Volleyball: UCI lands No. 1 recruit
UC Irvine’s men’s volleyball recruiting class includes the No. 1 recruit in the nation, according to Volleyball Magazine.
Scott Stadick, a 7-foot middle blocker from Wisconsin, tops a group of five high school players who have signed to join the Anteaters for the 2017 season.
Stadick, the younger brother of UCI Coach David Kniffin’s wife, recently helped the U.S. junior national team win the 2016 NORCECA Under-21 Continental Championship and qualify for the 2017 FIVB U21 World Championship.
Stadick was a member of the 2014 youth national team that won a gold medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship, where he was named Best Blocker. He helped the youth national team finish seventh at the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina, where he was the Best Blocker with a 1.03 per-set average.
Stadick helped the Milwaukee Sting Volleyball Club finish fifth in the Open Division at the 2016 Junior Nationals. He won a national championship in the U13 division with the West Allis Lightning team, earning all-tournament recognition in 2013.
“Scott’s playing resume speaks for itself,” Kniffin said. “He will bear the weight of huge expectations on the court, in the classroom and in the community. He embodies everything I could ask for in a No. 1 recruit and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to walk with him on his journey.”
Patrick Sohacki, a 6-6 pin hitter from Eastlake High in Chula Vista, and Sean Dennis, a 6-11 middle blocker from Bonita High, are additional recruits on Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 list.
Sohacki was a first-team All-Mesa League performer who helped his team win its first league championship in eight years. He was second-team All-CIF San Diego Section and was named Impact Player of the Year by the Coast Volleyball Club.
Dennis played for the San Gabriel Elite Volleyball Club, which won a silver medal at the SCVA Junior Boys Classic in 2016.
“All three Fab 50 guys have an absolute passion for the game,” Kniffin said. “I would suspect that, if you need to find them on the weekends or after school during their freshman year, they will be on the peninsula, Corona del Mar or Huntington Beach picking up as many games as their bodies can handle.”
Austin Wilmot is an 6-9 outside hitter from Crespi High. He was a first team All-Mission League honoree who guided his team to the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. He played for the West Edge Volleyball Club.
Zack Mills is a 6-5 opposite-outside hitter from Santa Margarita High. He was a two-time second-team All-Trinity League selection.
Mills won a gold medal at the 2014 USAV Boys’ Junior National Championships with 949 Volleyball’s 16 Black team.
UCI, which will compete in the newly created Big West Conference next season, has won four NCAA titles in the last 10 seasons, including back-to-back crowns in 2012-13.
— From staff reports
— From staff reports