2020 AVCA RELEASE

The Big West tallied a record 17 representatives on the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American teams, announced the organization on Tuesday.

The Big West led all conferences in total selections, which included four players on the First Team and eight on the Second Team. Five additional players were chosen Honorable Mention.

Hawai‘i led all programs with four honorees among the first and second teams.

Two Rainbow Warriors made the first team, including opposite RADO PARAPUNOV and libero GAGE WORSLEY. Seniors COLTON COWELL and PATRICK GASMAN were named to the second team.

Senior CASEY MCGARRY represented UC Santa Barbara on the first team. Gaucho teammates RANDY DEWEESE and KEENAN SANDERS claimed second team honors, with ROY MCFARLAND earning a spot on the honorable mention list.

The fourth member from the Big West to capture first team All-America honors was UC San Diego junior KYLE MCCAULEY. Senior setter CONNOR WALBRECHT received second team acclaim. The pair represent the first Tritons to ever earn first or second team All-America recognition from the AVCA.

UC Irvine junior outside hitter JOEL SCHNEIDMILLER and senior middle blocker SCOTT STADICK earned second team recognition.

Long Beach State placed four players on the list. Freshman libero MASON BRIGGS led the charge with his second team selection. The Beach also had the trio of junior right side SIMON ANDERSEN, sophomore middle blocker SHANE HOLDAWAY and junior setter CARLOS RIVERA named honorable mention.

CSUN sophomore middle blocker DANIEL WETTER, the national leader in hitting percentage, also earned honorable mention.

The Big West had a total of 16 AVCA All-Americans in its inaugural season of 2018 and 15 more in 2019.

Parapunov, a senior from Sofia, Bulgaria, was the Big West Player of the Year. He garnered his second straight AVCA First Team All-America award after ranking No. 2 nationally in kills per set (4.47), No. 3 in points per set (5.28) and No. 15 in hitting percentage (.377). He posted a career-high 30 kills in UH’s reverse sweep of BYU and finished with double-digit kill totals in 11 matches.

Worsley, a junior from Moraga, Calif., claimed First Team accolades for the second year in a row after ranking No. 3 in the Big West and No. 18 nationally in digs per set (2.10). Worsley, a two-time All-Big West First Team selection, collected double-digit digs in five matches, including a season-high 13 against Lewis.

McGarry, a setter from Manhattan Beach, Calif., is the first Gaucho to earn First Team All-America honors since 2013. McGarry ranked in the top 10 nationally in assists per set (10.59) and digs per set (2.48), and he ran one of the most prolific offenses in the country. UCSB finished the season ranked No. 5 in the country in both team hitting percentage (.333) and kills per set (13.05).

McCauley, a junior from Huntington Beach, Calif., added to his awards haul as the AVCA Division I-II Newcomer of the Year. He is the second straight Big West player to win the award after Ryan Wilcox of UC Santa Barbara did so last season. McCauley played a significant role in UC San Diego reaching its highest ever national ranking of No. 6. He ranked No. 9 nationally in kills per set (4.06).