LA JOLLA, Calif. — Seven standout players will join the nationally-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team for the 2022-23 academic year. Head coach Kevin Ring made the announcement Friday.

Five of the newcomers will enter as true freshmen while two come to La Jolla as sophomores after competing for Orange Coast College in 2022. All seven hail from California, including one from San Diego.

The class is comprised of libero Evan Boyle, middle blocker Zachary Weston, opposite Michael Robertson, outside hitters Joshua Ewert, Leo Pravednikov, and Sam Warren, and setter Cameron Wurl. 

In 2022, UC San Diego's fifth season competing in the Big West Conference, the Tritons compiled a 13-11 overall record and went 5-5 in league matches. Ranked as high as eighth in the country, they posted seven victories against nationally-ranked teams including No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 3 and eventual national champion Hawaii, No. 11 BYU (twice), No. 12 Stanford, and No. 13 UC Irvine (twice).

EVAN BOYLE
Freshman / Libero / 6'0"
La Crescenta, Calif. / Crescenta Valley High School
• Brother of Andrew Boyle, a current sophomore setter for the Tritons
• As a senior at CVHS: Team captain, broke his high school's single season record with 112 service aces, named to all-tournament teams at CVHS First Serve and Chatsworth tournaments
• As a junior at CVHS: Team captain, named All-Pacific League First Team
• As a sophomore at CVHS: Team won its own First Serve tournament
• Played club with Orange Coast (2021-22), Legacy (2020-21), and SG Elite (2017-20)
• Orange Coast went undefeated (9-0) en route to winning the 18 Open Division at the Milwaukee Invitational
• Legacy placed first in the Junior Olympics 18 Club Division
• With Legacy, earned all-tournament honors at Junior Olympics

JOSHUA EWERT
Freshman / Outside Hitter / 6'4"
Moraga, Calif. / Campolindo High School
• A four-year Scholar-Athlete
• As a senior at CHS: Team captain, team MVP, First Team All-Diablo League, Granite Bay Tournament MVP, won Live Like Justin Award at the Bellarmine Tournament
• As a freshman at CHS: All-Diablo League Second Team
• A four-time Underclassmen Fab 50 selection
• CHS won Division 2 North Coast Section titles in his freshman and senior seasons
• CHS was the Diablo League champion in his senior season
• CHS won titles at the Deer Valley Tournament in his freshman and senior seasons
• Played club with Pacific Rim from 2012-22
• Club was a five-time NCVA Far Westerns Bid Tournament Open Division winner (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
• 2022: NTDP All-Star Championships, NTDP Summer Training Program, club was NCVA 18 Open Regional Champion and took first place in 18 Open at SCVA Junior Boys Invitational Bid Tournament
• 2021: NTDP Summer Training Program, A Junior Olympics 18 Open All-Tournament Team pick, club was second in JO 18 Open
• 2020: USA BYA1 National Training Program
• 2019: USA Boys Select A1 National Training Program, USA Volleyball Indoor High-Performance Holiday Training Program
• 2018: USA Boys Select A1
• 2017: USA Boys Future Select A1
• 2016: USA Boys Future Select
• 2015: USA Boys Future Select National Team
• 2014: USA HP Future Select A1 Program

LEO PRAVEDNIKOV
Freshman / Outside Hitter / 6'5"
Long Beach, Calif. / Wilson High School
• A four-year Scholar-Athlete
• Wilson won CIF Academic Award in 2021
• As a senior at WHS: Team captain, All-CIF First Team, Moore League MVP, two-time Redondo All-Tournament Team pick, Long Beach Classic MVP, Garden Grove Tournament MVP, Moore League champions, won Long Beach Classic and Garden Grove Tournament, broke school record for single-season kills with 329, also holds Wilson and Moore League records for career kills with 580, Wilson 
• As a junior at WHS: Team captain, All-CIF First Team, Moore League MVP, All-City Athlete of the Year, Division 3 Southern Section champions, Moore League champions
• As a freshman at WHS: All-Moore League Second Team, Tustin Tournament All-Tournament selection
• Played club with Rockstar (2021-22), Pinnacle (2018-21), and Long Beach (2016-18)
• With Long Beach, won Junior Nationals Bronze Division title

MICHAEL ROBERTSON
Freshman / Opposite / 6'6"
Westchester, Calif. / Loyola High School
• As a freshman at LHS: Team captain
• Played club with Beach Cities, Southern California, and Manhattan Beach Surf
• Won a JO 15's title in 2019

SAM WARREN
Sophomore / Outside Hitter / 6'4"
Huntington Beach, Calif. / Edison High School/Orange Coast College
• As a freshman at Orange Coast College in 2022: Played in 19 of 21 matches and 61 of 71 sets, averaged 1.9 kills, 2.3 points, 0.8 digs, and 0.5 blocks, finished with 12 service aces, team won California Community College Athletic Association state title
• As a senior at EHS: Team captain, All-Sunset League First Team
• As a junior at EHS: All-Sunset League First Team
• As a freshman at EHS: Team MVP
• Played club with Balboa Bay

ZACHARY WESTON
Sophomore / Middle Blocker / 6'8"
Yorba Linda, Calif. / Yorba Linda High School/Orange Coast College
• As a freshman at Orange Coast College in 2022: Played in 20 of 21 matches and 57 of 71 sets, averaged 1.6 kills, 2.1 points, and a team-high 0.9 blocks, OCC won California Community College Athletic Association state title
• A four-year Scholar-Athlete at YLHS
• As a senior at YLHS: Team captain
• As a junior at YLHS: Team captain, First Team All-Century League
• Played club with Pulse (2015-20)
• Won a JO 17s USA Division bronze medal at BJNC
• With SCVA High Performance Youth National Team, won a silver medal at 2019 USA High Performance Championship

CAMERON WURL
Freshman / Setter / 6'6"
San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic High School
• A four-year starter
• As a senior at CCHS: Team captain, First Team All-CIF, First Team All-Western League, CIF Open champion (indoor), CIF Open champion (beach), Western League champion, Scholar-Athlete, Honor Roll recipient
• As a junior at CCHS: Second Team All-CIF, First Team All-Western League, Western League champion, Scholar-Athlete, Honor Roll recipient
• As a sophomore at CCHS: Second Team All-Western League, Honor Roll recipient
• As a freshman at CCHS: Western League champion, Honor Roll recipient
• Played club with Coast (2018-22)
• Team Captain for Coast 15-1 through 18-1
• Coast qualified for Junior Olympic Club Division 15s-17s
• 2021: JVA West Coast Cup All-Tournament Team
 
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.