Ohio State University men's volleyball coach Kevin Burch needs players to thrive under pressure because opponents are always circling the Buckeyes on their schedule.
“We have to be the Reggie Millers of men’s volleyball,” Burch said with a smile.
In 2023, Ohio State lived up to that expectation and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. In 2024, Ohio State won seven of its first nine games and was the No. 1 team in the country for one week.
This gives OSU players added importance as they serve as ambassadors for a growing sport that was officially recognized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association ahead of the 2022-23 school year.
Adding to the team's local appeal is that Ohio State has three success stories from Central Ohio on its 2024 roster: setter Noah Platfoot of Hilliard, middle blocker Cole Young of Powell and libero Thomas Poole of Dublin.
“They grew up wanting to be at Ohio State as Ohio kids,” Burch said. “When they get here, they want to make a name for themselves.”
Ohio State men's volleyball was “not a tough playing field” for Central Ohio players.
Platfoot was a “big basketball guy” himself until he was introduced to volleyball by his cousins in eighth grade. And from then on, Platfoot was hooked.
“It's a different kind of athleticism, isn't it?” Platfoot said. “You have guys that can reach 70 miles per hour and jump 14 inches. Some of the players are simply remarkable. It’s just a different type of athleticism that drew me to it.”
Platfoot was a three-time captain at Hilliard Darby High School and the 2019 Ohio High School Player of the Year, as well as captaining the Vanguard Volleyball Club. Platfoot was the type of player from central Ohio that Ohio State was looking for after winning two national championships in 2016 and 2017.
“It wasn’t a hard pitch,” Platfoot said.
Young, who started playing volleyball his freshman year of high school, attended Olentangy Liberty High School and played for Vanguard, recalled a similar pitch from Burch about the standard of excellence and talent he had would achieve if he chose the Buckeyes.
“It's kind of hard to say no to all the players and coaches who know they're going to make you a better player at the end of the day,” Young said.
When Burch succeeded Pete Hanson in 2019, he knew recruiting would become a staple in Ohio, he said. The better the talent in men's volleyball in Ohio, the better men's volleyball would be in the state of Ohio.
From 2020 to 2024, Ohio State had five Ohio natives on the roster: libero Parker Mikesch (Xenia), middle blocker Austin Gerwig (Doylestown), Poole, Platfoot and Young.
Men's volleyball is a sport that is still growing in Ohio, Burch said. And its continued growth depends on junior and senior high school coaches introducing the sport to aspiring athletes at an earlier age.
“It's a little bit like golf in a way that LeBron James could walk on day one, day one on a golf course, on a volleyball court, never played the sport before, and he's not going to be good at it,” Burch said. “It takes time. It takes repetition. It's one of those sports where the earlier you start, the better you can be.”
What’s next for men’s volleyball in central Ohio?
It's easy for Phil Cagnoli to support Ohio State men's volleyball in 2024.
Except Dublin Jerome High School coach Poole coached and crossed paths with Young and Platfoot many times before they moved on to the Buckeyes. For Cagnoli, it's easy to support a winner when there are more people in the stands and more team highlights on social media.
“Having Ohio State on our doorstep is such a cool thing because as a high school coach, especially boys, the vast majority of kids I interact with have become more exposed to the sport, except at a picnic or during gym class,” Cagnoli said. “That's not it. Like it’s a whole, whole different level.”
But even at that level, Cagnoli sees evidence that the sport is accessible to athletes of many different body types, from Young's 6-foot-3 frame to Poole's 5-foot-7 frame.
Poole isn't the type to boast about being an athlete at Ohio State. But he said he returns to Dublin Jerome several times each year to make sure members of the boys volleyball team can see what they are capable of.
And with Ohio State's continued success, Poole believes more Central Ohio players will want to follow in his, Platfoot and Young's footsteps.
“We hope so,” Poole said.
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