Long Beach Poly's Sam Lewis repeats as Dream Team Boys Volleyball Player of the Year

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sam Lewis, Outside Hitter, Long Beach Poly, Senior

If Sam Lewis had one request, it’s: Please stop asking him how tall he is.

“Oh, I have a sign on me at all times that says, ‘Ask me how tall I am and if I play basketball and how the weather is up here,’” the Long Beach Poly senior said with a laugh.

For the record, Lewis is 6-foot-10 and no, he doesn’t play basketball. From an early age he decided that volleyball was the sport for him. That decision has certainly paid off. Lewis helped last year’s USA Volleyball Youth National Team to a silver medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship in Cuba and he’ll be on the team again this year for the FIVB World Championships in Bahrain.

Lewis is so tall that when he walked from his school’s gymnasium to its side entrance he was asked by three different people how tall he is. The Dream Team Boys Volleyball Player of the Year’s maximum touch has been measured at 11-10 and he easily slaps the middle of the backboard despite not wearing athletic shoes or doing an extensive warm-up. He’s also gifted at middle blocker, with height and speed that allows him to cover the whole net.

“I love middle blocker because I feel like we control the net,” he said. “We decide if someone’s one-on-one or if there’s two blockers there.”

Btu Lewis played mostly at outside hitter for Poly this year to allow him to get more swings, and he made the most of it. The Jackrabbits made it to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Lewis had 31 kills in the second-round ouster to eventual champion Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

After another summer of playing with Team USA, Lewis will enroll at USC, where he’s earned a full scholarship. As the nation’s top middle blocker recruit, he could have gone anywhere he wanted. Just as he chose to make his own legacy in volleyball — his brother and cousin were both NBA players — he wanted to go to a school that’s not a current college powerhouse.

“I think USC is somewhere I can go make an immediate difference and that matters to me,” he said.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Cook, Wilson

Jeremy Cook took a different approach with this year’s Wilson High School boys volleyball team. Most Moore League champions are built around a standout player, such as Lakewood’s Storm Fa’agata, who is at BYU, or Poly’s Sam Lewis, who’s headed to USC. Cook didn’t have a standout player, but he had a whole team full of capable players and he coached them to embrace their role. “Everyone on our team knows they need to be good at all aspects of the game,” Wilson senior Matt Miller said. That approach was thanks to Cook’s leadership, and it paid off: the Bruins won their first league title since 2009 and went 21-7, advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinals. Cook is the Dream Team Boys Volleyball Coach of the Year.

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FIRST TEAM

Miller Davis, OH, Valley Christian, Senior

Nathan Frazier, S, Wilson, Senior

Aidan Grosz, MB, St. Anthony, Senior

Jaylen Kimbrough, OPP, Millikan, Senior

Matt Miller, OH, Wilson, Senior

Abel Sangkay, L, Bellflower, Sophomore

Teilon Tufuga, OH, Lakewood, Sophomore

SECOND TEAM

Chris Alcala, OH, Avalon, Senior

Kyle Anema, OPP, Valley Christian, Senior

Zach Ayala, OH, Gahr, Senior

Matt Brito, MB, Downey, Jr.

Mason Broersma, L, Los Alamitos, Senior

Oscar Castellanos, OH, Warren, Senior

Keailii Pa’aluhi, OPP, Wilson, Senior

Joshua Reyes, OH, Cerritos, Senior

Bryce Thompson, S, Los Alamitos, Junior

HONORABLE MENTION

Nathaniel Andres, MB, Cerritos, Senior

Lucas Arcala, L, Valley Christian, Sophomore

Paolo Bautista, S, Cerritos, Senior

Sam Carcamo, OH, Downey, Senior

Jose De Casas, L, CAMS, Senior

David Leyva, OH, Avalon, Senior

Jake Maffett, OH, Los Alamitos, Sophomore

Malik Makhlouf, S, Downey, Junior

Joan Martinez, S, Warren, Senior

Arick Mom, OH, Bellflower, Senior

Brian Orozco, OH, Bellflower, Junior

Eamon Pool-Harris, OH, St. Anthony, Freshman

Alfredo Ramirez, S, St. Pius X/St. Matthias, Senior

Riley Sena, OPP, Wilson, Senior

Dane Sturges-Anderson, OPP, Poly, Senior

Kyler Tufuga, OPP, Lakewood, Junior

Max Vandenberg, S, Valley Christian, Senior

Dylan Wong, L, Cerritos, Libero, Sophomore

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

CAMINO REAL: St. Anthony

EXPRESS: Avalon

MOORE LEAGUE: Wilson

OLYMPIC LEAGUE: Valley Christian

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY: Warren

SANTA FE: St. Pius X/Matthias

SUBURBAN: Cerritos