USC Men's Volleyball's Parker Tomkinson and Kevin Kobrine Named to USAV VNL Roster

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USC men's volleyball middle blocker Parker Tomkinson (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) and alumnus OH Kevin Kobrine (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar HS) were each named to the U.S. Men's National Team's 30-player long-list roster for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL), USA Volleyball announced on Thursday, May 15.

The roster features a competitive mix of Olympic veterans, seasoned pros, and rising stars—of which Tomkinson is the youngest. The world's top 18 men's teams clash for this year's VNL title over three weeks of preliminary play, with the top eight advancing to the final round.

The U.S. Men's National Team—under the guidance of head coach Karch Kiraly—will select 14 athletes from the preliminary roster to compete at each stop: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 11-15), Hoffman Estates, Illinois (June 25-29), and Chiba, Japan (July 16-20). The VNL Final Round will take place July 30-Aug. 3 in Ningbo, China.

"We're incredibly excited about the talent and depth we have to begin this new Olympic cycle," said Kiraly. "The veterans on this roster continue to lead by example, while our younger athletes are pushing hard, bringing fresh energy and hunger. It's a powerful combination. This VNL season will be a vital part of our journey toward the 2025 World Championships and beyond."

The preliminary roster boasts four Olympians, including three who competed in the Paris 2024 Games: libero Erik Shoji, middle blocker Jeff Jendryk, and setter Micah Ma'a. Opposite Kyle Ensing was the official alternate in Paris and competed on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team.

Eleven athletes on the roster have competed in previous VNLs for the U.S.: opposite Gabi Garcia, setter Quinn Isaacson, liberos Mason Briggs and Kyle Dagostino, outside hitters Ethan Champlin, Jordan Ewert and Jacob Pasteur, and middle blockers Patrick Gasman, Matthew Knigge, Michael Marshman and Daniel Wetter.

Seven athletes have competed for the senior U.S. National Team in NORCECA events: setter Andrew Rowan, middle blocker Merrick McHenry and outside hitters Nolan Flexen, Camden Gianni, Kaleb Jenness, Zach Rama and Cooper Robinson. Eight have the opportunity to make their debut for the senior U.S. National Team: setters Tread Rosenthal and Michael Wright, opposites Kyle Hobus and Kevin Kobrine, middle blockers Shane Holdaway, Cameron Thorne and Parker Tomkinson, and libero Jacob Reilly.

The U.S. men are currently ranked No. 3 in the world and have medaled four times in VNL history, including silver in 2019, 2022 and 2023 and bronze in 2018.

U.S. Men National Team Schedule for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV
All times listed in PDT

WEEK 1: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 11 at 10 a.m. vs. Ukraine
June 12 at 5 p.m. vs. Iran
June 14 at 9:30 a.m. vs. Slovenia
June 15 at 1 p.m. vs. Cuba

WEEK 2: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
June 25 at 5:30 p.m. vs. China
June 26 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Canada
June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Poland
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy

WEEK 3: Chiba, Japan
July 16 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Türkiye
July 18 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Argentina
July 19 at 3:30 a.m. vs. Germany
July 20 at 3:20 a.m. vs. Japan

The Trojans (21-7) finished second in the MPSF regular-season standings (8-4) and were awarded the second seed into the conference tournament. There, USC finished as runner-up to Pepperdine, which hosted the championship in Malibu, Calif. USC opened the year with a nine-match win streak for its best start to a season since 1991 (28-0) and won 10 matches in a row (Feb. 26-April 3) for the program's longest win streak since 2012 (18 in a row). It was the second 20-win season for head coach Jeff Nygaard and the 20th 20-win season in program history. The Trojans spent 13 weeks ranked in the top five and reached as high as No. 3 for the team's highest ranking since it was also No. 3 in 2015. USC led the MPSF for many weeks in all statistical categories but aces and finished the season as the NCAA leader in blocks (2.86 bps) with 16 matches in double-digits. The Trojans set a new school record for hitting percentage in a match (.691 vs. Dominican, Feb. 8) and hit better than .300 in 19 matches; and hit north of .400 in 10 contests.

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.

USC Men's Volleyball's Parker Tomkinson and Kevin Kobrine Named to USAV VNL Roster

Players Mentioned

Parker Tomkinson

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