USC Men’s Volleyball Freshman Class Ranked No. 1 by Volleyball Mag

Men’s Volleyball | September 01, 2023

LOS ANGELES – The USC men’s volleyball team’s incoming freshman and transfer class received the No. 1 overall ranking from VolleyballMag.com as announced by the publication on Monday, Aug. 28.
 
The Trojans’ incoming quartet of freshmen include the No. 1-ranked individual player: 6-10 middle blocker Wes Smith (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS). Smith is joined by 6-5 outside hitter Jack Ebertin (Mountain View, Calif./Saint Francis HS), 6-4 outside hitter Jakobi Lange (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS), and 5-8 defender Brad Pan (Cupertino, Calif./Cupertino HS). USC also added 6-3 transfer setter Josh Friedman (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) from the University of Hawai’i.
 
While Smith is the top-rated freshman recruit in cycle, Ebertin, Lange, and Pan are also 2023 Fab 50 picks, while Friedman spent his sophomore year at UH and previously helped Orange Coast College to a CCCAA State Championship. Friedman redshirted his 2021 season due to the COVID shutdown. Ebertin is the younger brother of USC beach volleyball NCAA champion and CoSIDA Academic All-American Mollie Ebertin (2019-22).
 
In what VolleyballMag.com referred to as a “photo finish,” the Trojans’ class claimed the top spot in the rankings by narrowly edging out UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i. The class rankings are voted on by a panel of NCAA Division I and Division II men’s volleyball head coaches and classes are made up of incoming freshmen, new international player, and transfer student-athletes.
 
The 12th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team concluded the 2023 season with a 10-16 overall record and went 3-9 in MPSF matches to finish in sixth place. USC faced Stanford in the opening round of the MPSF tournament but was eliminated by the Cardinal in four sets. In its history, the USC men’s volleyball program has captured four NCAA championships while appearing in 15 NCAA tournaments and has produced 21 Olympians, 34 first-team All-Americans, and seven College Players of the Year.
 
For more information on the USC men’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
 
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