Who Is On The Team USA Men's Volleyball Olympic Roster? Here's What To Know
Who Is On The Team USA Men's Volleyball Olympic Roster? Here's What To Know
Here’s a look at the squad the Americans will be bringing to the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics next month.
Three years ago in Japan, there was bitter disappointment.
This summer in France, will there be glory?
The United States men’s volleyball national team, in just a few short weeks, will soon find out.
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The Americans are back in the men’s volleyball bracket for the 2024 Paris Olympics, looking to redeem themselves after a failure to advance out of the pool stage at the Games for the first time in over 20 years. And as a top five-ranked team in the world entering the tournament, the U.S. should be among the frontrunners to return to the medal stand after last doing so in 2016.
A roster has been released, pools have been finalized and a schedule is due to be out soon. All that’s left now is the painstaking wait for the first serve.
Here’s a look at the squad the Americans will be bringing to the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics next month:
2024 Paris Olympics United States Men’s Volleyball National Team Roster
- No. 1: Matt Anderson, 6-10, opposite
- No. 2: Aaron Russell, 6-9, outside hitter
- No. 4: Jeff Jendryk, 6-10, middle blocker
- No. 8: T.J. DeFalco, 6-5, outside hitter
- No. 11: Micah Christenson, 6-5, setter
- No. 12: Max Holt, 6-10, middle blocker
- No. 14: Micah Ma’a, 6-3, setter
- No. 17: Thomas Jaeschke, 6-6, outside hitter
- No. 18: Garrett Muagututia, 6-5, outside hitter
- No. 19: Taylor Averill, 6-7, middle blocker
- No. 20: David Smith, 6-7, middle blocker
- No. 22: Erik Shoji, 6-0, libero
- Alternate: Kyle Ensing, 6-7, opposite
When Will The United States Men’s Volleyball Team Play in The Paris Olympics?
The men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 27, when preliminary rounds begin, to August 10, when the gold medal match is scheduled to take place.
The 12 qualified national teams are separated into three pools, in which the top two teams in each pool (plus the two best third-placed teams based on ranking) will move on to a single-elimination, eight-team bracket which begins August 5.
The United States was drawn into Pool C with Japan, Argentina, and Germany, and its schedule for pool play will be revealed following the conclusion of the Volleyball Nations League Final Round on Sunday.
While you wait for the 2024 Olympic Games to begin... here's the men's indoor schedule. Mark your calendar, set your reminders and plan your watch parties!
— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) July 2, 2024
The U.S. Men will play Argentina (July 27), Germany (July 30) and Japan (August 2) in pool play.#paris2024 #parisolympics pic.twitter.com/NjYGRVFmDD
Where Will The United States Men’s Volleyball Team Play in The Paris Olympics?
All matches in the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held in the South Paris Arena 1 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Who Coaches The United States Men’s Volleyball Team?
The United States men’s volleyball national team has been coached by John Speraw since 2013, making Paris his third Olympics at the helm. Speraw, who is also the head coach of his alma mater at UCLA, is coming off back-to-back NCAA men’s volleyball national championships with the Bruins and has won five national titles in all, having also secured the top prize in men’s college volleyball with UC Irvine in 2007, 2009 and 2012.
In terms of performances at the two Olympic Games in his tenure, however, Speraw’s time coaching the U.S. national team has been up and down; the Americans secured the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics but failed to make it out of the pool stage in Tokyo in 2021, making it the first time that the U.S. had missed the knockout rounds at the Olympics since 2000.
Who Are The Men’s Volleyball Medal Favorites at The Paris Olympics?
France is the defending gold medalist from Tokyo and should get a warm reception throughout the tournament in front of a home crowd, qualifying automatically by virtue of being the host nation but still being a strong squad currently ranked No. 7 in the world by the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as of this writing.
The current No. 1-ranked team in the world right now, however, is Poland, which rocketed to the top of the rankings after winning both the Nations League and European Championship in 2023, with Japan, Slovenia, and Italy behind them in the world rankings in that order.
The U.S. is currently ranked No. 5 in the world by the FIVB as the top-ranked team in North and South America.
How Many Olympic Medals Has The United States Men’s Volleyball Team Won?
The United States has won five men’s volleyball Olympic medals — three gold, two bronze — since the sport was introduced at the Games for the first time in Tokyo in 1964, putting it third in the medal table behind Brazil and the Soviet Union (not Russia or the Russian Olympic Committee, who are considered separate entities), who are tied at six apiece.
The Americans won back-to-back gold at Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988 prior to capturing bronze at Barcelona in 1992, though a 16-year medal drought then took place right after until the U.S. took gold once again at Beijing in 2008. Rio 2016’s bronze is the last men’s volleyball Olympic medal that the U.S. has secured to date.
United States Men’s Volleyball Team Roster Notable Names
The Americans are bringing an experienced group to Paris as their 13-player roster features 10 former Olympians.
Former AVCA National Player of the Year and ex-Penn State standout Matt Anderson and David Smith — who won a national championship under Speraw at UC Irvine in 2007 — are the two four-time Olympians on the U.S. squad, while Erik Shoji, Micah Christenson, Max Holt, and Thomas Jaeschke are three-time Olympians and join them as former members of the bronze-medal team from Rio back in the mix for Paris.
The Jungle Cat is heading to Paris! U.S. Men's National Team middle blocker Jeff Jendryk shares his reaction to making the Olympic roster.#Paris2024 #ParisOlympics @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/kSJqqJ1b89
— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) June 18, 2024
Debutant Micah Ma’a and two-time Olympian Garrett Muagututia are the two ex-UCLA Bruins on the American roster (with Ma’a having been a former standout setter coached by Speraw in Westwood), and the brand-new alternate spot in the team, given to a player who is available for selection should someone else be injured or otherwise unable to compete, has gone to opposite Kyle Ensing, a Tokyo Olympian.