Kiefer Black has had an exceptional start to his college career with the Navy Midshipmen. He has played for their polo team for the last two seasons and is going into his junior year. He will now have the honor to represent his country after a stellar start as a Midshipmen.

The USA Junior National Team will start action on June 14 in the World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. After a week of hard fought action between countries a winner will be crowned.

The U.S. will be competing in Pool A against Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro the Naval Academy announced. 

During their 2024 season the Mids went 22-10 overall and 10-4 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC). Black played in all 32 games as their lead attacker and had a total of 171 points, the next closest on the team was Michael Heller with 63.

In the 32 games he played he had 185 shots, next closest was Luka Sekulic with 100 and assisted on 77 goals. The next closest to him in assists was Austin Kahn with 32. 

With a stellar sophomore season he added more awards to his list of personal recognitions. He finished the year earning Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-MWAPC, and First Team MWAPC All-Tournament Team. 

It is no surprise that Black had such an exceptional season after a strong start to his career as a freshman. The list of accolades he acquired in his rookie season is quite impressive. 

As a freshman Black led the team in total points, goals, and assists (125/68/57). He was then named an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American, MAWPC Rookie of the Year, MAWPC First-Team, among other personal accolades.

There had only been 12 players in school history who had amassed 100 points in a season prior to his arrival and he has now done it twice. His 171 points in 2024 is now second all-time behind Doug Munz in 1994. Third most belongs to Paul Pedrotty who had 137 in 2012 and fourth most belongs to Black during his freshman season. 

The 6-foot-7 sophomore out of San Diego, Calif., has been a consistent and hard to defend attacker. Expect him to make a difference during this tournament.

1 / 5

Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton reacts during a Region 7 boys volleyball match against Springville on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Daily Herald

2 / 5

Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (28) holds up the 5A Boys Volleyball State Championship trophy at the UCCU Center on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Courtesy Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

3 / 5

Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton serves the ball in a high school boys volleyball match against Orem during the 2025 season.

Courtesy Jeff Porarco, Maple Mountain Sports

4 / 5

Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (28) takes a swing against Wasatch in the 5A boys volleyball state finals at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

5 / 5

Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton (8) takes a swing against Springville’s Nolan Snead (left) and Evan Straw in a Region 7 boys volleyball match on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮
❯

Growing up in Alabama, 12-year-old Trey Thornton’s introduction to volleyball came through his three sisters, who all played, and a number of other girls on teams where he learned the game.

Thornton eventually grew to 6-foot-7, moved to Utah and helped created a very special legacy for the boys volleyball program at Maple Mountain High School.

Thornton was part of two state championships in the Beehive State and totaled 851 kills over that two-year span. His dominant, confident and complementary play has earned him the Daily Herald’s Valley Player of the Year for 2025.

Thornton said he sometimes practiced with the Maple Mountain girls team when he first arrived in Utah. That team, led by twins Marley and Morgan Pratt, won the 2023 5A state title. In Alabama he often played with Merritt Beason, who became an All-American and team captain for the Nebraska women’s volleyball team from 2021 to 2024.

Thornton credits time he’s spent playing volleyball with girls as a key to his all-around game.

“Ball control is something girls have on us,” Thornton said. “We might have more athleticism, where we can jump higher and hit harder, but their technical skills are so good. I can tell you it’s way harder passing on a girls net than on a men’s net because of their float serves. That’s really helped my control a lot.”

Maple Mountain has won 42 straight matches against Utah opponents and posted a 29-1 record in 2025. Thornton had 422 kills (he had 429 last season) which is 4.7 kills per set. He raised his hitting percentage from .364 to .431 and totaled 49 aces, 43 total blocks and 169 digs.

In the 5A state semifinals against Alta and future BYU teammate Corbin Batista, Thornton totaled 25 kills in a 3-1 victory. He added 21 kills and hit .421 as the Golden Eagles swept Wasatch in the finals.

“Trey can hit and block really well, but one of the things that’s overlooked generally and one of the skill sets that sets him apart is his ball control,” Maple Mountain coach Napoleon Galang said. “His defense and passing is really good. If we asked him to be a libero, he’d be the best libero on the team.

“He really grew into his game this year. His IQ with his offense just skyrocketed. He added smart tips and deep pushes to the corner, just any kind of shot he needed to score. He added so much to his tool belt offensively and had 10 different ways to score, not just five.”

Two summers ago, Thornton moved to Utah and was introduced to his future teammates at a casual get-together where the group played pickup beach volleyball in a backyard. That was the start of a many friendships that would carry him through the transition of the move to Utah.

“Trey is a very quite and humble kid,” Galang said. “He doesn’t celebrate loudly and just shows what he is by the way he played. It’s cool to see that from such a high-caliber player. He lets his skills speak for him.”

Thornton had plenty of help from talented teammates in winning back-to-back state titles, including 6-7 junior setter Taft Hillman and 6-6 senior middle Manase Storey. Thornton, Hillman and Storey mentored younger players such as junior Matheus Borges and freshmen Kimball Olsen and McKay Beattie as they worked to replace key teammates who graduated from the 2024 state champions (Mac Hillman, Gavin Pricer).

“I think our team had a great sense of self,” Thornton said. “We knew our identity and we were just a family. We knew that we had each other’s backs every game. Every day at school we were always looking out for each other. We’re really good friends and translated into our game play because we trusted everyone to do everything for the right reasons to reach our goals.”

Thornton — whose mother, Alisha Griffiths, played basketball at BYU in the early 2000’s — will begin his Cougar career as a counselor at the school’s volleyball camps this spring and summer and intends to play for Shawn Olmstead in 2026.

“I would say the culture at BYU is very special,” he said. “I could feel it even before I went on my official visit. We went to one of the women’s volleyball games. It was sold out and I had kind of that ‘aha!’ moment. I was meant to be here. It’s where I’ve been led and I’ve always dreamed of playing there. The coaching is some of the best around. They really care about their players.”

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.