COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four Penn State men's volleyball student-athletes, Will Bantle, Cole Bogner, Cal Fisher and Brett Wildman, were selected by the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program (NTDP) to attend a joint training session for boys and men's age group national teams. The session will run from late July through early August, coinciding with the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in Anaheim, California, at the National Teams Training Center.
"I'm very proud of the opportunities that these four guys have availed themselves to -- this is a tribute to their hard work and their teammates surrounding them," said Penn State men's volleyball head coach Mark Pavlik. "Being part of this Men's Collegiate National Training Team for USA Volleyball will provide them with a different experience, one they will be able to bring back to our team, and hopefully we'll be able to use that to our advantage too. Best of luck to those four -- they will do a great job for USA Volleyball this summer!"
The athletes on the Men's Collegiate National Training Team, the Under-21 Men's National Training Team, and the Under-19 Boys National Training Team comprise some of the best of the next generation of men's players. They have their eyes on the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028, and beyond.
Because these teams will not compete internationally in 2021, USA Volleyball has invited the U19 programs from Bulgaria, Canada, and Puerto Rico to attend and help create a strong international friendly experience.
Bantle, a three-time All-EIVA honoree at libero who garnered first-team honors in 2021, led the EIVA liberos with 60 assists in 2021. From Pacific Palisades, California, Bantle led the Nittany Lions in digs and ranked third in the EIVA in total digs (159) and digs per set (1.85).
The EIVA Player of the Year for 2021, Bogner also picked up All-America second-team accolades from AVCA and VolleyballMag.com. Bogner (Chesapeake, Virginia) averaged nearly 10 assists per set (9.71) as the Nittany Lions registered a .331 hitting percentage, good for fourth in the nation.
Emerging as one of the nation's top point scorers, Fisher (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) garnered second-team All-America honors from both the AVCA and VolleyballMag.com in 2021. Fisher led the EIVA in kills, kills per set, points and points per set. He recorded 59 service aces in 2021, the fourth-highest single-season total in Penn State history, and was named the program's first National Server of the Year by Off the Block.
Wildman (Virginia Beach, Virginia) helped power the Nittany Lion attack with 13 matches with double digits in kills and 237 kills and 285.0 points, good for second on the team. A two-time selection for the All-EIVA first team and 2020 EIVA Player of the Year, Wildman earned second-team All-America recognition from AVCA and third-team recognition from VolleyballMag.com.
The head coaches of each of the teams are Chris McGown (Gold Medal Squared) for the Men's Collegiate Training Team), Kevin Burch (Ohio State men's head coach) for the Men's U21 Training Team and Charlie Sullivan (Springfield men's head coach) for the Boys U19 Training Team.
Men's Collegiate National Training Team
Will Bantle (L, 6-5, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Penn State, Southern California)
Raymond Barsemian (OH, 6-6, La Crescenta, Calif., Concordia, Southern California)
Cole Bogner (S, 6-3, Chesapeake, Va., Penn State, Old Dominion)
Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State University, Southern California)
Felix Chapman (OH, 6-8, Des Moines, Iowa, Grand View, Iowa)
Ryan Coenan (OH, 6-9, Franklin, Wis., Lewis, Badger)
Luke Denton (OPP, 6-6, Mesa, Ariz., Loyola Chicago, Arizona)
Randy DeWeese (OPP, 6-6, Sacramento, Calif., UCSB, Northern California)
Cal Fisher (OPP, 6-3, Pittsburgh, Pa., Penn State, Keystone)
Camden Gianni (OH, 6-5, Carlsbad, Calif., Grand Canyon, Southern California)
Shane Holdaway (MB, 6-8, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State University, Southern California)
Jaylen Jasper (OPP, 6-7, Annapolis, Md., Pepperdine, Chesapeake)
Sam, Kobrine (S, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., USC, Southern California)
Nathan Lietzke (S, 6-6, Austin, Texas, Stanford, Lone Star)
Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
Tyler Mitchem (MB, 6-11, Bolingbrook, Ill., Lewis, Great Lakes)
Spencer, Olivier (OH, 6-6, Tustin, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
Kyler Presho (MB, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
Keenan Sanders (MB, 6-6, San Diego, Calif., UCSB, Southern California)
Cole Schlothauer (OH, 6-5, Mechanicsville, Va., Loyola of Chicago, Old Dominion)
Joel Schneidmiller (OH, 6-6, Saratoga, Calif., UC Irvine, Northern California)
Daniel Wetter (MB, 6-5, Camarillo, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
Spencer Wickens (OH, 5-11, Irondequoit, N.Y., Pepperdine, New England)
Brett Wildman (OH, 6-5, Virginia Beach, Va., Penn State, Old Dominion)
Austin Wilmot (MB, 6-10, Valley Village, Calif., Pepperdine, Southern California)
Garrett Zolg (S, 6-3, Huntington Beach, Calif., Loyola of Chicago, Southern California)
Head Coach Chris McGown (Gold Medal Squared)
Assistant Coach David Hunt (Pepperdine)
Assistant Coach Gary Sato (USC)
Assistant Coach Alan Knipe (Long Beach State)
Technical Coordinator Alex Hurlburt (Hurlburt Athletics)
Team Leader Todd Faulds (USAV NTDP)