The AVCA is proud to reveal the 30 players who are part of the 2025 Division I Watch List for its Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball.

The players on the preseason list are being revealed starting July 22 and concluding July 24 in three groups of 10. There is no order to which list the players are on, except that all of a school’s candidates will appear the same day.

The Preseason Watch List was compiled by the AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball Awards Committee. They will also be the group working on the additional phases of the Player of the Year process, which include:

• Midseason additions to the list [October]
• Naming the semifinalists [November]
• Revealing the finalists [likely Dec. 15]
• The announcement of the Player of the Year in Kansas City at the AVCA Awards Banquet on Friday Dec. 19.
  

NOTE: Players who aren’t on the preseason Watch List can still be added as the season progresses.

AVCA Player of the Year Watch List (Group One – July 22)

The 2025 AVCA Player of the Year Award is presented by Nike Volleyball.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – With the 2025-26 track & field and cross country seasons on the horizon, Harvard track & field reveals the incoming Class of 2029, as 31 student-athletes will join the Crimson’s storied tradition.

Women’s Team

Caitlyn Chang | Braintree, Mass. | Braintree High School

3200m: 11:16.00

1600m: 5:11.00

Two-time Bay State Conference Cross Country All-Star during the 2023 and 2024 seasons … Earned Boston Globe Runner of the Week honors twice during the 2024 cross country campaign … Recipient of the Dave Wilson Trophy, recognizing the top female cross country athlete in Braintree … Three-time Bay State Conference All-Star in both indoor and outdoor track competition from 2023 through 2025 … Boston Globe All-Scholastic honorable mention … 2024 and 2023 Patriot Ledge All-Scholastic Team selection …

Ella Cohen | New York, N.Y. | Hunter College High School

800m: 2:10.00

1600m: 4:46.00

3000m: 9:40.00

2023 USATF New York Cross Country Athlete of the Year … Earned All-New York First Team honors during the 2023 campaign … Won New York state titles in the 1500m and the 4x800m relay in 2024.

Maya Davis | Athens, Ga. | Athens Academy

800m: 2:09.00

1600m: 4:56.00

Eight-time Georgia state champion … Holds the Georgia state record in the 800m … Also holds the Athens Academy 400m school record … 2024 Piedmont Orthopedic Cross Country Runner of the Year … 2023 Athens Area Runner of the Year … National Honor Society member … Member of the Cum Laude Society.

Mackenzie De Lisle | Cape Coral, Florida | Bishop Verot High School

1600m: 4:58.00

3200m: 10:39.00

Four-time Florida All-State honoree in both cross country and track & field competition … SWFL Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2022 … 2024 Florida state champion in the 1600m … Florida state runner-up in cross country during the 2023 season … Holds the 800m, 1600m, 3200m and the 5000m at Bishop Verot. 

Sylvia Eckman| Roseburg, Ore. | Roseburg High School

3000m: 10:14.00

2024 Oregon Southwest Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Year … Named Co-Oregon Southwest Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2023 … 2024 Oregon 6A All-State selection … 3000m district champion.

Leila Holland | Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach Polytechnic

100m: 11.66

200m: 24.52

2023 and 2024 All-Moore League First Team honoree … Also lettered in soccer.

Zoe Li-Khan | Brookline, Mass. | Buckingham Browne and Nichols School

Pole Vault: 1.96m (6’5″)

2025 All-Independent School League selection … 2023 and 2024 All-ISL honorable mention … Three-time All-NESPAC selection … Three-time AAU Indoor Nationals All-American … Holds the Buckingham Browne and Nichols school record in the pole vault … ISL and NEPSAC pole vault champion in 2025.

Dylan McElhinney | New York, N.Y. | Hunter College High School

800m: 2:06.07

1500m: 4:15.80

1600m: 4:39.89

World U20 Championships finalist in the 1500m … 2024 Nike Indoor Nationals Champion in the 800m and the mile … 2024 Millrose Games High School champion in the mile … Two-time Foot Locker Nationals qualifier.

Cia Siewe | Ijamsville, Maryland | Urbana High School

Heptathlon: 4486

100m Hurdles: 14.42

Long Jump: 5.62m (18’5″)

Shot Put: 12.16m (39’10”)

Triple Jump: 11.58m (38’0″)

2025 Milesplit Maryland All-State First Team selection in long jump, triple jump, shot put and the 100m hurdles … 2025 Frederick News Post Field Athlete of the Year … Six-time Maryland State Championships medalist … Finished in the top-eight in the heptathlon at the Outdoor New Balance Nationals.

Callie Wallace | Washington, D.C. | Maret School

800m: 2:15.62

1600m: 4:59.21

Three-time All-Washington D.C. from 2022 to 2024 in cross country … Also earned All-Independent School League from 2022 to 2024 in cross country … Received Washington Post All-Met status twice in cross country … Also earned Washington Post All-Mer honors twice in track & field.

Nadjela Wepiwé | Friedrichsdorf, Germany | Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium

Discus: 53.13m (174’3″)

Won gold at the European U18 Championships in the discus throw … Her sister Milina is a sophomore at Harvard and two-time All-American in the discus.

Jillene Wetteland | Long Beach, California | Long Beach Polytechnic

High Jump: 1.78m (5’10”)

Three-time All-Moore League selection … California state finalist … two-time CIF Southern Section Division I champion … Also helped Long Beach Polytechnic win a CIF Team Championship … Ranked in the top-three in the United States and first in California in the high jump.

Men’s Team

Benjamin Bouie | Sunnyvale, California | Crystal Springs Uplands School

1600m: 4:03.23

3200m: 8:58.66

CIF All-State First Team honoree in cross country in both 2023 and 2024 … Helped Crystal Springs Uplands School win back-to-back team state championships … CSC champion in the 1600m during the 2024 season … Cum Laude Society member.

 

Preston Ellis | Chicago, Ill. | Walter Payton College Prep

800m: 1:54.86

2024 2A State Champion in the 800m … Finished in third at the Illinois State Championships … Finished fifth place at Nike Nationals … Also earned New Balance Indoor 4x800m All-American honors with a fifth place finish.

Tam Gavenas | Andover, Mass. | Philips Academy Andover

1500m: 3:50.20

3200m: 8:53.71

2024 Foot Locker Cross Country National Champion … 2024 MileSplit COROS XC Athlete of the Year … Only the third runner from Massachusetts to win the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship … Finished the 2024 season ranked No. 1 in DyeStat’s final Boys Cross Country rankings … Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in cross country.

Eamon Gordon | Santa Barbara, Calif. | Dos Pueblos Senior High

3200m: 9:15.53

2025 CIF Scholar-Athlete of the Year … All-Channel League First Team honoree from 2021-24 … 2023 Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable Cross Country Athlete of the Year … Qualified for the Adidas Meet of Champions.

Levi Harrison | Chestnut Hill, Mass. | The Roxbury Latin School

800m: 1:55.66

2022 and 2024 Cross Country All-ISL selection … Also earned All-New England honors in honors in 2022 and 2024 in cross country competition … ISL champion in the 800m and 4x400m relay during the 2025 season … Helped Roxbury Latin win the New England Division II Team Championship.

Keith Hunter | Seattle, Washington | Overlake School

800m: 1:54.42

1500m: 3:54.13

All-NESPAC selection in the 800m during the 2025 season … Three-time Emerald Soung All-Conference selection in cross country … Finished in third in the 1500m at the USAF National Championships in 2023 … 2024 Metro League Champion in the 800m.

Joachim Johnson | Lansdowne, Pa. | Episcopal Academy

Triple Jump: 15.34m (50’4.25″)

High Jump: 2.10m (6’10.75″)

Two-time Pennsylvania All-State selection … Holds the Delaware County records in both the triple jump and high jump … 2025 Pennsylvania state champion in the indoor high jump and indoor triple jump.

Arpad Kovacs | Szeged, Hungary | Szegedi Radnóti Miklós Kíserleti Gimnázium

400m: 45.97

200m: 21.45

Finished in second place in the 400m at the U18 European Championships … Took third in the 4x400m at the Indoor World Championships … 15-time Hungarian national champion.

Yannick Kraus | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Jumeirah English Speaking School

Decathlon: 7000 points

High Jump: 2.01m (6’7″)

Finished in fourth place in the Decathlon at the German National Championships … Ranked 16^th in the U18 decathlon according to World Athletics.

Cameron McConnon | London, England | St. Paul’s School

3000m: 8:59.00

Two-time Middlesex cross country champion … U19 3000m Middlesex Country winner.

Hudson McGough | Los Angeles, Calif. | Loyola High School of Los Angeles

800m: 1:52.95

2025 Mission League champion in the 800m and the 4x400m relay … CIF state finalist in the 4x400m relay during the 2025 season … Also lettered in soccer.

Ansh More | New York, N.Y. | Riverdale Country School

3200m: 9:18.16

Led Riverdale to league championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field during the 2024-25 season … Finished in 27^th in the 5000m at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Brady Mullen | New Orleans, La. | Jesuit Nola

1600m: 4:05.57

3200m: 8:47.59

NXN Cross Country qualifier … Three-time Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in cross country … Two-time Louisiana state champion in cross country competition … Led Jesuit Nola to four state title in cross country competition.

Oliver Parker | Leicester, England | Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College

400m Hurdles: 50.48

Finished in second in the United Kingdom U20s in the 400m hurdles … 2025 Icelandic Games silver medalist in the 400m.

Grant Schorder | Downers Grove, Ill. | Downers Grove North High School

Three-time NXN qualifier … Runner-up at the Illinois State Championships … Member of a Nike Midwest Regional Team that finished in third in 2022 and first in 2023 and 2024.

Robert Satcher | Bellaire, Texas | The Kinkaid School

Triple Jump: 13.90m (45’7.25″)

Three-time Texas All-State honoree … holds The Kinkaid School program record in the triple jump.

Andrew Thorton-Sherman | Waterford, Vermont | St. Johnsbury Academy

800m: 1:49.98

1000m: 2:24.97

1500m: 3:54.67

1600m: 4:12.87

2023 New Balance All-American in the distance medley relay … 2024 New Balance All-American in the sprint medley relay … 2024 Gatorade Vermont Track & Field Player of the Year … Six-time Vermont state champion.

Demetrios Tzoannos | Athens, Greece | Athens College

High Jump: 1.96m (6’5″)

Represented Greece at the U18 European Championships … finished in fifth place in the high jump at the Greek U18 National Championships.

Daniel Ye | Chappaqua, New York | Horace Greeley High School

Weight Throw: 22.38m (73’5.25″)

Hammer Throw: 65.71m (215’7″)

2025 Nike All-American … Two-time Westchester Most Outstanding Field Athlete … 2024 New York All-State honoree.

For complete coverage of Harvard Track & Field, follow us on Twitter (@HarvardTFXC) and Instagram (@harvardtfxc).

 

Meanwhile, 2023 VNL champions Türkiye will target a sixth semi-final appearance in seven years, facing the last edition’s runners-up in Japan who finished the preliminaries with the third-best record.

The final quarter-final matchup sees three-time runners-up Brazil look to build on their impressive record, where they lost just once in the 2025 VNL to Italy. The South Americans will take on Germany, who make their second appearance in the final eight.

Find out the full schedule and how to watch the VNL finals live.

Women’s VNL 2025 finals – full schedule

Start times listed are local time in Łódź, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

Quarter-finals

23 July 2025

• 16:30 – Italy vs USA
• 20:00 – Poland vs People’s Republic of China

24 July 2025

• 16:30 – Japan vs Türkiye
• 20:00 – Brazil vs Germany

Following a second-place finish at the recently concluded 2025 USSSA Ball Games 2 in beach volleyball, Hilton High School Mukono has now set the bar high, to maintain the podium finish at the forthcoming FEASSA Games in Kakamega city, Kenya.

For starters, Hilton High School Mukono scooped silver after falling to champions Bukedea Comprehensive School 2-0 (19-21, 15-21) in the final played at St Peter’s College, Tororo.

Coach Maurizio Mirarchi guiding the future of Italian women’s water polo.

Water polo is a demanding sport that requires lots of sacrifice and dedication. For student-athletes, balancing academics and intense training makes it even more challenging.

Maurizio Mirarchi, coach of the Italian women’s team at the Rhine Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, understands this well. He puts his heart into mentoring his young players, helping them grow not only as competitors but as the champions of tomorrow.

Mirarchi’s choice

Coach Mirarchi made a clear decision: to train student-athletes, both at the international level and in the Italian championship, and he stands firmly by his choice.

“There’s no trick, you just have to make sacrifices, train and try to give your best in every session. If you train well, matches are a consequence of training. The trick is simply to do your best during the week,” he said, speaking about the challenges of coaching such a young group.

One of the most important aspects for Mirarchi is keeping his pupils fully focused, especially in the most difficult moments, when emotions and tension can weigh heavily on young minds.

“I always ask for their maximum attention. I try to explain the various situations that arise in the match to make sure they have it. It’s not easy, because there are emotions, there is the moment, there is the match. We try to make sure that things are explained well in some moments of the match.”

The hardest part of being a student-athlete in Mirarchi’s opinion? “They have to balance their work and their student activities. It’s a big commitment for them. This is a sport that requires a lot of sacrifice, so they are really good at managing both things in the best way possible.”

A stepping stone to the future

Rhine-Ruhr 2025 represents an enriching and valuable experience for the Italian coach. “It’s a good level, a good high level. There are good teams, from Australia, Germany, Japan, us, Hungary, the United States,” he said, about the calibre of different delegations competing in the tournament.

Looking ahead to the future of his young protégés, Mirarchi sees the FISU Games as a key benchmark for preparing them for the next level of competition, such as the Olympics or the World Championships.

“The university team is always a tank, where the national team can take on the athletes. So, it’s very important to do it well, to do the competition seriously, because then it can be a showcase to continue later,” he affirmed.

His vision is long-term and clear: these kinds of tournaments are not an end, but a means to grow.

“I took this job because we work in perspective. So, we try to make these girls grow, making them have as many experiences as possible. And this is a good experience for them, because they are all young girls. So, I hope that over the years they can play even more important competitions.”

Looking to match their silver-medal finish from Chengdu 2023, the Italian women reached the semifinals on Tuesday, 22 July with a dominant 20-5 win against Türkiye. Mirarchi’s side will face the United States on Thursday for a spot in Saturday’s gold-medal match.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Valentina Rasini, EU U-Media Ambassador, Italy

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.