When Grand Canyon University cut its men’s volleyball program it came as a shock to many, including its players. According to a Fox 10 Phoenix report, the current team was invited to an “optional” meeting days after their season ended where they found out GCU would no longer be sponsoring their program. The same outlet reported that incoming recruits saw the news through an Instagram post made by the school.
“Literally from Thursday (when the season ended) to Monday is when their program was cut,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “That’s horrible for our sport.
“There was not a lot of great communication from that administration. In fact, there was none. It came out of nowhere.”
The Cougars were able to make the most of the situation, however, helping some key former Antelopes find a new home. The Provo school landed sophomore outside hitter Connor Oldani, sophomore setter Kyle Zediker, and senior outside hitter Trent Moser. Moser earned honorable mention All-American status from the AVCA last season after transferring away from BYU to GCU for one year.
Those players were expecting to be playing for a new coach this season after their head coach, Matt Werle, left the Lopes in February to pursue an opportunity at Kansas. They did not, however, expect that new coach would be Olmstead.
The incoming players can take comfort in the relationship Olmstead has with their former coaches.
“I’m really close with the old staff,” the BYU coach said. “In fact, I was on the phone a lot with (Werle).”
Olmstead said his relationship with the now-former GCU coaching staff was beneficial in the process of recruiting their former athletes.
“There was a lot of discussion (with them),” he said. “This was a different circumstance. It wasn’t like a (player) leaving under other reasons.”
In addition to the three transfers from the Arizona school, BYU also brought in a former GCU commit, middle blocker Max Philipe, out of Texas, as the sixth member of the Cougars’ 2025 signing class.
“We are excited about the addition of these athletes to our program here at BYU,” Olmstead said in a press release after the Cougars picked up the quartet of Lopes. “All of them come from a very solid background of volleyball and competition. Kyle, Connor and Trent … will add valuable experience to our roster. We’ve also watched Max for some time now and love his energy and commitment to improvement.”
“Each of these guys have a wonderful support network that will continue to assist them with the transition to our program, which we anticipate will be exciting and competitive for all involved.”
Following the four additions from GCU, Olmstead feels like his roster is set.
“Our roster is done,” he said. “(Unless) randomly some big-time player falls out of the sky … our roster is what it is.”
BYU’s stability has to be part of what made the Cougars attractive for the four former Lopes who were blindsided by the GCU administration’s decision a few months ago.
A difficult situation that left those players and their teammates befuddled has benefited BYU. Olmstead and the Cougars may have been benefactors of the unfortunate circumstance, however their sport was not.
