The 2025 Class 5A boys volleyball state champion Coronado Cougars lost most of their starting lineup to graduation, but the program isn’t hitting reset. Instead, second-year coach Jazlynn Mau is blending a handful of returning contributors with a wave of new faces as the team begins its title defense.
“It’s super exciting to see them fill into roles that, essentially, their big brothers left for them, and they’ve been great,” Mau said. “Figuring out lineups is always a task, it’s always a process, but it’s been fun to figure out and watch everybody set up into new roles.”
Coronado graduated four first-team All-Southern Nevada players from the squad that edged Palo Verde in a five-set state final last May. Back this season are seniors Treyden Baltazar (outside hitter) and Luke Wilkinson (middle blocker), along with promising sophomore Karter Purser. Mau said the newcomers share the same “hunger” as the previous group.
“We have a younger team, so them learning the ropes of what it takes to be a champion and what it takes to run a successful program is what we got to do to hit the ground running,” Mau said. “I want them to not chase the past but make their own reality.”
Palo Verde, the runner-up, also lost key pieces, including first-team All-Southern Nevada selections Dylan Ho and Eli Nelson. But coach Phil Clarke returns setter Jagger Mendenhall, libero Ben Fife, and hitters Evan Ditmar and Andrew Gutierrez. Clarke noted the returners were quick to set their sights on 2026.
“It hurt, especially to get that close,” Clarke said. “They said, ‘Our goal is to get back.’ To hear it from them — to have those guys who were here before being locked in early makes it more exciting to get it going.”
Shadow Ridge, which won 5A titles in 2022 and 2023 but lost in the semifinals the last two seasons, returns senior Zion Moore and junior Max Romzek. Coach Luke Wilson highlighted newcomer Zavier Coleman as a key outside hitter. Wilson said the Mustangs are “reinvigorated” and focused solely on reaching the final.
“Getting to the state semifinals is not going to cut it for us anymore,” Wilson said. “All we think about as a program is making it to that final game.”
Basic, the two-time defending 4A champion, moves up to 5A with first-team All-Southern Nevada selections Porter Hughes (2024 4A state player of the year) and Ty Hardy (2025 4A state player of the year). Centennial returns first-team All-Southern Nevada outside hitter Lincoln Larson, and Arbor View, a state semifinalist last year, also figures to contend.
The 5A classification now has nine teams after Cheyenne, Desert Oasis, and Silverado moved down. Each team plays an eight-game league schedule, with the top eight qualifying for the state tournament. In 4A, 30 teams are split into four leagues, with Liberty and Desert Oasis among the early contenders.
