Men's Volleyball

All-Big West Men’s Volleyball Teams Unveiled on Eve of Championship Action

2026 All-Big West Men's Volleyball Team (.pdf)

The Big West announced the 2026 All-Big West Men’s Volleyball Team and All-Freshman Team on Wednesday, recognizing the conference’s top performers ahead of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, as voted on by the league’s six head coaches. 

All six Big West squads are represented on the 14-player listings, reflecting the strength of the nation’s best men’s volleyball league top to bottom. Regular-season champion and second-ranked Hawai‘i placed five student-athletes on the squad to lead the way. 

Spearheaded by junior setter Tread Rosenthal guiding one of the country’s most potent offenses, Rosenthal earns a third-consecutive nod on the first team entering the postseason averaging a league-best 10.66 assists per set, which rates second in the nation.  

Rosenthal is setting up the trio of Kristian Titriyski (3.98 k/s), Louis Sakanoko (.358%, 3.18 k/s, 32 aces) and Adrien Roure (2.91 k/s, 34 aces) as the Rainbow Warriors sit fourth nationally in hitting percentage (.377) and second in kills per set (13.57). Holding down the back line is league digs leader junior Quintin Greenidge (2.11 d/s). Both Roure and Titriyski are making repeat appearances on the All-Big West team for the ’Bows. 

The Big West’s No. 2 seed and the third-ranked team in the nation Long Beach State placed three players on the All-Big West Team in senior Skyler Varga and underclassmen Jackson Cryst and Kellen Larson. Varga leads the nation’s most dynamic service and blocking units with a team-best 45 aces to go along with 3.16 kills per set on .322 hitting. This marks Varga’s second selection to the All-Big West First Team. With a first nod to the squad, is sophomore libero Larson (1.74 d/s) after taking over the back line duties for the defending national champions.  

Also big on the service line with 42 strikes on the season, Cryst is holding down the net with aplomb with 101 total blocks (1.09/set), good for 11th nationally. Selected to the seven-member All-Freshman team as well, Cryst is joined on the listings by teammates Wojciech Gajek and setter Jake Pazanti for the youthful yet seasoned team under the direction of first-year head coach and program alumnus Nick MacRay

UC Irvine earned two first-team selections in freshman outside hitter Andrej Jokanovic and senior opposite hitter William D’Arcy, both of whom ranked among the conference’s top point producers. Jokanovic finished among the Big West leaders in kills (3.50) and points (4.17) average, while D’Arcy’s 3.05 kills per set complement the offensive production for the third-seeded and fifth-ranked Anteaters. Jokanovic and fellow frosh in setter/opposite hitter Cameron Kosty also earned a place on the All-Freshman Team. 

With two first-teamers for the first time since 2022, UC Santa Barbara’s George Bruening and Cole Schobel got the nod, while also seeing Riggs Guy earn honorable mention distinction. Bruening, a redshirt sophomore outside hitter, ranks third in The Big West in kills per set (3.70), while Schobel stands among the top three setters in the league at 9.12 assists per set.  

UC San Diego and CSUN both see one on the All-Big West Team to round out the honorees. For the Tritons, leading scorer Sebastiano Sani made an immediate impact in a first season at UCSD after transferring from Long Beach State, averaging 3.55 kills and 4.20 points per set thus far on the season.  

CSUN senior and repeat selection Jalen Phillips leads the league and ranks eighth in the country with 3.88 points per set to claim back-to-back All-Big West status for the Matadors. CSUN also features a pair of All-Freshman selections in outside hitters Grayson Albers and Noah Douphner

These high-impact players are set to take the court beginning tomorrow as first serve at The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship is set for Thursday at 5 o’clock. Secure your seats to three days of high-flying action today. Limited tickets are still available at bigwest.org/mvbtix

Big West individual awards for Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year will be announced following the conclusion of the Championship. 

2026 All-Big West Men's Volleyball First Team
38067
Student-Athlete 
Year 
Position 
Institution 
Hometown 
George Bruening 
R-So. 
OH 
UC Santa Barbara 
Newport Beach, Calif. 
Jackson Cryst 
Fr. 
MB 
Long Beach State 
Long Beach, Calif. 
William D’Arcy 
Sr. 
OPP 
UC Irvine 
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 
Quintin Greenidge 
Jr. 
L 
Hawai’i 
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada 
Andrej Jokanovic 
Fr
OH 
UC Irvine 
Cannes, France 
Kellen Larson 
So. 
L 
Long Beach State 
Irvine, Calif. 
Jalen Phillips 
R-Jr. 
OPP 
CSUN 
Anaheim, Calif. 
Tread Rosenthal 
Jr
S 
Hawai’i 
Austin, Texas 
Adrien Roure 
So
OH 
Hawai’i 
Lyon, France 
Louis Sakanoko 
Jr. 
OH/OPP 
Hawai’i 
Paris, France 
Sebastiano Sani 
Jr. 
OH 
UC San Diego 
Bethesda, Md. 
Cole Schobel 
Jr. 
S 
UC Santa Barbara 
Costa Mesa, Calif. 
Kristian Titriyski 
So
OPP 
Hawai’i 
Sofia, Bulgaria 
Skyler Varga  
Sr. 
OPP 
Long Beach State 
Muenster, Saskatchewan 
Honorable Mention: Shane Aitken (UC Irvine); Trevor Clark (UC Irvine); Owen Douphner (CSUN); Josh Ewert (UC San Diego); Jim Garrison (UC San Diego); Riggs Guy (UC Santa Barbara) 
Big West All-Freshman Team
38068
Student-Athlete 
Position 
Institution 
Hometown 
Grayson Albers 
OH 
CSUN 
Sacramento, Calif. 
Jackson Cryst 
MB 
Long Beach State 
Long Beach, Calif. 
Noah Douphner 
OH 
CSUN 
Stevenson Ranch, Calif. 
Wojciech Gajek 
OPP 
Long Beach State 
Katowice, Poland 
Andrej Jokanovic 
OH 
UC Irvine 
Cannes, France 
Cameron Kosty 
S/OPP 
UC Irvine 
Hayward, Calif. 
Jake Pazanti 
S 
Long Beach State 
Huntington Beach, Calif.