University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Seven Bruins Earn AVCA All-American Honors
May 06, 2026 | Men's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES โ Seven members of the UCLA men's volleyball program have earned AVCA All-American honors the AVCA announced on Wednesday. Four Bruins were featured on the first team, while three more collected honorable mention acclaim.
The four Bruins who were honored as first team All-Americans were seniors Zach Rama, Andrew Rowan, and Cameron Thorne, as well as sophomore Sean Kelly. Three more Bruins earned honorable mention All-American honors as redshirt juniors Christopher Connelly and David Decker were selected, as well as junior Micah Wong Diallo.
Rowan, who was also named as one of the four finalists for AVCA National Player of the Year, becomes the first Bruin to earn AVCA first-team All-American honors in UCLA history. He is the fourth overall player in national collegiate men's volleyball history to be named to the first team on four occasions.
A senior setter from Trabuco Canyon, California, Rowan is the nation's leader in assists per set (11.37), while setting the nation's No. 2 offense to a .380 team hitting percentage. The Bruins hit at least .300 in 26 of their 31 matches and over .400 in 14 matches, with Rowan setting the offense. He helped the Bruins to 12 top-10 wins and 21 ranked wins along the way. Rowan is one of three players in the country who served at least 50 aces in the regular season, and at the end of the regular season, became the 13th player in MPSF history to serve 170 in his career. During the season, he became the second Bruin in the rally scoring era (since 2001) to reach 4,000 career assists. A four-time first-team all-conference selection, Rowan is UCLA's first-ever four-time all-MPSF first team honoree in addition to his four-time first team AVCA accolades.
Kelly, a sophomore outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, California, earns his first career AVCA All-American honors in 2026. In addition to being named a first-team All-American, Kelly was also named first-team All-MPSF in 2026. Kelly recorded a team-leading 396 kills across 110 sets played, and currently sits eighth nationally in hitting percentage at .398.ย Kelly recorded double-digit kills in 17 of UCLA's 28 matches, and led the team in kills in 12 matches. The sophomore tallied a then career-high 22 kills in UCLA's five-set match at Pepperdine on April 2, before setting a new career-high in kills with 26 in UCLA's NCAA Tournament match against UC Irvine.
Rama, a senior outside hitter from Phoenix, Arizona, earns his first career first-team honors after earning a spot on the AVCA second team in 2025. The outside hitter also earned all-MPSF first-team honors in 2026. Rama has recorded 386 kills in 2026, good for a .323 hitting percentage. He recorded double-digit kills in 20 of UCLA's 31 matches, and finished with 20 or more kills on four occasions. Rama recorded a career-high 23 kills in UCLA's win over No. 6 Loyola Chicago at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, 21 kills at No. 2 Long Beach State, 20 kills at No. 4 UC Irvine, and all three matches resulted in wins over teams ranked inside the top-6 nationally at the time the match was played.
Thorne, a senior middle blocker from Hollywood, Florida, earns his third career first-team honors after being named first team in both 2024 and 2025. Elite on both offense and defense, Thorne currently leads the MPSF conference in hitting percentage at .509 entering the final weekend of action. The middle blocker recorded 208 kills in 2026, while also adding 95 blocks. Offensively, Thorne has tallied nine kills or more on 11 occasions, and added a season-high 13 kills in UCLA's four-set win over Long Beach State inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Defensively, Thorne has recorded five blocks or more in six matches in 2026.
Connelly, a redshirt junior from Naples, Florida, earns his first career AVCA honorable mention All-American honors in his first season on campus at UCLA. The libero recorded 193 digs over 109 sets, good for 1.77 digs per set. Connelly had eight instances of 10 or more digs, and had a career high of 15 in UCLA's five-set win at UC Irvine back in February. He also recorded 13 in UCLA's reverse sweep of Long Beach State on February 6. Connelly recorded a .934 serve reception percentage throughout the year.
Decker, a redshirt junior opposite from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, earns AVCA honorable mention All-American honors for the first time in his career. An elite server, Decker is second nationally in total aces with 52, and is eighth nationally in aces per set at .500 aces per set. Decker recorded 267 kills for a .338 hitting percentage, both career-highs. He tallied a career-high 22 kills in UCLA's win over Ball State at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, and has recorded 10 or more kills 11 times in 2026.
Wong Diallo, a junior middle blocker from Los Angeles, earns his first career AVCA All-American honors after earning a spot on the honorable mention team. In 93 sets played in 2026, Wong Diallo has totaled 147 kills over 230 attack attempts, good for a .500 hitting percentage. The junior has recorded two double-digit kill performances in UCLA's last seven games, with a career-high 12 kills at UC Merced, followed by 11 kills in UCLA's night one win over BYU. Defensively, Wong Diallo has recorded 78 total blocks on the year.
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The four Bruins who were honored as first team All-Americans were seniors Zach Rama, Andrew Rowan, and Cameron Thorne, as well as sophomore Sean Kelly. Three more Bruins earned honorable mention All-American honors as redshirt juniors Christopher Connelly and David Decker were selected, as well as junior Micah Wong Diallo.
Rowan, who was also named as one of the four finalists for AVCA National Player of the Year, becomes the first Bruin to earn AVCA first-team All-American honors in UCLA history. He is the fourth overall player in national collegiate men's volleyball history to be named to the first team on four occasions.
A senior setter from Trabuco Canyon, California, Rowan is the nation's leader in assists per set (11.37), while setting the nation's No. 2 offense to a .380 team hitting percentage. The Bruins hit at least .300 in 26 of their 31 matches and over .400 in 14 matches, with Rowan setting the offense. He helped the Bruins to 12 top-10 wins and 21 ranked wins along the way. Rowan is one of three players in the country who served at least 50 aces in the regular season, and at the end of the regular season, became the 13th player in MPSF history to serve 170 in his career. During the season, he became the second Bruin in the rally scoring era (since 2001) to reach 4,000 career assists. A four-time first-team all-conference selection, Rowan is UCLA's first-ever four-time all-MPSF first team honoree in addition to his four-time first team AVCA accolades.
Kelly, a sophomore outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, California, earns his first career AVCA All-American honors in 2026. In addition to being named a first-team All-American, Kelly was also named first-team All-MPSF in 2026. Kelly recorded a team-leading 396 kills across 110 sets played, and currently sits eighth nationally in hitting percentage at .398.ย Kelly recorded double-digit kills in 17 of UCLA's 28 matches, and led the team in kills in 12 matches. The sophomore tallied a then career-high 22 kills in UCLA's five-set match at Pepperdine on April 2, before setting a new career-high in kills with 26 in UCLA's NCAA Tournament match against UC Irvine.
Rama, a senior outside hitter from Phoenix, Arizona, earns his first career first-team honors after earning a spot on the AVCA second team in 2025. The outside hitter also earned all-MPSF first-team honors in 2026. Rama has recorded 386 kills in 2026, good for a .323 hitting percentage. He recorded double-digit kills in 20 of UCLA's 31 matches, and finished with 20 or more kills on four occasions. Rama recorded a career-high 23 kills in UCLA's win over No. 6 Loyola Chicago at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, 21 kills at No. 2 Long Beach State, 20 kills at No. 4 UC Irvine, and all three matches resulted in wins over teams ranked inside the top-6 nationally at the time the match was played.
Thorne, a senior middle blocker from Hollywood, Florida, earns his third career first-team honors after being named first team in both 2024 and 2025. Elite on both offense and defense, Thorne currently leads the MPSF conference in hitting percentage at .509 entering the final weekend of action. The middle blocker recorded 208 kills in 2026, while also adding 95 blocks. Offensively, Thorne has tallied nine kills or more on 11 occasions, and added a season-high 13 kills in UCLA's four-set win over Long Beach State inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Defensively, Thorne has recorded five blocks or more in six matches in 2026.
Connelly, a redshirt junior from Naples, Florida, earns his first career AVCA honorable mention All-American honors in his first season on campus at UCLA. The libero recorded 193 digs over 109 sets, good for 1.77 digs per set. Connelly had eight instances of 10 or more digs, and had a career high of 15 in UCLA's five-set win at UC Irvine back in February. He also recorded 13 in UCLA's reverse sweep of Long Beach State on February 6. Connelly recorded a .934 serve reception percentage throughout the year.
Decker, a redshirt junior opposite from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, earns AVCA honorable mention All-American honors for the first time in his career. An elite server, Decker is second nationally in total aces with 52, and is eighth nationally in aces per set at .500 aces per set. Decker recorded 267 kills for a .338 hitting percentage, both career-highs. He tallied a career-high 22 kills in UCLA's win over Ball State at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, and has recorded 10 or more kills 11 times in 2026.
Wong Diallo, a junior middle blocker from Los Angeles, earns his first career AVCA All-American honors after earning a spot on the honorable mention team. In 93 sets played in 2026, Wong Diallo has totaled 147 kills over 230 attack attempts, good for a .500 hitting percentage. The junior has recorded two double-digit kill performances in UCLA's last seven games, with a career-high 12 kills at UC Merced, followed by 11 kills in UCLA's night one win over BYU. Defensively, Wong Diallo has recorded 78 total blocks on the year.
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