KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Senior opposite hitter/setter
Matt Pennala (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach City/St. John Bosco) from the No. 2 ranked Saint Xavier University men's volleyball team (31-1/12-0 CCAC) made program history by being named the NAIA Men's Volleyball Player of the Year when the postseason awards were announced by the national office Thursday morning. Pennala was one of five Cougars to earn NAIA All-American honors. Joining him as an NAIA First Team All-American was junior libero
Andres Velez (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico/St. Francis). Earning NAIA Second Team All-American recognition was sophomore outside hitter
Caydann Cox (Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown/Jamestown). Sophomore setter
Cameron Daniels (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) and graduate student middle blocker
Drew Ehlers (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) were both NAIA Third Team All-American selections, respectively. Also gaining national recognition was head coach
Tom Ryan, who claimed NAIA Men's Volleyball Head Coach of the Year honors after he guided SXU to a national runner-up finish in the 2025 NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament.
Pennala becomes just the five student-athlete from Saint Xavier to be named NAIA Player of the Year in their respective sport. Colleen Kilduff (2003-06) was named the NAIA Softball Player of the Year in 2006, Jimmy Coy (2011-12) was named the NAIA Football Player of the Year in 2012, Nicole Nonnemacher (2013-16) was named the NAIA Softball Pitcher of the Year from 2014-16, the only player in NAIA history to win the award three consecutive seasons, and Kara Krolicki (2014-18) won NAIA Women's Basketball Division II Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The first three former Cougars are members of the SXU Hall of Fame, while Krolicki will be enshrined this July.
Coach Ryan was also named the AVCA NAIA National Coach of the Year, as well as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Coach of the Year for the third year in a row and has claimed the honor five times in seven seasons at Saint Xavier. Ryan joins Saint Xavier head football coach Mike Feminis in being named NAIA Coach of the Year as Feminis won the award in 2011 leading the Cougars to the NAIA Football National Championship. Under coach Ryan's leadership, SXU tied a pair of NAIA single-season records with the longest match winning streak at 31 and the most wins in a season, also 31. In seven seasons on the sidelines, the Saint Xavier alumnus has an overall record of 157-47 (.770).
- Pennala was also named an AVCA-NAIA First Team All-American, as well the CCAC Player of the Year for the Cougars and is a two-time All-CCAC First Team honoree. He was named CCAC Attacker of the Week four times this season and NAIA Attacker of the Week twice on February 18 and March 25. Pennala played in 30 of the team's 32 matches, setting the single-season program record with 477.5 points and kills with 395. He had a .364 attack percentage (395-115-770) with 143 digs, 131 assists, 71 blocks (10 solos) and 42 service aces. Pennala finished No. 3 in the NAIA with 4.29 kills per set and No. 3 with 5.2 points per set, No. 5 in total points and No. 6 in total kills.
- Velez earns his second consecutive NAIA All-American award after being named Second Team All-American in 2024, as well as earning AVCA-NAIA First Team All-American this season. He claimed All-CCAC First Team for the third straight year, as well as being named the CCAC Libero of the Year for the third consecutive season. Velez earned CCAC Libero of the Week six times in 2025 and garnered NAIA Libero of the Week on April 1. He played in all 32 matches for the Cougars this season, breaking his own single-season team record with 362 digs and a team-best .974 reception percentage of 502 attempts. Velez has added 99 assists, 16 service aces and four kills. He finished No. 5 in the NAIA in total digs and digs per set at 3.45.
- Cox is now a two-time NAIA All-American after earning NAIA Third Team recognition last season while playing for University of Jamestown (N.D.). He was also named an AVAC-NAIA First Team All-American. Cox was named the CCAC Attacker of the Week three times this season. He played in 31 of the team's 32 matches, posting a team-high 53 service aces. Cox also had 442.0 points, 357 kills on a .330 attack percentage (357-99-782), a .965 reception percentage on 549 attempts, 197 digs, 52 blocks (12 solos) and 31 assists. He finished No. 9 in the NAIA in aces, No. 12 in total points and No. 15 in total kills.
- Daniels earned AVCA-NAIA Second Team All-American honors as well while also earning All-CCAC First Team recognition. He was the CCAC Setter of the Week seven times this season. Daniels has played in all 32 of the team's matches, leading the team with 1,020 assists. He also has 205 digs, 112.5 points, 49 service aces, 40 blocks (nine solos) and 39 kills. Nationally, Daniels finished No. 6 in the NAIA in assists and No. 11 in aces.
- Ehlers claimed AVCA-NAIA Second Team All-American honors and was awarded All-CCAC First Team honor this season, also earning All-CCAC Second Team three times (2022-24). He played in 31 of the team's 32 matches, collecting a team-high 111 blocks (18 solos). Ehlers has tallied 220.5 points, 126 kills on a .400 attack percentage (126-28-245), 30 service aces, 29 digs and 14 assists. He finished the 2025 season No. 6 in the NAIA in total blocks, No. 7 in block assists with 93 and No. 8 in blocks per set at 1.17.
Full list of NAIA All-Americans:
