Men’s Volleyball | April 18, 2023
Every athlete has a vision, a dream of what the future of their career might look like. Whether that’s an award, a school or another accomplishment, it’s a universal vision.
For Nate Tennant, it was no different. There was a place he dreamed of continuing his volleyball career, and that place was USC.
“We have 20 guys on our team, on average,” USC head men’s volleyball coach Jeff Nygaard said. “And there’s hundreds, if not thousands of people, and they look at USC in particular as this is their dream school. I want to be here.”
Even among the few who make it happen, few do so as Tennant has. In 2020, 9,500 recent high school graduates accepted admission and enrolled at USC. The junior setter, however, was not one of them – instead opting to play volleyball 25 minutes up the road at Moorpark College.
After a COVID-mangled season at community college, six busted-open chins, 40-plus unit semesters and a two-week tryout, not only is Tennant a USC student, but he is the Trojans’ starting setter.
“I wasn’t deterred,” Tennant said. “I knew I was good enough to play. I played around people that had all played Division I. I wasn’t really scared about that.”
He’d proven he belonged on a number of occasions, one of those at an SCVA high performance camp playing for USC assistant coach Gary Sato and alongside now teammate Jackson Reed.
“We trained for a couple weeks together before that,” Reed said. “Nate and I had an instant connection as not only friends but teammates. He’s always able to find me on the court.”
There’s always been that instant connection inside the lines for Tennant, even if it took some time before he began to forge it with volleyball.
Growing up in Oak Park, California, Tennant – like most kids – spent most of his time on the baseball field. He played all over the diamond but never in the outfield, perhaps the most ringing endorsement of his little league talents.
He pitched and manned the hot corner at third base – youth baseball code for the best arm – while also going to work behind the plate and at first base – similarly affirming his skill with the glove. If you can throw the ball accurately and catch it reliably, you’re a little league superstar. There’s hardly a more ringing endorsement of those skills than playing somewhere where Tennant did.
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