Men’s Volleyball Program add 5 recruits for 2016-17 season
Memorial Sea~Hawks men’s volleyball Head Coach, Cisco Farrero, has had a busy offseason and is pleased to announce five recruits for the 2016-17 season. The Sea~Hawks will be adding three local recruits, as well as two athletes from outside the province.
Marcus Baker
The first of 3 Newfoundland graduating athletes to commit to the Sea~Hawks men’s volleyball team is Clarenville’s Marcus Baker. Marcus, the son of Dale Baker and Wanda Green, is a 6’2 Outside Hitter and comes to Memorial as the most highly decorated player on the island, having played 5 years on the NLVA provincial team (3 underage) and was an Eastern Elite all-star. Marcus, a graduate of Clarenville High School, was named the MVP of the Dalhousie Classic in both 2014 and 2015 leading his team to the title twice and led the Clarenville Cougars Volleyball Club to a gold in 18U Div2 Tier 2 at Volleyball Canada Nationals in 2015. Marcus, who’s brother Nathan plays for Dalhousie, will be enrolled in the Business of Commerce program at MUN and said the following about his decision-making process.
“Newfoundland has always been my home and I am excited to have the opportunity to take my volleyball game to the next level with the Memorial varsity program. Memorial is an excellent university and I am excited to pursue my academic and volleyball goals right here at home.”
Coach Farrero looks forward to adding Baker’s skillset to the Sea~Hawks program.
“Marcus Baker is someone that I identified early as a key to this recruiting class. He is without doubt the top outside hitter in Newfoundland and I am really excited about his well-rounded game. He has an extremely high volleyball IQ and his desire to win really stands out. Marcus is a great piece for our program and I’m excited to see what he can do”
Brent Wareham
Also coming from Clarenville High and the Clarenville Cougars Volleyball Club to the Sea~Hawks is Libero Brent Wareham. Brent stands 5’10, is the son of Kim and Alberto Wareham and will be entering the Kinesiology program at Memorial in September. Like his teammate Marcus, Brent played multiple summers on both the Indoor and Beach NLVA provincial teams and was named the MVP of Eastern Elites in 2014. He was also named the NLVA Jr High player of the year in 2013 and had the following statement on his recruitment.
“I chose Memorial because I felt that its the right school for me; I can study my program of choice, play CIS volleyball and do both of those things while being close to home”
Coach Farrero on Brent Wareham: “Brent is extremely skilled. He has the ball control I’m looking for in a libero, the right attitude to make a big play on defence and his past experience as a setter will help tremendously with out of system play. I’m excited for what he can bring to the libero position and our defence as a whole.”
Jacob Dillon
Rounding out the trifecta of Newfoundland recruits is Gander Collegiate’s Jacob Dillon. Jacob, a 6’5 middle blocker who plays club for the 18U Central Loopers brings size and talent to the Sea~Hawks roster. The son of Douglas and Tina Dillon has played NLVA provincial team for two summers and has applied into Memorial’s Nursing program. Jacob chose Memorial because “it gave me the best opportunity to stay close to home and play volleyball”
Coach Farrero had high praise for Jacob’s potential.
“Jacob Dillon is a really high ceiling kid, he’s big and strong and athletic and will grow leaps and bounds as a volleyball player really quickly. He is a tremendous young man and a great student and I’m really excited to see how good he can get at the middle blocker position at the CIS level”
Sebastien Sauve
Also joining the Sea~Hawks in September is Sebastien Sauve, from Kingston, Nova Scotia, where he attended West King’s District High School. Sebastien, who stands 6’4, is the son of Ingrid de Pauw and Pierre Sauve and has applied into the faculty of HKR at Memorial and currently plays for the AXE 18U volleyball club. Sebastien has a strong volleyball resume having played for Team Nova Scotia, trained with the VCCE at Acadia and played in Les Jeux de la Francophonie.
Sebastien is the third member of his family to attend Memorial and looks forward to continuing his volleyball career.
“I chose Memorial because the University has a good reputation and I wanted to keep volleyball in my life and I’ve had two family members attend Memorial. My oldest sister is an alum and my other sister is a current student.”
Coach Cisco Farrero believes Sauve will make an immediate difference to the Sea~Hawks program.
“Sebastien Sauve definitely makes our program better. He has a great volleyball build and has good ball control skills. Sebastien has potential at all three of the attacking positions and once he is training with our team daily I’m excited to see what level he can get to as a CIS volleyball player”
Eric Ellison
Eric Ellison is a 6’2 setter from Winnipeg, Manitoba and is comes from the Winman Volleyball Club. Eric, a graduate of Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute is a very accomplished player having been named to the Manitoba Volleyball Association provincial team twice and set for the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games Manitoba team. He also was the 2014/15 MBCI male athlete of the year and a MHSAA Graduating Volleyball all-star in 2015.
The son of James and Cindy Ellison, Eric will be enrolled in the Business Administration program at Memorial and is excited to be a Sea~Hawk.
“I chose Memorial because of the fantastic Business Administration program, the great group of guys on the team and the city of St. John’s. It is a great opportunity to be a part of a young team with lots of potential, to see how much we can grow. Also coming from Winnipeg the weather in St. John’s won’t be a problem for me.”
Coach Cisco Farrero feels Ellison will help fill a key need for the Sea~Hawks as they aim to develop and grow the program.
“I’m really excited about Eric joining our program, I identified the need for a setter in this recruiting class and Eric is exactly what I was looking for. He is very experienced having played at a strong high school, for strong club coaches and at the provincial team level. He comes from a volleyball family, his Dad played for Team Canada and his brother plays for Queen’s University and he is strong student and I’m excited to see his development over the next 5 years”