Five candidates are finalists for the 2026 Michigan Mr. Volleyball Award.
The Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association debuted the Mr. Volleyball award last season. Similar to the Michigan Miss Volleyball Award, the organization nominates seniors based on both individual and team success, along with taking into consideration each players' academic accomplishments.
Holland Christian's Grant VanderZee was the winner of the inaugural award. He received 26 first-place votes among a class of nine total candidates.
Boys volleyball is the newest spring sport sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It began as a club sport in 2018 on the west side of the state with four schools. This season, 118 schools are competing for the first MHSAA state championship.
Here are this year's five nominees, in alphabetical order:
Stats: 1,647 assists, 582 digs, 182 aces, 147 Kills, 38 blocks.
The buzz: Burns led Saline to semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2024, when the Michigan Boys Volleyball organization oversaw the tournament. Saline has a 71-14 record over the past three seasons. Burns received first-team all-state honors for the previous two seasons and was second-team all-state in 2023.
The buzz: Cochran earned second-team all-state honors last season and was all-state honorable mention in 2024. He has also been a team captain for the Wildcats for the past two seasons.
Stats: 1,361 assists, 402 kills, 388 digs, 202 aces.
The buzz: Cryst led Grand Haven to the state finals the past three seasons, with his squad finishing as runner-up in each appearance. The Buccaneers have a three-season record of 134-13. Cryst has earned first-team all-state honors for 2024 and 2025.
The buzz: Dorbin entered the starting lineup for the Eagles as a freshman in 2023. Lakeland went undefeated in conference play last season and won its second consecutive conference title. Last season, Dorbin earned first-team all-state honors
2025 stats: 3.5 assists per set, 4 digs per set, 0.5 aces per set, 2.49 passer rating.
The buzz: Engelhardt has been a part of Farmington's program since its inception four seasons ago. He has received first-team all-conference honors every year since 2023 and was second-team all-state last season.
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Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meet 5 players nominated for the second Mr. Volleyball Award