When Rafa Urbina first watched UCLA volleyball in its 2018 national championship loss to Long Beach State, it set him on a path toward dominance in the sport, not just in Colorado, but on the national scale.

He decided then and there that wanted to be just like those players.

This week, the recent Legacy graduate trained with USA Volleyball in preparation for the U19 World Championships in Uzbekistan, which are slated to begin on July 24. Once he wraps that up, he’ll join UCLA, which won national titles in 2023 and 2024. The Bruins house the winningest men’s volleyball program ever, having raked in 21 championships since 1970.

Naturally, that talent at the setting position earned him the BoCoPreps boys volleyball player of the year, and he nabbed a similar honor from CHSAA in the 5A division. He wrapped up his one and only season at Legacy — after the Adams 12 district team moved there from Thornton — with 731 assists, and ended his entire high school career with 2,033.

His road to an already illustrious volleyball career first began when his older sister, Alexandra, started playing. He was 7 at the time, and picked up the sport himself four years later. She now plays beach volleyball at Santa Clara University.

“We’re a competitive family,” Urbina said. “I just wanted to be better than her, and so that’s how that started. I guess that’s kind of what sparked my love for the game. It’s just in our nature. I guess we want to win. I mean, we would always play Mario Kart or video games at home on the Wii. We’d always just want to beat each other. We always make everything like a little competition.”

His father, Jorge, was right there alongside him and Alexandra from the very beginning. Jorge served as the head coach for the Lightning this year, and they won two matches at the Class 5A state tournament before bowing out in the third round of the consolation bracket.

Jorge pushed Rafa to focus on playing setter early on, noting that “he had good hands.” He knew he had a better chance of succeeding at the position, given the low volume of kids that choose it from the get-go.

“What I helped him with was with the fundamentals of the game of how to play, how to hit, how to pass, how to set,” Jorge explained. “That was the start, basic fundamentals, same thing I did with my daughter. Once you learn the fundamentals, then the rest of the game comes to you naturally.”

Over the past couple of years, Rafa has taken his skills all the way out to Campbell, Calif., to compete with the Bay to Bay traveling volleyball club, with the hopes of elevating his game even more. Once he wraps up at Worlds, he’ll join a college program that is already teeming with talent.

He hopes he can leave his mark early on, whatever that may look like.

“The current starter, he’s a senior and he’s elite,” Rafa explained. “He’s on the senior national team. He’s won two national championships (in) his three years, so it’s going to be hard to knock him off his role. I just want to be the best at my role, whatever my role is, and be the best man I can be in order to make us successful.”

Best of the rest

While Urbina headlined the small contingent of volleyball players from Broomfield and Boulder counties, he wasn’t the only one to make waves on CHSAA’s all-state teams. His teammate, senior Elisha Thao, joined him on 5A’s honorable mention list thanks to his 249 digs and 23 aces.

Niwot, also in 5A, earned a second-team nod for junior libero Charlie Kirtland, who ended his season with 124 digs. Junior middle blocker/outside hitter Diego Kheng secured a spot on honorable mention thanks to his 112 kills and 64 digs.

View a list of Prep sports and high school teams we cover.

Only one qualification ticket for the women’s 2026 European Water Polo Championships remains to be decided after a dramatic day two of action across the continent.

2026 European Water Polo Championships
Women’s Qualifiers, Day 2 Results
Saturday 7 June 2025

Group A (Setubal)

Czechia 11-12 Romania

Group B (Hannover)

Malta 7-21 Türkiye

Group C (Novi Sad)

Serbia 24-7 Switzerland

Ukraine 20-7 Finland

Group D (Novaky)

Slovakia 16-7 Sweden

Just like on day one, the favourites won their matches on day two, and secured their respective spots at next year’s European Championships.

The only close clash was staged in Group A in Setubal where the Czechs were eager to grab their last chance to retain their place at the Championships.

However, the Romanians were also aware that securing their progression in their last match, against hosts Portugal on Sunday, wouldn’t be the safest bet, so they also put up a big fight.

Indeed, they dominated most of the game, as the Czechs never led again after going 1-0 up early on, though they kept coming back.

After being 4-7 down, Czechia came back to 8-8, then at 9-9 they even had a possession to take the lead, but wasted it and next came a 0-3 rush by Romania in 2:19 minutes which proved decisive.

Czechia did manage to pull two late goals back and with 22 seconds remaining they had the chance to go even once more, but they failed to score.

The win sent not only the Romanians through, but also the hosts Portugal, whose wait to return to the grand stage is finally over after 10 long years.

Türkiye made no mistakes against Malta, as after a somewhat balanced opening period, they hit nine goals in the following eight minutes and never looked back.

Just as in Setubal, the winners also sealed another team’s qualification – here the Germans celebrated going through on their rest day.

Group C hosts Serbia kicked off their second game against Switzerland with a 4-3 first period, then blew the Swiss away in the following three and eventually stopped at 24 goals.

This second victory also landed the Serbs among the qualified teams, while the second spot is still up for grabs after Ukraine downed Finland 20-7, so it’s going to be a winner-takes-all clash between Ukraine and Switzerland on Sunday.

Both spots were booked in Group D in the same way as in the other groups of three. Slovakia left no chance for Sweden, who were defeated for the second time and ousted.

The Slovaks, along with Israel, reached safe waters and the top rank in the group will be decided on Sunday.

Watch all the action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with all the results/tables by clicking here.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

ALL-COUNTY BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM 2025

BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LOGAN HUTNICK, HUNTINGTON BEACH, SOPHOMORE

The best Orange County boys volleyball team this past season was Huntington Beach.

Logan Hutnick was the best player on that Huntington Beach team.

For leading the Oilers to an outstanding season, Hutnick is the Orangte County boys volleyball player of the year for the 2025 season.

Hutnick, a 6-foot-6 sophomore outside hitter, was a Sunset League player of the year, sharing the award with teammate Kai Gan, the Oilers senior setter.

He made all-tournament in all three tournaments  in which the Oilers played. Hutnick had a team-high 560 kills and added 72 blocks, 30 service aces and 204 digs.

Huntington Beach finished 36-5 overall and won the Sunset League championship with a 12-0 league record. The Oilers played in the CIF Southern Section Division I final and in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I final.

In the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match Hutnick had a team-high 22 kills as the Oilers lost to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in five sets. It was not the outcome Hutnick preferred, but he was pleased with the way Huntington Beach played against Mira Costa which would go on to win the first-ever CIF State boys volleyball championship and finish at No. 1 in the MaxPreps national rankings.

“Even though we lost,” Hutnick said, “I think that was the best we played. I liked the way we pulled together in that fourth set.”

Mira Costa served for match point four times in the fourth set. The Oilers kept scoring points to extend the set until coming away with a 31-29 win to tie the match at two sets apiece. The fifth set was tied 5-5, Mira Costa took a 14-7 lead, Huntington Beach battled back to make it 14-11 before Mira Costa scored the championship point.

The Oilers would play Mira Costa one more time. Huntington Beach lost to Mira Costa in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I final. Hutnick led the Oilers with 17 kills.

Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti was impressed with how Hutnick made the transition from being a middle blocker as a freshman to outside hitter for his sophomore year.

“Logan played great on defense, was a great passer and his offense speaks for itself,” Pazanti said. “He has the desire to be great. He’s a special athlete now but he’s nowhere near as good as he’s going to be.”

Hutnick said beyond all the wins and great matches, the most satisfying part of the season was the group effort that was essential to the Oilers success.

“I loved the way I felt on the court with my teammates,” Hutnick said. “It was really special to feel the teamwork and to be part of this family.”

BOYS VOLLEYBALL COACH OF THE YEAR

CRAIG PAZANTI, HUNTINGTON BEACH

Huntington Beach went undefeated in the always-tough Sunset League and advanced to the championship matches in the top division in the CIF Southern Section and CIF Southern California Regional playoffs.

For leading the Oilers to a high-achieving season, Craig Pazanti is the Orange County boys volleyball coach of the year for the 2025 season.

Huntington Beach finished 36-5 overall and 12-0 in league. The Oilers are No. 2 in the MaxPreps final national boys volleyball rankings, behind No. 1 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa which gave Huntington Beach three of its five losses.

Graduation took away some star players from last season’s team, so Pazanti had a puzzle to assemble. He moved some of those puzzle pieces around during the season to finalize a winning product.

“This season was about finding a group of guys that believed they could be good,” he said. “We were trying to be the best version of 2025 Huntington Beach volleyball that we could be. Aiden Atencio and Kai Gan became our vocal senior leaders after they both bought into being ‘that guy.’”

Pazanti has coached Huntington Beach to three CIF-SS championships and to four CIF SoCal Regional championships. He coached Mater Dei girls volleyball to three CIF-SS titles before going to Huntington Beach 18 years ago.

FIRST TEAM

Ben Brown, Corona del Mar, Jr.: He was a All-Sunset League first-team outside hitter and had 13 kills as the Sea Kings swept rival Newport Harbor in a Sunset League and 15 kills in a victory over Mater Dei.

Jackson Cryst, Sage Hill, Sr.: Cryst, a 6-10 outside hitter going to Long Beach State, led the Lightning to CIF Southern Section and CIF State championships and was selected to the Orange County All-Star Games.

Kai Gan, Huntington Beach, Sr.: The Oilers setter was a Sunset League MVP, helped the team win the Sunset League championship and advance to the CIF-SS Division 1 title and was an Orange County All-Star.

Brogan Glenn, Corona del Mar, Sr.: Glenn was an All-Sunset League first team libero, played in the Orange County All-Star games  and is a UCLA signee.

Logan Hutnick, Huntington Beach, So.: The Orange County player of the year.

Jack Loper, San Clemente, Sr.: Loper, an outside hitter who signed with Stanford, helped the Tritons tie Beckman for the South Coast League championship, was a league MVP and an Orange County All-Star.

Luke Morrison, Beckman, Sr.: Morrison, an opposite hitter, was a South Coast League MVP, an Orange County All-Star led the Patriots to a co-league championship with San Clemente and is a Stanford signee.

Kai Patchell, Laguna Beach, Sr.: A 6-7 outside hitter, Patchell was All-Pacific Coast League, was selected to the Orange County All-Star Games and is headed to Manhattan University.

SECOND TEAM

Ben Arguello, Huntington Beach, Jr.

Jack Berry, Newport Harbor, Sr.

Max Draper, Tesoro, Jr.

Nick Ganier, Huntington Beach, Sr.

Nate Jackson, Edison, Sr.

Connor Engelbrecht, Orange Lutheran, Sr.

Dylan Gallagher, Mater Dei, Sr.

JP Wardy, Newport Harbor, Jr.

THIRD TEAM

Aiden Atencio, Huntington Beach, Sr.

Luke Balint, St. Margaret’s, Sr.

Daniel Booker, Corona del Mar, So.

Henry Clemo, Newport Harbor, Jr.

Jack Frame, Beckman, Sr.

Cayden McInness, San Clemente, Sr.

Seth Sainz, Kennedy, Sr.

Chase Wallin, Santa Margarita, So.

FOURTH TEAM

Kiren Dumain, JSerra, Sr.

Hayden Grange, Trabuco Hills, Sr.

Beckett Harvey, St. Margaret’s, Jr.

Finn Johansson, San Clemente, Sr.

Robert Linker, Beckman, So.

Gavin Looney, Beckman, Sr.

Kai Nguyen, Northwood, Sr.

Jeremiah Potasi, Mater Dei, So.

FIFTH TEAM

Ben Panzica, Los Alamitos, So.

Finn Smith, Tesoro, Sr.

Ryan Lim, El Toro, Sr.

Aidan McMahon, St. Margaret’s, Sr.

Connor McNally, Edison, Sr.

Wyatt Nicholls, Newport Harbor, Sr.

Bennett Smith, Mater Dei, Jr.

Logan Busch, Orange Lutheran, Sr.

AUBURN, Ala. — Caden Bodine’s second home run of the night — and his first since March — lifted No. 13 Coastal Carolina to a 7-6, 10-inning win over No. 4 Auburn in Game 1 of the NCAA Baseball Auburn Super Regional early Saturday morning at Plainsman Park.

Following a weather delay of one hour and 46 minutes, play resumed at 11:45 p.m. CT, and the Chanticleers (52-11) eventually pulled out their 10th extra-inning win of the season behind four home runs, two apiece from Bodine and Blagen Pado. The win pushes Coastal within one victory of its first College World Series appearance since 2016.

Bodine broke a 6-6 tie with a solo blast to right in the top of the 10th, then helped close the door defensively. The junior catcher also threw out two would-be base stealers, giving him 45 career caught-stealing throws — just one shy of tying the program record of 46 set by Matt Beaird (2015–18).

Pado matched Bodine’s output with two home runs, including a three-run shot in a four-run fourth inning that gave Coastal a 6-1 lead at the time. It marked the first time since March 25, 2016 (Tyler Chadwick and Michael Paez vs. Stetson), that two Chanticleers each homered twice in the same game.

Walker Mitchell was hit by a pitch in the 10th, setting a single-season school record with his 31st HBP.

The game lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes, not including the weather stoppage, and ended just after 2:30 a.m. local time. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

 

Notebook: Coastal Carolina 7, Auburn 6 (10 inn.)

• Big Bats Return: Caden Bodine hit his first home runs since March 11 vs. Wake Forest, bringing his season total to five. He finished the night 3-for-5 with three RBI.
• Pado Power: Blagen Pado also went deep twice, giving him eight homers on the year. He finished with a game-high four RBI.
• Record Watch: Bodine now has 45 career runners caught stealing, one shy of tying Coastal’s all-time mark.
• Mitchell Hit Again: Walker Mitchell was plunked for the 31st time in 2025, setting the program’s single-season record.
• Home Run Surge: Coastal tied its season high with four home runs in a game. The Chants previously hit four in their 18-7 win over East Carolina in the Conway Regional.
• Pitching Carousel: Cameron Flukey started and allowed three runs in five innings. Dominick Carbone surrendered three more over two innings, but Matthew Potok and Ryan Lynch (save No. 8) held Auburn scoreless over the final three frames.
• Lightning Delay: The game was halted at 9:59 p.m. CT due to lightning and resumed at 11:45 p.m.
• Clutch Defense: Coastal turned two double plays and threw out two runners on the bases — including a 10th-inning twin killing to end the game.
• Series Continues: Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. ET Saturday. A Chanticleers win sends them to Omaha.