubs dot the list, with Southern California-based Balboa Bay the runaway winner this time with nine players on the list. Team Rockstar, also based in SoCal, is second with five and west-suburban Chicago-based Sports Performance is third with four entries. MB Surf (Southern California) and AZ Fear (Arizona) were next with three each.

Nineteen colleges have inbound players on this list with Jeff Nygaard’s USC Trojans first with seven entries, followed by Stanford with six and Penn State with four. We’ll see how the men’s college recruiting class rankings shake out later this year when these incoming freshmen are combined with portal transfers and international players.

An interesting twist with this year’s list: 

Five players that would have made the list graduated high school early and enrolled at their respective colleges and are either redshirting, playing or practicing with their new teams. Several voters noted they abstained from voting for these players because of that special circumstance, thus they have been grouped into a separate category.

Our annual inquiry into the top five players in the Class of 2024 shows UCLA-bound Sean Kelly from the MB Surf club as the top recruit with USC signee Sterling Foley (Balboa Bay) second.

Hawai’i recruit Finn Kearney from Arizona was third with Trent Taliaferro (UCLA) and Oregon native Isaiah Preuitt tying for the fourth spot. Kelly, Foley and early graduate Tread Rosenthal (Hawai’i) carved out a clear-cut top three.

Voters also weighed in on 25 underclassmen to watch (non-seniors). This year’s list totals 27 with a three-way tie for the 25^th and final spot. Top vote-getters with the 25 Underclassmen to…