This year’s VolleyballMag.com men’s college recruiting class rankings voting felt like a high-stakes horserace with the result not determined until right before the finish line.
In a photo finish, USC edged UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i for the top spot in this year’s rankings, which are voted on solely by an elite panel of NCAA Division I-II men’s coaches. As always, the rankings take into account incoming freshmen, new international players and transfers.
Adding to the intrigue is this is the largest voting panel for these rankings in at least a decade. And because of that, ranking positions changed daily with the top-five teams playing musical chairs at various points as folks voiced varying opinions on who should be ranked where. Another way to look at it: Everybody got their hands on tons of talent in this class.
How close was the polling? One voting point separated USC from Santa Barbara and two points separated Santa Barbara from the Rainbow Warriors for the second spot.
All three schools have a legitimate claim to the top spot (more on that in a moment).
The spread from USC to No. 4 Loyola Chicago was but five voting points and the margin from USC to No. 5 Long Beach State was eight points.
Four teams (USC, Hawai’i, UCSB and Long Beach State) received first-place votes with USC and Hawai’i tying for the most first-place ballots.
USC was the runner-up to UCLA last year in the rankings and had recent high finishes of the No. 9 class in 2021 and the No. 3 class in 2017. The Trojans’ class is headlined by No. 1-ranked recruit Wes Smith.
Santa Barbara and long-time coach Rick McLaughlin finished ninth in the rankings in 2022, shooting all the way up to No. 2 this season, punctuated by the additions of No. 2 recruit George Bruening and No. 3 recruit Josh Aruya.
National runner-up Hawai’i has camped out in the top 10 of late with placements of tie-10 (2022), ninth (2020), eighth (2019) and seventh (2018). Charlie Wade’s crew loaded up with incoming freshmen, grad transfers and international additions, plus news that SoCal youth standout Tread Rosenthal, from Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach, reclassified to a 2023 graduate and becomes part of this class.
Again, each of USC, Santa Barbara and Hawai’i have a legitimate claim to the crown with USC sporting a difference-maker in Smith, the Gauchos boasting two of the top-five recruits in the country and Hawai’i filling the gas tank in all phases to make…
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