Sparkill, N.Y. - Seeking its second straight East Coast Conference Tournament title, St. Thomas Aquinas College was chosen to sit atop the standings in the 2025 ECC Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league.
In addition, sophomore outside hitter Kyran Versteegan (Sittard Netherlands) has been named the ECC Men's Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year.
Coming off of a freshman campaign in which he was voted the ECC Player of the Year and ECC Championship Most Outstanding Player and a summer in which he competed with the Dutch National Team, Versteegen is the unanimous selection for this season's ECC Preseason Player of the Year. In the ECC rankings, Versteegen finished second in total points (287), points per set (3.68), total kills (227), and hitting percentage (.269), third in kills per set (2.91), service aces (33), and service aces per set (.42), and sixth in total blocks (46).
In conference-only matches, the two-time ECC Player of the Week and three-time ECC Rookie of the Week topped all players with a blistering .395 hitting percentage as well as 104 total points, 4.73 points per set, 12 service aces, and .55 service aces per set.
The Spartans received 15 points and three first-place votes, with Roberts Wesleyan University selected second with 10 points, while Dominican University (3rd/9 points) & one first-place vote and American International College (4th/6 points) roundout the poll.
STAC went 11-12 overall and 5-1 in the ECC during the 2024 season, winning the program's first conference Regular Season and Tournament titles.
St. Thomas Aquinas will return eight players from the 2024 team; ECC Player of the Year and ECC Championship Most Outstanding Player Kyran Versteegan, ECC Setter of the Year Joaquin La Jara, ECC All-Conference selection Gabriel Vieira, Thomas Santos, Marcus Franck, Nicholas Santos, David Weiss and Andre Cippiciani.
Raoul Kerkdijk (Fr.|MB|Apeldoorn, Netherlands|Veluws College Walterbosch), Sietse Pol (Fr.|OH|Apeldoorn, Netherlands|Veluws College Walterbosch), Rayden Powell (Fr.|MB|Acworth, Ga.|Allatoona), Jannis Freude (Fr.|OPP/S|Oldenburg, Germany|Wirtschaftsgymnasium Oldenburg), Charles Carroll (Fr.|OH|Fremont, Calif.|American), Joaquim Petegrosso (Fr.|OH|Orlando, Fla.|Freedom), Damian Baker (So.|MB|Porta Westfalica, Germany|Monroe College), Alusine Kemokai (Fr.|MB|Linden, N.J.|Linden), Anthony Fedor (Fr.|OH|Smithtown, N.Y.|Smithtown West), Ivaylo Todorov (Fr.|L|Aktau, Kazakhstan|Specialized IT Lyceum) and Liam Reinmuth (Fr.|RS|Suffern, N.Y.|Suffern) are set to make their debuts in maroon and gold, as the 11 makeup the team's new recruiting class.
Thiago Lopes returns for his second season as Head Coach and will feature a lineup filled with size, speed and skill as the Spartans look to capture back-to-back ECC crowns.
St. Thomas Aquinas begins its new season on the road at Brigham Young University on January 10 and 11. The Spartans will take on the Cougars at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah with first serve scheduled for 9:00 p.m/EST (7:00 p.m./MST) each night. STAC's 23-match schedule features 17 non-conference games and 12 home matchups at the new Spartan Athletic Complex. The first home contest is on Friday, January 17 (11:00 a.m.) versus Barry University, while the first conference matchup comes on February 22 (12:00 p.m.) against Roberts Wesleyan University.
2025 ECC Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. St. Thomas Aquinas - 15 points (3 first-place votes)
2. Roberts Wesleyan - 10 points
3. Dominican - 9 points (1 first-place vote)
4. American International - 6 points
2025 ECC Men’s Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year
Kyran Versteegen, St. Thomas Aquinas, So., OH