University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
MVB Recruiting Class Named Nation's Best
June 22, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
UCLA finds itself atop the just released Volleyball Magazine final rankings for the 2017 recruiting classes eligible for action in the 2017-18 season. The VolleyballMag.com rankings are based on voting done by a panel of NCAA Division I-II men's coaches and take into consideration international signees and transfers.
"This is an outstanding group of student-athletes who will join us next year," UCLA coach John Speraw said. "The combination of size, physicality and volleyball IQ will complement the current team and impact our gym immediately. They all are multi-dimensional athletes who could play different positions by the time they graduate and they all possess the character we look for."
The Bruins recruiting class included five members who were honored as AVCA Boys' High School Senior All-America selections (MB Ian Parish, S Garland Peed) and / or VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50 recruits (MB Ian Parish, S Adam Parks, S Garland Peed, OH Colin Bailey, MB Grant Maleski). Also joining the Bruins will be outside hitter Alex Parks, Adam's brother.
Parish, a 6-9 middle blocker, was selected to the first-team AVCA Boys' Senior High School All-America Team and was also chosen to the Fab 50 list. Parish attends Loyola High School in Los Angeles which captured the 2016 CIF Championship and won the 2017 CIF SoCal Boys Regional Div. 1 Volleyball Championship. He plays club ball for MB Surf.
Adam Parks was recognized among the nation's top 5 recruits on the Fab 50 list. A 6-4 setter, Parks helped lead his Oak Park, Calif. HS team to the 2015 and 2016 CIF Div. 2 State titles. He plays club volleyball for Rise.
Peed, a 6-1 setter from Torrey Pines HS in San Diego, Calif., was named a second-team AVCA Boys' High School All-American. He was also listed on the VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50 recruits. Peed plays club volleyball for Coast.
Bailey was selected to the VolleyballMag.com Boys Fab 50 list. Bailey is a 6-6 OH/RS player who is also from Torrey Pines HS. He was chosen to the 2016 Junior Olympics All-Tournament team. Bailey plays club ball for Rise.
Maleski, a 6-9 middle blocker from Stevenson HS in Lincolnshire, Ill., was selected to the Fab 50 recruit list. Maleski was the first freshman to make his varsity high school team in the 40-year history of the program. He plays club volleyball for Adversity.
Alex Parks, a 6-3 outside hitter, was a key contributor to Oak Park, Calif. HS's run to the 2015 and 2016 CIF Div. 2 State titles. He plays club volleyball for Rise.
The 2017 VolleyballMag.com rankings: 1-UCLA, 2-Stanford, 3-USC, 4-BYU, 5-Long Beach State, 6-UC Irvine, 7-Loyola, Chicago, 8-Pepperdine, 9-Ohio State, 10-Penn State.
Below is the copy relating to the Bruins from the Volleyball Magazine article.
No. 1 UCLAIncoming players: Colin Bailey (6-6, OH-RS, Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.), Rise VBC); Grant Maleski (6-9, MB, Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.), Adversity VBC); Ian Parish (6-9, MB, Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.), MB Surf); Adam Parks (6-4, S, Oak Park (Calif.), Rise VBC); Alex Parks (6-3, OH, Oak Park (Calif.), Rise VBC); Garland Peed (6-1, S, Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.), Coast VBC)
Analysis: The Bruins garnered many first- and second-place votes among the VolleyballMag.com coaches voting panel for this class, which features five 2017 VBM Boys Fab 50 selections. Adam Parks is ranked the No. 3 recruit in the class of 2017 by VolleyballMag.com. Parish was part of the Loyola High School team that won a California regional title this spring.
