California State University Northridge Athletics
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
Jalen Phillips Named to Inaugural AVCA Player of the Year Watch List
2/4/2026 11:28:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
AVCA National Collegiate Men's Player of the Year Watch List
LEXINGTON, Ky. – CSUN men's volleyball junior opposite Jalen Phillips has been named to the first-ever official watch list for the AVCA's National Collegiate Player of the Year award on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Phillips, a redshirt junior from Anaheim, is one of 15 players named to the initial watch list as compiled by the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Awards Committee.
The same group will also serve through additional phases of the Player of the Year award process, which include possible midseason additions, the selection of semifinalists (early April), the announcement of the award's four finalists (early May), and the selection and announcement of the Player of the Year winner during the NCAA Championship in Los Angeles.
Of the 15 players named to the initial watch list, five are from the Big West, including Phillips. The other four are Andrej Jankovic of UC Irvine, Tread Rosenthal and Adrien Roure of Hawai'i, and Skyler Varga of Long Beach State.
Phillips, a 2025 AVCA First-Team All-American, ranks second in the Big West this week in kills per set (3.71), third in points per set (4.26), and is eighth in hitting at .380.
16th-ranked CSUN (7-1) travels to the Galen Center on Wednesday, taking on No. 4 USC, before returning home to meet No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday at 6 p.m. Wednesday's match against the Trojans will stream on Big Ten Plus, while Friday's match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
LEXINGTON, Ky. – CSUN men's volleyball junior opposite Jalen Phillips has been named to the first-ever official watch list for the AVCA's National Collegiate Player of the Year award on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Phillips, a redshirt junior from Anaheim, is one of 15 players named to the initial watch list as compiled by the AVCA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Awards Committee.
The same group will also serve through additional phases of the Player of the Year award process, which include possible midseason additions, the selection of semifinalists (early April), the announcement of the award's four finalists (early May), and the selection and announcement of the Player of the Year winner during the NCAA Championship in Los Angeles.
Of the 15 players named to the initial watch list, five are from the Big West, including Phillips. The other four are Andrej Jankovic of UC Irvine, Tread Rosenthal and Adrien Roure of Hawai'i, and Skyler Varga of Long Beach State.
Phillips, a 2025 AVCA First-Team All-American, ranks second in the Big West this week in kills per set (3.71), third in points per set (4.26), and is eighth in hitting at .380.
16th-ranked CSUN (7-1) travels to the Galen Center on Wednesday, taking on No. 4 USC, before returning home to meet No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday at 6 p.m. Wednesday's match against the Trojans will stream on Big Ten Plus, while Friday's match will stream on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Players Mentioned
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