Men's Volleyball Adds Five To 2020 Roster
August 26, 2019 | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. -- The UC Irvine men's volleyball recruiting class of Garo Barsemian, Cole Gillis, Akhil Tangutur, Davis Lau and Aiden Wolf-Neilson was ranked No. 7 by Volleyballmag.com.
The Anteaters, who have claimed the No. 1 recruit in the country two of the last four years (Jonny Bowles, 2018 and Scott Stadick, 2016), will once again infuse a wealth of talent to complete the 2020 UCI roster.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Cole Gillis 6-5/Fr./OH/San Jose, Calif./Branham High School
Cole Gillis hails from Branham High School where he was on the AVCA All-America Watch List. The outside hitter is a Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 selection as well as being named MaxPreps/AVCA High School Player of the Week for the West Region. He is a member of Mountain View Volleyball Club where he won gold in the Open Division at Junior Nationals in 2019.
Garo Barsemian 6-6/Fr./OH-OPP/La Cresenta, Calif./Cresenta Valley High School
Garo Barsemian was an All-Pacific League second team choice as well as a Los Angeles Times All-Area first team honoree at Cresenta Valley High School. The Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 pick helped the Falcons to the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Barsemian plays for Legacy Volleyball Club.
Akhil Tangutur 6-2/Fr./OH/Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades High School
Akhil Tangutur was a member of the AVCA All-America Watch List as well as a Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 honoree. The outside hitter competed with the USA Youth National Team in the summer of 2018 and competed with the training team for FIVB World Championships this summer. He was the 2018 CIF Los Angeles City Player of the Year at Palisades High School was a first team selection as a senior. He plays for Pac6 Volleyball Club.
Davis Lau 5-7/Fr./L/Honolulu, HI/Punahou High School
Davis Lau helped Punahou High School to a state title and a No. 25 national ranking as a senior. He was an honorable mention All-Hawaii selection in 2019. He is also a talented beach player finishing fourth at the state championships. Lau is a member of Outrigger Canoe Volleyball Club. His father played volleyball at UC Santa Barbara from 1977-82 and his sister played at Dartmouth.
Aiden Wolf-Neilson 6-8/So./MB/Irvine, Calif. /Orange Coast College
Aiden Wolf-Neilson is a transfer from Orange Coast College. He was named second team All-Orange Empire Conference, while helping the Pirates to a conference title in 2019. He averaged 1.69 kills and 1.20 blocks over 19 sets last season. The middle blocker was prepped at University High School, earning Pacific Coast League honors for the Trojans. The SCVA High Performance team member played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club.
The Anteaters, who have claimed the No. 1 recruit in the country two of the last four years (Jonny Bowles, 2018 and Scott Stadick, 2016), will once again infuse a wealth of talent to complete the 2020 UCI roster.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Cole Gillis 6-5/Fr./OH/San Jose, Calif./Branham High School
Cole Gillis hails from Branham High School where he was on the AVCA All-America Watch List. The outside hitter is a Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 selection as well as being named MaxPreps/AVCA High School Player of the Week for the West Region. He is a member of Mountain View Volleyball Club where he won gold in the Open Division at Junior Nationals in 2019.
Garo Barsemian 6-6/Fr./OH-OPP/La Cresenta, Calif./Cresenta Valley High School
Garo Barsemian was an All-Pacific League second team choice as well as a Los Angeles Times All-Area first team honoree at Cresenta Valley High School. The Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 pick helped the Falcons to the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Barsemian plays for Legacy Volleyball Club.
Akhil Tangutur 6-2/Fr./OH/Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades High School
Akhil Tangutur was a member of the AVCA All-America Watch List as well as a Volleyballmag.com Fab 50 honoree. The outside hitter competed with the USA Youth National Team in the summer of 2018 and competed with the training team for FIVB World Championships this summer. He was the 2018 CIF Los Angeles City Player of the Year at Palisades High School was a first team selection as a senior. He plays for Pac6 Volleyball Club.
Davis Lau 5-7/Fr./L/Honolulu, HI/Punahou High School
Davis Lau helped Punahou High School to a state title and a No. 25 national ranking as a senior. He was an honorable mention All-Hawaii selection in 2019. He is also a talented beach player finishing fourth at the state championships. Lau is a member of Outrigger Canoe Volleyball Club. His father played volleyball at UC Santa Barbara from 1977-82 and his sister played at Dartmouth.
Aiden Wolf-Neilson 6-8/So./MB/Irvine, Calif. /Orange Coast College
Aiden Wolf-Neilson is a transfer from Orange Coast College. He was named second team All-Orange Empire Conference, while helping the Pirates to a conference title in 2019. He averaged 1.69 kills and 1.20 blocks over 19 sets last season. The middle blocker was prepped at University High School, earning Pacific Coast League honors for the Trojans. The SCVA High Performance team member played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club.
Players Mentioned
OPP
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