Ball State vs. Stanford: A Thrilling Kickoff to the Season!

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 13 Stanford (0-0) commences its 2025 season at home, welcoming No. 5 Ball State (2-0) on Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Both encounters will be broadcast on B1G+.

COACHES POLL: Stanford was designated to place sixth in the MPSF by the league’s coaches. UCLA, earning eight first-place votes, was predicted to secure its fourth consecutive MPSF regular season title. USC ranked second, while BYU, which garnered the final first-place vote, was in third.

2024 IN REVIEW: In his 18th year leading the program, The Birkhofer Family Head Men’s Volleyball Coach John Kosty steered the Cardinal to a 14-12 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the MPSF (4th). The Cardinal progressed to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament for the third consecutive season – a first in program history. Outside hitter Will Rottman was recognized on the MPSF All-Tournament Team for the third time. The fifth-year player averaged 4.71 kills on .356 hitting, 0.43 aces, 3.00 digs, and 5.36 points per set, leading Stanford during the postseason. The Cardinal concluded the season ranked No. 6 in the AVCA poll – its highest final ranking since 2016.

INCOMING CLASS: In November, Stanford recruited four high school stars to join the Cardinal next autumn. The group includes Erik Ask (Västerås, Sweden), Jacob Little-Phillips (Winter Park, Fla.), Jack Loper (San Clemente, Calif.) and Luke Morrison (Irvine, Calif.).

LEGACY CEMENTED: Matt Fuerbringer (‘97) was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in October. He becomes the fifth men’s volleyball player to receive this esteemed accolade. A member of the 1997 NCAA championship squad, he was recognized as the AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 1994 and a four-time All-American. He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team, aiding in securing bronze medals in 2016 and 2024. Fuerbringer is now the head coach of League One Volleyball (LOVB) Madison, a U.S. women’s professional team commencing its inaugural season this month.

ACADEMIC HONORS: Stanford was the sole Division I institution in the nation to have all of its programs (men’s, women’s, and beach) earn the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2024. The men’s team has now achieved the AVCA Team Academic Award for five consecutive seasons, marking the 13th time in program history. Stanford topped the conference with 11 student-athletes chosen for the MPSF All-Academic Team, while 12 Cardinal athletes made it onto the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.

2024 MPSF TOURNAMENT LOOK BACK: Stanford moved on to the MPSF Tournament semifinals after triumphing over No. 5 seed Pepperdine in the quarterfinals. This was the first occasion in the program’s history that the Cardinal has reached the semifinals for three consecutive seasons. Outside hitter Will Rottman led the squad in kills (33), digs (21), aces (3) and points (37.5) across the two matches.

HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty completed his 18th season overseeing the Cardinal program and his 34th overall with the staff in 2024. He currently holds a 260-223 career record. He led Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in nine of Kosty’s 18 seasons. Stanford has participated in the MPSF Tournament in 15 of Kosty’s 18 seasons (missing in 2007 and 2015; the tournament was canceled in 2020).