High school boys volleyball: Bingham, Maple Mountain, Orem, North Sanpete and American Heritage check in at No. 1 in 2026 preseason coaches rankings

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Mountain Ridge and Bingham play for the 6A boys volleyball chamiopship in the UCCU Center at UVU in Orem on Saturday, May 10, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Utah boys volleyball enters its third season of sanctioned play and adds another classification into the mix. Here are the results of the preseason coaches’ poll for each classification.

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The 6A champs in the Bingham Miners return as the favorites to take the throne. The hype for the Miners is easy to see as they return major contributors from their championship squad.

Among the returners is 2025 playoff MVP and all-state first team outside hitter JJ Faiivae. Faiivae will be one of Bingham’s best offensive weapons.

The Miners will keep much of their offensive continuity as setter Derek Peterson also returns.

“Looking forward to seeing what the returning champs will do this season,” said Bingham head coach Ben Chamberlain. “A strong core returns with such versatility and passion for the game. Bingham will continue to keep their heads down and push through all adversity we see this season.”

The most dominant team since the start of sanctioned volleyball returns as the 5A favorite in Maple Mountain.

The Golden Eagles will have huge shoes to fill as they graduated two-time Mr. Volleyball Trey Thornton last year.

While Maple Mountain graduated a lot of last year’s production, it still retained some key pieces. Maple Mountain returns one of the best setters in the state in Taft Hillman.

Maple Mountain also returns all-state outside hitter Matt Borges and all-state libero MacKay Beattie.

“While we graduated two key seniors from our back-to-back 2025 championship run, we return a strong core of both upperclassmen and underclassmen who have established themselves as some of the top players in the region and the state,” said Maple Mountain head coach Napoleon Galang. “This core gained valuable experiences the past 2 years and looks to continue our family culture and high expectations.”

Orem is the last defending state champion to earn a top ranking in this year’s preseason poll. The Tigers took the 4A state championship a year ago.

Similarly, Orem also returns key members of its championship squad.

Orem setter Lucky Jennings was the best player in 4A in 2025, and he returns to the Tigers roster.

It’ll also return a strong defense with 2025 4A playoff MVP libero Treyvon Cly. All-state second team middle Luke Wolsey rounds out the top returning contributors.

“I’m excited to work with these boys who are committed to our season goals and mission,” Bill Sefita. “I’m excited to fine-tune areas we can improve in and excited to see where the season takes us.”

North Sanpete is the first school to be voted the favorite while not defending a title.

The Eagles have experience on its side and returns three all-state members in setter Sean Allred, outside hitter Carson Bench and opposite Dalton Poulson.

“Our goal is always to compete for a title,” said North Sanpete head coach Austin Ison. “That has been our focus in the offseason, and we are pleased with the hard work our team has been putting in. We look forward to another great year of Boys Volleyball.”

For the first time, 2A will be its own classification. Many smaller schools played at 3A in previous seasons.

American Heritage opens as the favorite to take the first-ever 2A state championship.

The Patriots earned a spot in last year’s 3A quarterfinals, but lost to eventual champion Morgan in five sets.

“We graduated a large senior class last year, so this is a bit of a rebuilding season for us,” said American Heritage head coach Brad Castle. “We’ll be younger and gaining experience in key roles, but that also creates opportunity for new leaders to step up.”

Deseret News preseason coaches rankings

Class 6A

Team (2025 record)

  1. Bingham (16-5)
  2. Lone Peak (20-9)
  3. Corner Canyon (15-8)
  4. Lehi (19-5)
  5. Farmington (21-9)

Class 5A

Team (2025 record)

  1. Maple Mountain (24-0)
  2. Bountiful (26-6)
  3. Wasatch (21-9)
  4. Brighton (17-10)
  5. Alta (18-6)

Class 4A

Team (2025 record)

  1. Orem (26-6)
  2. Desert Hills (17-9)
  3. Crimson Cliffs (18-7)
  4. Ridgeline (15-11)
  5. Timpanogos (12-9)

Class 3A

Team (2025 record)

  1. North Sanpete (17-13)
  2. Morgan (19-7)
  3. Grantsville (17-14)
  4. Ogden (21-7)
  5. Logan (6-14)

Class 2A

Team (2025 record)

  1. American Heritage (13-10)
  2. Salt Lake Academy (24-7)
  3. Maeser Prep (N/A)
  4. Wasatch (6-15)
  5. Freedom Prep (13-8)

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