Seven USC Men's Volleyball Student-Athletes Named to MPSF All-Academic Team

USC men's volleyball on the court at Galen Center in a match against UCLA

Photo by: Kevin Kim

Seven USC Men's Volleyball Student-Athletes Named to MPSF All-Academic Team

May 27, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

USC senior setter Ryan Sprague earned his third-career placement on the league’s all-academic team

LOS ANGELES – Seven USC men's volleyball student-athletes were named to the 2026 MPSF All-Academic Team, the league announced on Wednesday, May 27.

The group is highlighted by senior setter Ryan Sprague (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Loyola HS) who made his third-career appearance on the team. Two Trojans were chosen for the second times in their careers: junior setter Caleb Blanchette (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood HS) and senior outside hitter Dillon Klein (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Loyola HS).

The trio of repeat selections was joined by four first-team choices. Junior libero Brad Pan (Cupertino, Calif./Cupertino HS), redshirt sophomore middle blocker Wesley Smith(Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), sophomore libero Johnny Dykstra (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS), and sophomore outside hitter Christian Connell (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) were each named to the all-academic team for the first time.

Sprague and Klein each graduated this spring with degrees in finance from the USC Marshall School of Business. Pan is majoring in economics while Blanchette, Connell, Dykstra, and Smith are all working towards degrees in business administration.

To qualify for selection to the MPSF's All-Academic Team, student-athletes must hold a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average or better, be at least a sophomore academically, and have spent at least one full academic year at the institution prior to the season for which the award is received. Lastly, to qualify, a student-athlete must have competed in at least 50 percent of a team's competitions.

The Trojans made their 16th appearance in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the regional final where they fell to site-host and No. 2-seeded Hawai'i in four sets. USC (20-8) finished as the runner-up for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's championship and was third in the final conference regular-season standings with a 9-5 record. 11th-year head coach Jeff Nygaard reached 20 wins in a season for the third time and collected his 143rd-career victory making him the third-winningest coach in program history behind only Bob Yoder (211 wins, 1982-89) and Bill Ferguson (150 wins, 2007-15).

For more information on the USC men's volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Instagram, X, and Facebook.